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/1993/nb121493

Text File | 1993-12-14 | 75.8 KB | 1,706 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00001)

Intel, SynOptics Creating High-Speed Data Lines 12/14/93
HILLSBORO, OREGON, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Intel Corp., and
SynOptics Communications Inc., have signed an agreement to
jointly develop and market interoperable 10/100Mbps Ethernet
products.

The companies maintain that the goal of the agreement is to
"create a seamless path to high-speed Ethernet while preserving
current network wiring investments."

Peter Tarrant, director of product marketing for Synoptics,
told Newsbytes that, in terms of products that will result from
the deal, "From SynOptics, there will be a range of hub products,
primarily Ethernet switching hubs, using the 100Mbit interface.
The purpose is to remove the bottleneck in connection
to servers. From Intel there will a range of adapter cards, they
have said both EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) and
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus cards initially in the
second quarter of 1994 to go with our hub products. And [they
will] follow that later on in the year with ISA adapter cards as
well."

The products will be based on the Fast Ethernet Alliance's wiring
specifications.

According to Mike Maerz, general manager of Intel's networking
division, "The Intel and SynOptics solution will provide customers
with a flexible and robust networking solution that can support
current and future applications that require a high-bandwidth
transport mechanism."

Newsbytes notes that, among managers of local area networks (LANs)
in corporate environments, higher network bandwidth
is in increased demand. However, cost is an increasing factor with
users wanting to maintain their existing financial investments in
wiring and network management.

The companies say that products developed will be an extension
of their work in the Fast Ethernet Alliance. According to the
companies, "this migration path will allow users to incrementally
apply 100Mbps when and where needed, while retaining 10Mbps
if desired."

The companies maintain that the agreement formalizes existing
relationships between the two companies. Both companies are
charter members of the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF),
which has developed the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) to
standardize the management of PC components, software, and
networked peripherals. Both companies have products that will
utilize the DMI.

Said Tarrant to Newsbytes, "The importance [of the deal for
SynOptics] is that we are focused as a hub vendor, and are not
in the business of providing the adaptor cards. In order to
drive the market, we have to team with a partner to provide
a complete solution to our customers. Intel being the number
two adaptor card vendor, we are working with them."

(Ian Stokell/19931213/Press Contact: Nancy Pressel,
408-765-4483, Intel Corp; Amanda Jaramillo, 408-764-1180,
SynOptics Communications Inc.)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00002)

SCO, Novell Expand Unix Deal; SCO & Sybase Certify 12/14/93
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- The Santa
Cruz Operation Inc. (SCO) and Novell Inc., have announced, what
the companies call the next phase in their "ongoing" program of
technology exchange and standardization that "aims to unify Unix
System software development for tools vendors and application
developers. SCO has also announced that Sybase has certified its
SQL Server Version 4.2 product, along with related relational
database management tools, for compatibility with the SCO Open
Systems Software release 3.0 line of Unix.

SCO and Novell say that the latest exchange of technology means
Novell will provide SCO with tool technologies that will "streamline
and standardize object-oriented application development." The
technologies implement the object module format specified by the
Tools Interface Standard (TIS) Portable Object File Format. In
addition, SCO will provide Novell with C compiler technologies
to help application developers comply with standards established
by X/Open.

Both firms plan to incorporate the technologies into development
system products scheduled for release in 1994.

The companies maintain that the new technology exchange builds
on past agreements between SCO and Novell to unify the Unix
system development environment. In 1990, SCO and Unix System
Laboratories (since acquired by Novell) agreed to implement
the Intel Binary Compatibility Standard Issue 2 (iBCS-2) to enable
developers to target multiple Unix system platforms with a
single binary application. In 1992, SCO licensed C++ and other
tools technologies from Novell.

According to Scott McGregor, SCO senior vice president for product
development. "Working with Novell, we have established extensive
compatibility between Unix implementations on Intel platforms."

In August Newsbytes reported that SCO had licensed Novell's
NetWare Unix client technology for use in its systems. The deal
called for the licensing of NetWare Unix client technology for use
in SCO workstation and server operating systems. The company
said at the time that the move will provide customers with new
options for accessing the Novell environment.

At the time SCO also said that NetWare Unix client technology will
enable users of SCO Open Desktop and SCO Open Server systems to
access files and resources that reside on NetWare servers. The
company said that NetWare client technology for SCO systems will
also allow software developers to write client/server applications
for networks of SCO clients and Novell servers.

According to SCO and Sybase, the certification deal ensures
customers compatibility and optimal database performance. In the
first quarter of 1994, Sybase says it will advance the relationship
further by making its System 10 products available for SCO Open
Systems Software.

Sybase has certified SQL Server release 4.2 and related products
for SCO Open Systems Software release 3.0: Open Client 4.2.5,
APT Workbench 4.0.3, Data Workbench 2.1, and SQR Workbench 2.1.

(Ian Stokell/19931213/Press Contact: Ellisheva Steiner,
408-427-7252, Santa Cruz Operation; Holly McArthur,
510/596-5375, Sybase Inc.)


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

Motorola Reportedly Seeking Chicago Plant Site 12/14/93
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- The British wire
service Reuters says Motorola is searching for a 100-acre site
where it could locate a high-tech manufacturing plant in the
Chicago area that would employ 300 workers.

The Reuters story quotes Crain's Chicago Business. Motorola
spokesperson Margo Brown told Newsbytes the company is
always looking for potential sites to handle future growth. She
declined to either confirm or deny the story, telling Newsbytes
"There is no deal."

That doesn't mean that Motorola isn't looking for property, but
only that the papers haven't been signed to acquire a site. Brown
told Newsbytes she spoke to Crain's Chicago Business and was
told that the source of the report was a Chicago-area real estate
firm. According to the unnamed source Motorola will select a site
by the first quarter of 1994.

Motorola has a cellular phone manufacturing plant in Libertyville,
a suburb of Chicago.

(Jim Mallory/19931213/Press contact: Motorola, Inc, 708-576-5304)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00004)

Atari's Posts Losses, Can't Meet Jaguar Demand Til '94 12/14/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Atari reported
larger losses than expected in its third quarter earnings,
despite the introduction of the widely heralded Jaguar compact
disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) game system. The company said
while it expects the Jaguar to pull it out of the red, it doesn't
expect to be profitable until 1994 when it says it will ship half
a million Jaguars.

Net losses were $17.6 million, or $0.31 per share, on net sales
of $4.4 million, compared to the $1.9 million profit reported on
$34.5 million in the same quarter last year. This means another
quarter of losses for Atari, who reported a net loss of $6.6
million, or $0.12 per share) on net sales of $5.7 million in the
second quarter 1993.

The losses are being attributed to write-offs of about $7.5
million of its own personal computers Atari has in inventory, as
well as write-offs of older video game products. Restructuring
costs of $6.4 million have also dug into the company's pockets
with the "wind-down" of its Australian operations and the
declining value of real estate in Europe owned by Atari.

Atari has been struggling for some time, and its stock prices
reflected that struggle with shares going for between $1 and $2
each -- until Jaguar. The big hope for Atari has been the Jaguar,
its $250 interactive, multimedia CD-ROM game machine that
connects to a television and could give its nearest competitor,
the $700 3DO system, a run for its money. In May Atari's stock
began to see life again and by the official announcement of
Jaguar in November, Atari's stock had reached a high of over $12 a
share.

But there was speculation at the release of the Jaguar in
November of this year that Atari might not be able to meet
demand. That has turned out to be the case.

IBM is contract manufacturing the unit in its Charlotte, North
Carolina facility, and Atari said initially it expected to ship
50,000 units before the holiday season, mostly to New York and
San Francisco stores. Now Atari has lowered those numbers to
20,000 units to ship before December 31, 1993 due to production
and supply problems. The disappointing shipments appear to have
hurt Atari's stock, as it has been falling steadily since the
November high, closing yesterday down an eighth at 6 and 7/8.

Sam Tramiel, Atari president, is still very optimistic. He said
the company can get 500,000 of the game machines out the door
next year, but qualified the numbers saying the shipments are
subject to market acceptance of the Jaguar, the availability of
parts to build the units, and the transition to volume
production. Atari is also pointing to cash reserves of $34
million, down only $1 million from the $35 million it had on June
30, 1993.

"The Company is in the process of completing its transition from
a historical focus on older technology consisting principally of
16-bit personal computers and 8-bit video game systems,"
according to Tramiel. Time Warner has a 25 percent stake in the
company, which is one of the biggest reasons some investors still
hold hope that the Sunnyvale, California headquartered company
has not made its transition too late.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931214/Press Contact: August Liguori, Atari,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00005)

Digitalk Releases Win32 Edition Of Parts Workbench 12/14/93
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Digitalk is
shipping a Win32 edition of Parts Workbench, a visual environment
for assembling, re-using, and combining software components
developed through a variety of programming languages and
technologies.

Dubbed "the first component client/server integration framework" by
Digitalk officials, Parts Workbench consists of the workbench and
a catalog of over 60 prebuilt visual and nonvisual components.

The new Win 32 version, a 32-bit environment for Windows 3.1 and
Windows NT, contains the same feature set as Parts Workbench for
OS/2, a product released by Digitalk in 1992. "Parts" is an
acronym for Parts Assembly and Reuse Tool Set.

The Win 32 edition can currently be used by itself or in
conjunction with Digitalk's Smalltalk/V object-oriented development
environment and Team/V workgroup configuration management system.

Over the next six months, Digitalk will deliver a line of
components for Parts Workbench for Win32 that will support other
languages and communications protocols, as well as relational
databases, according to the company.

The OS/2 edition of Parts now has components that support COBOL and
CICS, along with the Sybase, Oracle, DB2/2 and dBase relational
databases, officials said.

In addition, Digitalk is working through its Partners Program with
Smalltalk/V ISVs (independent software developers) and developers
who use other languages to provide assistance in creating third-
party components.

A three-step process is used to build applications in Parts. First,
the developer drags-and-drops the components from the catalog into
the workbench. Then, the components, or parts, are visually "wired
together." Finally, the application is run.

"Parts Workbench (allows developers) to modify and extend the
provided based components as well as create new ones. Components
can be combined, or nested, to produce new specialized components.
These features make Parts Workbench unique among visual development
systems," maintained Jim Anderson, company chairman and CEO.

Parts Workbench is list priced at $1,995, but available now for an
introductory price of $995. The product includes an online
tutorial, sample applications, and three user manuals: a
user's guide, a scripting language guide, and a reference for
developers who are currently using Smalltalk/V.

The purchase price also includes the right to distribute unlimited
runtime applications, and the right to deliver components based on
Parts Workbench without royalty payments to Digitalk.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931214/Reader contact: Digitalk, tel 310-645-
1082; Press contacts: Digitalk, tel [phone]; Donna Candelori,
Franson, Hagerty & Associates for Digitalk, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00006)

"Interactive Information Expo" Is Set For December '94 12/14/93
FORT LEE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Interactive
Information Expo, an event billed as the first world-class show and
conference devoted to interactive computing and media, will take
place December 6 to 8, 1994 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center
in New York City.

Bruno Blenheim Inc. (BBI), producer and manager of the new
extravaganza, is reserving 300,000 net square feet at the Javits
Center for exhibit space, and 195,000 gross square feet for
conference space.

An additional 150,000 gross square feet of the Javits will be used
for concurrent presentation of the first New York showing of
Blenheim's DB/Expo, a client-server and information technology expo
and conference that runs each year in San Francisco.

DB/Expo complements Blenheim's new offering because it addresses
database management disciplines that are key to interactive
computing and networking, Blenheim officials said.

Interactive Information Expo is known for short as "I-square"
(represented in print by a capital "I," followed by a "2" in
superscript).

Blenheim plans to preview the new event in a special two-day
showing on June 29 and 30, 1994 during the 12th annual PC Expo,
also at the Javits.

The "Advance Conference" in June will be comprised of introductory
and advanced-level tutorials, as well as demonstrations of
interactive computing and electronic media technologies by leading
vendors.

The event in December will feature the use of Blenheim's ShowNet
show network and special demonstration theaters for a global
interactive presentation of products in such categories as
telecommunications, data processing, networking, and multimedia.

"We are going forward with (Interactive Information Expo) based on
strong commitments from several trade magazines, top vendors and
associations who are now preparing programs for participation as
exhibitors and sponsors of special demonstration theaters
presenting various forms of interactive technology," reported Ralph
Ianuzzi, Sr., show director of Interactive Information Expo.

"All of the latest technologies will be internationally showcased
in real time, (and) selected seminars and tutorials (will) be
broadcast to an ancillary electronic audience of several hundred
thousand people throughout the world," he added.

BBI has been working on Interactive Information Expo now for
the past 12 months, according to Ianuzzi. Interactive business-
solution products are already on the market, and so are the
enabling data, audio and video technologies, he noted.

Industries ranging from financial trading and desktop publishing to
"long-distance learning" and "infotainment" will continue to be
affected by the growth of new products and services as well as
ongoing enhancements in the quantity and quality of information
delivery, he predicted.

BBI is the US IT (information technology) arm of Blenheim Group
PLC, a company that produces more than 260 events per year,
including 40 IT shows.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931214/Reader contact: Bruno Blenheim Inc., tel
201-346-1400; Press contacts: Annie Sculley, Bruno Blenheim, tel
201-346-1400, ext 145, or Mark Haviland, Bruno Blenheim, tel 201-
346-1400, ext 152)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00007)

Commence PIM For Stand-alone PCs 12/14/93
RED BANK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- A special entry-
level, stand-alone version of the Commence 2.0 personal information
manager (PIM) for Windows is now available from Jensen-Jones.

Commence Start-Up provides mobile and desktop PC users with many of
the same basic capabilities as the company's award-winning Commence
software for workgroups, but is easier to use and priced at only
$49.95, officials explained.

Each package performs such PIM tasks as organizing your contacts,
dialing the phone via the PC, maintaining your calendar with a
drag-and-drop scheduler, and creating customized views of
information.

Like Commence 2.0, Start-Up is based on agents, categories and
views. The agents provide a dialog-driven way of defining triggers
and actions for automating routine business tasks, improving data
management, or achieving better integration with other Windows
applications, according to the company.

Unlike the workgroup software, Start-Up does not support
networking. The stand-alone version also contains fewer
customization features.

Data created in Start-Up can be used in the full version of
Commence, though. In addition, Start-Up users can use agents that
have been customized in Commence 2.0. Start-Up also comes with
pre-built agents and categories.

To make sure the new entry-level version would be quick and
easy, Jensen-Jones conducted usability tests among users of
Commence 2.0 and Commence 1.1 to see how people approach Commence,
said company president, Craig Jensen.

"People who initially don't need all of Commence 2.0's powerful
customization features will instantly gravitate to Start-Up, and
breeze through the manual, which is less than 50 pages," he
asserted.

Jensen-Jones is actively seeking OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) agreements with major manufacturers to bundle
Commence Start-Up with their new PC models, according to Jensen.

The company also foresees the combined use of the Start-Up
stand-alone and Commence 2.0 client-and-server versions within
corporate MIS (management information systems) departments.

"We hope to give companies a quicker, easier way to gain the
benefits of using Commence 2.0. Corporate developers can create
company-wide or departmental customized agents, categories and
views, which can then be deployed to end-users with Start-Up,
following a runtime-like model," Jensen said.

Start-Up users can upgrade to a full Commence 2.0 network client
version for $149. The network client version of Commence 2.0 is
list priced at $395.

RedBank, NJ-based Jensen-Jones Inc., was founded in 1988. Many of
the core features of Commence are based on IBM Current, a PIM
developed by Jensen-Jones and published by IBM. PC Magazine named
IBM Current as among the "Best of 1989," and presented the package
with the "Editor's Choice: PIMs" award for 1990.

Commence 1.1 was a winner in Windows Magazine's "Win 100" awards
for 1993. Also this year, Commence 2.0 was a finalist in PC
Computing Magazine's annual MVP Awards.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19931214/Reader contact: Jensen-Jones Inc., tel
908-530-4666; Press contact: Brenda Nichols, Parker, Nichols &
Company for Jensen-Jones, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

Japan's Computer Education Far Behind, Says Survey 12/14/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- In a surprising twist on
popular perception, a new survey indicates that Japan's
personal computer education programs for its schoolchildren
are among the worst in 55 developed countries.

Japan's Educational Achievement Evaluation Association reports
last year's survey of the educational practices of 55 countries
indicated that Japanese junior high school students
averaged only 49 points out of a total of 100 points while
students in Australia and Germany achieved 69 points. In the
Netherlands, the students scored 67 points, and US students
scored 61 points.

Among senior high school students, Japanese students
were pegged at 65 points, Australian students at 86 points and
US students at 72 points.

In Japan, the testing was performed at the National Education
Laboratory and involved students in elementary schools,
junior and senior high schools.

The report concludes that Japan's poor showing is the result of
inadequate computer facilities in Japanese schools. Currently,
about 71 percent of junior high schools and 90 percent of senior
high schools are equipped with the personal computers. However,
until recently, that figure was much lower and many schools
were not equipped with PCs. For instance, until recently only
35 percent of Japan's junior high schools were equipped with
PCs.

The research does not only finger the lack of computers in Japanese
schools for the disappointing figures. Teachers are also to
blame, according to the report. Not many school teachers in
Japan can handle the teaching of computers. As a result, only
19 percent of elementary, 32 percent of junior high school
students, and 49 percent of senior high schools students were
given computer lessons last year.

The Japanese government is planning to send engineers to
schools next year to assist teachers in computer curriculum.
Also, the government is planning to install more PCs over the
next two to three years in Japan's school system.

Japan did come out on top in one area of the study -- it has
installed in schools the most powerful PCs, on average, compared
to schools in 55 other countries. The report says that most of
Japan's academic computers have 16-bit processors.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19931214)


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

Dell's Pentium-based PC Family 12/14/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Dell Computer
Corporation has announced a new family of Pentium-based PCs,
the Omniplex 560 and 566.

The company says the new systems are designed for the "techno-
critical" user, someone Dell defines as a user who typically works
in a mission-critical corporate environment and requires
advanced features and system performance.

The new Omniplex systems are based on Intel's Peripheral
Component Interconnect (PCI) architecture and Extended Industry
Standard Architecture (EISA) and use Pentium 60 and 66-
megahertz (MHz) processors. The systems include Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI)-II disk subsystems for high
speed data throughput; accelerated video and graphics
performance via an integrated high resolution PCI video
subsystem; processor thermal shutdown; flash memory;
embedded diagnostics; and password protection features.

The company says the new systems are ideal for applications
such as software development, financial analysis, computer-
aided design (CAD) and other engineering disciplines including
floating point-intensive applications such as three-dimensional
modeling.

Dell says the Omniplex systems can also be configured as
Pentium PowerPublishing workstations, PCs that package
leading Windows desktop publishing software and high-
resolution color peripherals with the desktop PCs. The publishing
systems include Windows 3.1, Adobe Photoshop for Windows
2.5, Adobe Illustrator for Windows 4.0 with Adobe Typealign and
Adobe Streamline, Adobe Type Manger with 200 fonts, and a
choice of QuarkXPress for Windows 3.12 or Aldus Pagemaker 5.0.

The Omniplex systems come with one year, guaranteed next-
business-day, on-site service, and toll-free around-the-clock
telephone support. Dell guarantees response to support calls
within five minutes.

A Omniplex 560 with 8MB of system memory, a 120MB hard drive,
one 3.5-inch floppy disk, one megabyte of video RAM, a 256K
cache memory, super VGA color monitor, and factory-
installed DOS 6.1 and Windows 3.1 has a price tag of $3,499. A
model 566 with a similar configuration sells for $3,999. Both
systems include two serial ports, one parallel port, a keyboard,
mouse and VGA port. There are five expansion slots available, and
Dell can factory-install tape backup devices, CD-ROM drives,
modems, network interface cards, and a variety of software.

(Jim Mallory/19931214/Press contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell Computer,
512-728-4100; Reader contact: Dell Computer Corp, 800-289-3355
or 512-728-4400, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00010)

Wordperfect Ships Software Developer Kits 12/14/93
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Wordperfect
Corporation has announced two software developer kits (SDKs)
designed to aid developers who write software that integrates
with Wordperfect products.

The Wordperfect 6.0 for Windows SDK features WordPerfect's
new writing tools application programming interface (API), which
enhances the macro language and Wordperfect Shared Code 2.0.

The Shared Code 2.0 for Windows is a shared library of routines
used by all WordPerfect Windows products that provides third
party integrators access to the code used by Wordperfect
Corporation developers. The company says including the shared
code will expedite the development process and give third party
applications the look and feel of a Wordperfect Corporation
product. Ed Shropshire, WPCorp product marketing manager for
developer tools, says all Wordperfect products will support
Shared Code 2.0 by the spring of 1994.

The File Format SDK, which is available to developers who are
willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement with WordPerfect,
contains documentation defining the WordPerfect 6.0 format and
the Wordperfect Graphic File Format.

SDK users have access to personal technical assistance from the
Wordperfect Developer Support Group, and the company plans to
establish a special developer forum on its SpaceWorks online
information service accessible via modem. Developers can
navigate through WordPerfect's support database using
Spaceworks software that runs under Windows.

Earlier this fall Wordperfect announced assistance with marketing
and non-support technical needs for developers who participate
in the Working with Wordperfect Program, a developer relations
program.

Each of the newly released SDKs are available directly from
Wordperfect Corp for $149 and are immediately available. The
Wordperfect 6.0 for DOS SDK is scheduled to ship in mid-January
1994.

(Jim Mallory/19931214/Press contact: Deborah Hendrickson,
Wordperfect Corp, 801-228-5022; Reader contact: Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-225-5000 or 800-321-4566 (to order SDKs) or
801-225-5000 or 800-451-5151 (for SDK info)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00011)

GATT Agreed On, But Crippled 12/14/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- GATT, the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a multilateral international
agreement which will lower trade barriers between more than 100
countries, has apparently cleared the final hurdle on its long
seven-year journey to acceptance, but only at the cost of many
very important agreements which have been set aside for later
negotiation.

All it took at the end was for the US to agree to drop its
demands that Europe open up its market to US movies and
television programs and demands that the EC stop subsidizing
aircraft builders - two areas where the US is highly
competitive.

After an all-night negotiating session in Geneva, Switzerland,
US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and EC Trade Commissioner
Sir Leon Brittan announced this morning that both aircraft
subsidies and Hollywood's access to European markets would be set
aside for later negotiations.

Sir Leon called GATT a "milestone in world trade" and Mickey
Kantor said that it would "expand US exports which now support
one in 10 jobs [in this country].

The draft agreement is about 500 pages long so every detail isn't
yet widely known, but most of the major features are well
understood.

It has been a long, strange road even to get the weakened GATT
which is now apparently possible.

The French say that US films and TV threaten European culture
at a time when French-made films have no real viable
international market.

Japanese farmers say that importation of much less expensive US
food would threaten Japanese culture.

French farmers, who rioted at the threat of having to face
competition, caused the French government to block
the trade agreement for years, even after the EC and the US
reached what is known as the Blair House Agreement that
supposedly settled the major problems.

Japanese rice farmers, who this year failed to grow enough food
for domestic consumption despite charging nearly four times world
rice prices to their domestic customers, are now calling for the
resignation of the current government based on the Prime
Minister's announcement yesterday that up to 4-percent of the
total Japanese rice consumption could come from imports, with an
eventual target of 8-percent.

Other agreements will see the Japanese remove actual trade
barriers which essentially made it impossible to import other
foods from the US, most notably wheat, barley, and dairy products.
Unfortunately these barriers will be replaced by high tariffs on
imported food.

The US has four major products that people and companies in
other countries desperately want to buy: aircraft, computer
software, entertainment, and food. The final draft GATT
agreement is very weak in all of these areas, setting aside
entertainment for later bilateral negotiations, keeping EC
aircraft subsidies at the current level, and only opening up
agriculture slightly.

As for computer software, US publishers are badly hurt by
current weak intellectual property (copyright) protection in
other countries which either don't outlaw software piracy or
don't enforce existing laws. This intellectual property
protection will apparently not be strengthened for many years
under the draft GATT agreement.

Just to keep things in perspective, we are discussing not just
one, but many governments, so although the Clinton Administration
has what is referred to as "fast track" authorization from
Congress to negotiate this trade pack, that doesn't mean that
GATT will go into effect any time soon. The leverage offered by
the chance that Congress will not approve GATT may be all the
leverage US negotiators have to pressure the EC during
bilateral trade talks on television and movies.

What happens next, presuming that GATT really is signed by the
trade negotiators before the Wednesday midnight (Washington time)
expiration of US fast track approval?

Look for the agreement to be initialed by President Clinton by
April, 1994, but that only starts the legislative process because
the White House must then begin writing what is called "enabling
legislation," the actual US law which will be submitted to
Congress for passage and implementation of the GATT agreement.

Once this implementing language is codified and presented to
Congress for a vote, then the fast track comes into effect
because Congress then has only 90 days to vote GATT up or down.

Since this would put the job of implementing this legislation
into the highly political Congress during an election season, it
is thought by many Washington observers that GATT won't even be
submitted for legislative vote until early 1995.

Since trade barriers wouldn't go down until after GATT is finally
approved by all signatory countries, improvement in international
trade won't actually take place for years. Despite this, stock
markets are expected to react positively almost immediately.

(John McCormick/19931214/)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00012)

Lorall Buys Big Blue Problems 12/14/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Yesterday's big news
was that defense contractor Lorall had purchased IBM's Bethesda,
Maryland-based Federal Systems division for about $500 million
more than expected, and the stock prices for both companies went
up. Today's news is that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)
has ordered a review of the massive cost overruns which have
taken place in a major computer upgrade project being
managed for the federal agency by IBM's Federal
Systems division.

Washington insiders have long seen trouble coming for IBM on this
contract which has encountered cost overruns at almost every turn
and is currently thought to be about $1.2 to $2.2 billion over
budget on a total contract which was only supposed to run about
$2.6 billion. The remainder of the estimated $4.6 billion total
contract value is from optional contracts which have not yet
been implemented.

The FAA modernization program, which began as a contract bid in
1986 and awarded in 1988, was intended to put inexpensive PCs on
the desks in airport control towers and navigation centers
replacing relatively ancient mainframe computers. The resulting
network, if it is ever built, would be the largest network ever
implemented and costs have soared as unforeseen (or unbudgeted)
problems developed.

One of the major problems with this contract, as so often
happens, is that the contracting agency has changed its
specifications many times during this years-long process, but FAA
insiders have often complained that IBM's work on the network was
also not up to par.

Another problem, of course, is that the management of the FAA has
totally changed due to the Clinton Administration's replacement
of both FAA and Transportation Department heads after the
election, but this problem is mostly IBM's because, since they
were not involved in awarding the contract or supervising its
implementation, the new administrators have no vested interest in
seeing a bad contract completed and were expected to be much more
likely to take a critical look at this contract.

(John McCormick/19931214/)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00013)

US Navy Pushes CD-ROM 12/14/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Continuing a year-
long process, the US Navy has recently reinforced its move to
optical data storage for ships by designating CD-ROM as the
preferred method of storing documents.

SIGCAT (Special Interest Group, CD-ROM Applications Technology)
members have had glimpses into the military's CD-ROM orientation
for years, ranging from the Navy's tests that placed all ships'
documents on CD-ROMs for rapid updating and access of critical
information to the Defense Intelligence Agency's mapping of the
entire world on CD-ROMs.

A recent report in Government Computer News indicates that now
the Navy's upper command has instructed both Navy and Marine
Corps units that CD-ROM is to be the preferred media for
publication of all databases, technical manuals, and periodically
distributed reference data.

The US Government is one of the largest publishers in the world
and the Pentagon is perhaps its largest separate publishing
entity so a decision by a branch of the military to encourage or
even mandate optical-digital publishing instead of paper printing
is a major event with important cost-saving and paper-saving
implications.

(John McCormick/19931214/)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

FCC Allocates Spectrum for Low Earth Orbit Satellites 12/14/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- The Federal
Communications Commission allocated 33 MHz of spectrum to be used
for low-Earth orbit satellite services like those proposed by
Iridium Inc., and others. Licensing of the frequencies will occur
later.

Two frequency bands were allocated, one between 1610 and 1626.5
MHz and a second between 2483.5 and 2500 MHz. Companies which
want to offer either low-Earth orbit or geostationary orbit
satellite services can apply for the frequencies. Services would
include voice, fax and data applications including mobile
telephone uses, personal locator services, inventory control and
fleet monitoring. The satellites could also provide nationwide
mobile telephony, which the agency in a press statement says will
increase competition in the cellular phone market and could lead
to development of other new services. The agency noted these are
the same bands allocated on a worldwide basis by the World
Administrative Radio Conference in 1992, which acted on a request
from Iridium.

In other action, the FCC said it would ask 35 more cable
television operators to report on their ratemaking process, part
of an ongoing study of cable rates following reregulation of the
industry through the 1992 Cable Act. Major operators being asked
for information in the rate case include CableVision, Century
Cable, Adelphia Cable, Comcast, TCI, Time Warner Cable, and
United Artists Cable, as well as smaller companies. The industry
has been accused by critics of violating the government's freeze
on revenues, "negative option" billing in which consumers are
billed for additional channels unless they specifically request
not to have them, and per-channel pricing aimed at evading
regulation.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931214/Press Contact: Rosemary Kimball, FCC
Press, 202-632-5050)


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

America Online Claims 500,000 Members 12/14/93
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- America Online
said it now has over 500,000 subscribers, more than 130 percent
over last year. Almost 150,000 subscribers have joined America
Online in the past 90 days alone, the company said. In a press
statement, President Steve Case reiterated the company's goal
of becoming the largest online service provider in the US. AOL
is currently the third-largest consumer service after CompuServe
and Prodigy.

Case gave credit to his simplified pricing policy, Internet
Center, and the bundling of the service with newspapers like the
Chicago Tribune. The company also launched services under
Microsoft Windows and began alliances with makers of PDAs and
cable television companies.

AOL is the only major online service to be publicly traded.
Nearly one-quarter of the company's stock is held by Paul Allen,
co-founder of Microsoft and now head of Asymetrix. Allen had
indicated earlier this year he wanted to take over the company,
but after meetings with company officials he backed off.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931214/Press Contact: Jean Villanueva,
America Online, 703-883-1675)


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

New Study Says Cellular Phones Safe 12/14/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- While 70 scientists
meet to plot further studies into cellular phone safety, the
industry is touting a new study indicating radiation levels from
hand-held cellular phones do not exceed current safe levels set
by the government.

The controversy started a year ago when David Reynaud of Florida
sued cellular phone makers charging their use caused the fatal
brain cancer of his wife. The level of controversy rose when
Reynaud appeared on the "Larry King Live" show, leading to a
hammering of stocks for both cellphone makers and system
operators on major exchanges. Those prices have since recovered.

The new study, conducted by Dr. Om Gandhi of the University of
Utah's electrical engineering department, looked at 10 handheld
phones from four makers, using computer simulations,
anatomically based models and magnetic resonance imaging. Gandhi
found that "Most electromagnetic absorption occurred in the upper
part of the ear, consisting mostly of cartilage, and the skin
behind it, with rapidly diminishing absorption for nearby tissues
in the head." And the level of radiation was just 20-25 percent
of the safety limits set by the government for radiation
absorption.

Perhaps more important to the industry, according to Scientific
Advisory Group spokesman Michael Volpe, is the presence at the
symposium of Food and Drug Administration officials who had
previously criticized the make-up of the SAG and its research
methodology. The meeting "is being co-chaired by the FDA" and
officials who launched the criticism in August. "It would be safe
to say the government has thrown its weight behind the research
program," Volpe said. Among those speakers is Dr. Elizabeth
Jacobson, deputy director for science in the agency's center for
devices and radiological health, who had declined an invitation
to attend some SAG planning meetings in September because of the
controversy.

The SAG's task this week is to come up with a research agenda
which will go through peer review in January. The group's
chairman, Dr. George Carlo, called them "phase one" studies aimed
squarely at questions where "there is a consensus that more
scientific work needs to be done." These include measurement of
the specific absorption rates for various types of cellphone
users, and a large-scale health study of groups of portable
cellphone users across the US. The group will also request
proposals for research into possible genetic effects of waves at
levels the FCC now considers safe. The most recent studies were
funded by the National Institutes of Health and McCaw Cellular.

At a press conference on the subject, Dr. Carlos indicated the
current literature doesn't indicate a problem with cellular phone
safety, adding that doesn't say further research isn't needed,
Volpe told Newsbytes. Government officials, however, did not
attend the conference and officially their position is that not
enough is known to draw conclusions about the phones.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19931214/Press Contact: SAG, Michael Volpe,
703-534-5022)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00017)

Microsoft Says Foxpro For Mac Will Ship In January 12/14/93
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation says it has released Microsoft Foxpro version 2.5 for
Apple Computer's Macintosh platform to manufacturing and
expects to begin shipping the database management system in
January 1994.

Roger Heinen, Microsoft senior VP of the database and
development tools division, says Foxpro for Mac is a major
upgrade from the current Foxbase+ product and was developed
in response to requests from Macintosh database users. The
program has extensive support for the Macintosh System 7
operating system capabilities.

According to Microsoft its query optimization technology, called
Rushmore, makes Foxpro the fastest database available for
Macintosh. The company says Foxpro 2.5 outperformed both
4th Dimension and Claris' Filemaker Pro databases in a
suite of performance benchmarks conducted by third party
database consulting firm Micro Endeavors. Microsoft says the
performance tests showed Foxpro to be 36 times faster on
average than 4th Dimension and Filemaker in single-table, single-
user tests. In multi-user, multi-table benchmarks, Foxpro
reportedly performance an average of seven times faster than 4th
Dimension.

With the release of Foxpro for Mac, the database program is now
available for Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, and DOS-
based systems. Microsoft says Foxpro for SCO Unix and Xenix is
scheduled to ship in mid-1994.

Foxpro offers cross-platform compatibility -- users on
different platforms have the ability to share data
simultaneously. Applications developed in Foxpro on one of the
platforms can run unchanged on any of the other platforms,
according to Microsoft, including the Unix and Xenix versions
when they are released.

That cross-platform compatibility can be a major benefit to
developers and users alike. For developers, one application can
be used on any of the platforms. For users data an be shared
across platforms without modification, and only one database
management system has to be supported, and training can be
standardized without regard to platform.

Microsoft also announced a professional version of Foxpro 2.5
for the Mac, which allows developers to distribute stand-alone
applications royalty free and write libraries in C or C++ that are
callable from Foxpro. Microsoft says the Pro version is scheduled
to be upgraded to allow development of client-server applications
through Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) in the first quarter
of 1994.

Foxpro has a screen builder that supports more than 16 different
screen objects such as buttons, picture control, check boxes,
popup lists, and radio buttons to make it easier to create
applications that take advantage of the graphical user interface.
The program also has a report writer, menu builder and editor.

Like most of the latest versions of Microsoft programs, Foxpro
includes Wizards that aid users in creating screens reports and
graphs by answering simple questions.

There is also a Foxpro Query by Example tool that allows the user
to create queries that group, sort and perform calculations on
database records or subsets of records by pointing and clicking .

Support for System 7 allows Foxpro to integrate with other
Microsoft applications such as the spreadsheet program
Microsoft Excel through Apple's AppleEvents. Foxpro also
supports the Quicktime application, the ability to call Xcommands
and XFunctions, TrueType fonts, 32-bit addressing, and the
Balloon Help program. Object linking and embedding and
importation of 4th Dimension and Filemaker Pro data is also
supported.

Microsoft says that the suggested retail price of Fox Pro 2.5 for
Mac is $495, but the company is offering it at the special
introductory price of $99 through June 30, 1994. Professional
Edition is scheduled to ship in February and will have a
suggested retail price of $695. Current licensees of Foxbase+ for
Mac and Foxbase+ run time version can upgrade to Foxpro
Professional Edition for $295 through April 30, 1994. French and
German versions are scheduled to ship in the second quarter of
1994.

System requirements include a Mac with a 68020 or better
processor, System 7 or higher, and at least four megabytes of
system memory.

(Jim Mallory/19931214/Press contact: Catherine Miller, Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00018)

Cyrix-TI Honeymoon Apparently Over 12/14/93
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- The honeymoon
between Cyrix Corporation and Texas Instruments apparently
ended this week when TI brought suit against Cyrix, charging the
chip designer failed to live up to the intellectual property
exchange deal agreed upon nearly three years ago. Cyrix
countersued, charging that TI breached the agreement by not
providing Cyrix with chips in the quantities called for in
their agreement.

In February 1991 the two companies agreed that Texas
Instruments would manufacture microprocessors designed by
Cyrix. In exchange, Cyrix would sell designs of its chips to Texas
instruments so TI could manufacture the chips under the TI brand
name. The agreement was the catalyst that broke the virtual lock
on the chip market held by Intel Corporation until competition
from Cyrix chips forced Intel to lower its prices in order to
compete with Cyrix.

"What this case boils down to is that we simply want Cyrix to live
up to its promises. We have lived up to our side of the
agreement," Thomas Engibous, president of TI's Semiconductor
Group was quoted as saying.

The Cyrix suit asks the Texas State District Court of Dallas
County to confirm that TI breached the agreement, and asks the
court for a cease-and-desist order that would stop TI from making
and selling Cyrix-designed microprocessors for its own account.
It also requests return of all Cyrix intellectual property in TI's
possession including microcode, and that royalty payments to
Cyrix be brought up to date.

Cyrix first marketed a 486-class microprocessor manufactured by
Texas Instruments in February 1992. The company was started by
former TI engineers. The TI suit was filed in the Court of
Chancery in Delaware and asks the court to compel Cyrix to
provide the design technology and manufacturing specifications
for its 486SX and 486DX chips.

Cyrix says it "put TI in the microprocessor business" in 1992 with
its 486SLC chip and gave TI the 486DLC chip in an attempt to get
negotiations back on track. "We will no longer let TI piggyback on
our success when they continue to refuse to contribute to the
relationship," said Jerry Rogers, president and CEO of Cyrix. "TI
is on its own in trying to support its previously sold product."

Cyrix announced this week that it will supply Swan Technologies
with x86 microprocessors for Swan's entire line of Cynergy
computer systems. The new Swan line will include 486 desktop
systems, 486 mini towers, and multimedia PCs.

(Jim Mallory/19931214/Press contact: Michelle Moody, Cyrix
Corp, 214-994-8388)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00019)

Toshiba Consolidation Moves TIC HQ To Houston 12/14/93
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Toshiba
International Corporation (TIC), a subsidiary of Toshiba America,
is joining the number of US companies moving to Texas. The
company said it is relocating its main office in San Francisco,
California and its Instrument division in Tulsa, Oklahoma to join
its Industrial Division in Houston.

Toshiba says the move is part of its efforts to consolidate
operations and thereby strengthen profitability and productivity.
TIC is not moving out of California, however, as its Utility
Division and the Procurement and Export Division of Toshiba
America have both been consolidated into the Toshiba America MRI
Inc. (TAMI) facility in South San Francisco.

TIC, established in 1967 as a marketing arm of Toshiba,
has manufactured low, medium and high voltage motors, motor starters
and power electronic products such as uninterruptible power
supplies and inverters at the Houston plant for over 10 years.
Since that time, TIC has expanded to include 735 employees and 11
regional sales offices across the country. In addition to
its sales in the United States, TIC exports about
15% of its products to Canada, South America and Central America
and says it is promoting export projects to Europe and Japan.

Apple USA, a division of Cupertino, California-based Apple
Computer has denied reports it is moving entirely to Texas, but
the company is purchasing a large site for expansion of
operations currently in rental facilities just outside Austin.
Company officials have said it is expected some of the Apple USA
operations will be moved to the Texas facility, but how much or
when is unknown.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931214/Press Contact: Rebecca Cradick, Toshiba
America, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00020)

India's Telecom Monopoly To Be Privatized In January 12/14/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Come January,
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL), India's government-owned
overseas telecommunications monopoly, will sell off
36 million shares to foreign investors, and raise US $1 billion.
This will result in dilution of the Government's stake in
VSNL to 52 percent.

The VSNL Euro-issue, worth $500 million, is the largest ever
attempted by any Indian company in Europe and may be stepped up by
$300 million more. Most of the foreign firms that have applied
have expressed the opinion that the issue is underpriced.

Salomon Brothers (Hong Kong) and Kleinworth Beacon (London)
will lead-manage the $500-million Euro-issue. State Bank of
India (SBI) will act as an advisor to VSNL.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19931210)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00021)

Novell Cuts NetWare 3.12 Price; HP Endorses UnixWare 12/14/94
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Novell has cut the cost
of upgrading from NetWare 3.11 to a same-user count of NetWare
version 3.12. In other Novell news, Hewlett-Packard Co., has
endorsed Novell's UnixWare operating system running on Intel
microprocessor-based systems to be clients to HP-UX PA-RISC
servers.

In announcing the price cut, Bob Young, vice president of
marketing for Novell's NetWare products division, said: "While
many NetWare 3.11 customers are upgrading to NetWare 4, and
while we expect that trend to increase, NetWare 3.12 offers a
solid upgrade path for those customers choosing to stay
current with the NetWare product line. By reducing the cost
of upgrades, Novell is making it easier for NetWare 3.11
customers to take advantage of the increased performance,
updated utilities, and bundled network services that NetWare
3.12 provides. NetWare 3.12 provides an ideal upgrade path
for our NetWare 2.x customers as well."

Only "like-user" to "like-user" upgrade prices apply. For example,
a customer would have to upgrade from a 50-user version of
NetWare 3.11 to a 50-user version of NetWare 3.12. The company
says that prices to upgrade from NetWare 3.11 to a higher user
count of NetWare 3.12 remain unchanged.

Same-user count upgrade prices are: a five-user version of
NetWare 3.11 to a five-user version of NetWare 3.12 is now
$395, down from $495; a ten-user upgrade is down to $595
from $1,015; a 50-user pack is down to $996 from $2,035;
a 100-user upgrade is down to $1,395 from $2,845; and a
250-user upgrade is $2,495, down from $5,085.

According to the company, version 3.12 offers a number of
advantages over the previous version, including: performance
enhancements, such as support for packet burst and large
internet packets; it comes with bundled copies of Basic MHS
and Netware for Macintosh; updated Novell and third-party
local area network (LAN) and disk drivers; updated print
and management utilities; CD-ROM installation; and
compatibility with NetWare 3.11 NetWare Loadable Modules
(NLMs) that use Novell's standard APIs (application
programming interfaces).

HP and Novell have also reached an agreement to leverage their
COSE activities to increase the system integration between
HP 9000 business servers running the HP-UX OS and Intel-based
client computers running UnixWare.

The deal means that users who rely on HP client/server systems
will be able to integrate PCs as Unix clients interoperating with
HP workstations. The companies claim that users will benefit
from expanded access to applications and services provided from
HP-UX PS-RISC servers and more choices for deploying client/
server environments.

In announcing the endorsement, William P. Roelandts, senior vice
president and general manager of the Computer Systems
Organization at HP, said: "The seamless integration of UnixWare
with HP 9000 HP-UX servers and clients will give customers
the interoperability they require. UnixWare is the glue that
enables customers to integrate their PCs into an open systems
enterprise."

The two companies also say they have agreed to "explore ways
to extend the integration between HP-UX and UnixWare." They
also plan to "further integrate in the areas of development and
delivery of software, and the management of client systems."
They also intend to cooperate in a series of marketing and sales
programs.

(Ian Stokell/19931213/Press Contact: Kelly Hindley,
801-429-5870, Novell Inc.)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00022)

No Hands Software Ships Common Ground For Windows 12/14/93
BELMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- In its ongoing
battle with Adobe Systems in the electronic document distribution
market, No Hands Software is set to ship the Windows version of
Common Ground this week. The company claims that the product
is "the first commercially available, cross-platform competition
to Adobe Acrobat."

The firm maintains that Common Ground 1.0 for Windows retains
all of the important features found in the company's Macintosh
version, which was shipped in May, 1993. Features include an
embeddable, free, compact MiniViewer, and pixel-for-pixel fidelity
to the original document. The product also offers full Postscript
support, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) compression,
and the ability to save documents into popular word processing
formats for editing.

The company says that Common Ground also acts as an OLE
(object linking and embedding) 2.0 server, providing "seamless"
integration into other applications such as electronic mail and
databases.

In announcing the shipments, Tony Stayner, vice president of
marketing at No Hands Software, said: "Common Ground users can
send documents with confidence they can be viewed and printed,
because Common Ground lets them include a small, free MiniViewer,
which runs on a minimal system configuration. Also, Common
Ground users can always count on an exact representation of their
original document, because Common Ground works well with all
font types including TrueType, PostScript, and international
character sets."

The company claims that, in contrast, Adobe Acrobat requires that
viewers be installed everywhere a user wants to send a document.

No Hands says it has incorporated Zenographics' ZScript PostScript
processor technology into Common Ground 1.0 for Windows to
provide full PostScript support. Users can also "distill" Common
Ground documents from any PostScript file, in order to get
documents from other platforms into Common Ground's platform-
independent format, where they can be viewed and printed.

Built-in JPEG compression is also included, for compressing
continuous-tone grey scale and color images in order to reduce
the size of files.

According to the company, Common Ground is an electronic
document distribution program that lets users "convert any
document to an exact representation of the original that can be
viewed, searched and printed by anyone regardless of application,
computer, and fonts."

Two major components make up Common Ground: a Maker and a
Viewer. The CG Maker converts any document from any application
to DigitalPaper, a platform independent file, which can be viewed
and printed by anyone with a Common Ground viewer. The Common
Ground Viewer features copy and paste options, text
searching, zoom capabilities, navigational tools, OLE 2.0 server
support, and on-line help. The MiniViewer features viewing and
printing only.

Common Ground for Windows requires Windows 3.1, a 386
microprocessor or faster and two megabytes (MB) of RAM (4MB
recommended). Using the CG PostScript Extension requires
4MB of RAM (6MB recommended).

The company is offering the Windows and Macintosh versions
immediately for a special introductory price of $99.95. That goes
up to $189.95 after the introduction.

No Hands plans to give 500 complimentary copies to user groups
and through online services for a small shipping and handling
charge. For more information, interested parties are advised by
the company to check the No Hands forum on America Online.

As reported by Newsbytes, the Windows version of Common
Ground was officially announced at Seybold Conference and
Exposition '93 in October.

Until products such as Acrobat and Common Ground, electronic
information distribution across different computer platforms was
usually limited to text files -- the "lowest-common-denominator"
file type, which doesn't allow documents to retain formatting
or graphics. Acrobat and Common Ground allow users to send
formatted documents created on their computers to any other
computer -- even if it uses a different operating system and
even if the recipient has neither the original software nor the
original fonts.

(Ian Stokell/199312140/Press Contact: Tony Stayner,
415-802-5800/No Hands Software)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

Deutsche Telekom Making Loss On Mobile Telephony 12/14/93
BONN, GERMANY, 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Who said mobile telephony was
a "licence to print money?" Not Detomobile, the mobile telephony
division of Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, which has announced that
it will not turn in a profit during the current calendar year.

According to Detomobile, while the analog C-Net mobile phone
operation -- in common with all European analog phone networks --
is making money, even after paying off the capital investment in
the network, the cost of installing the digital D1 network more
than offsets this profit.

Industry experts suggest that the high cost of rolling the D1
network about across both former Western and Eastern Germany has
cost Detomobile more money than it expected. Call revenue on Global
System for Mobile telephony (GSM) networks has not been what many
telecoms operators had expected, owing to the relatively high cost
of the hardware involved.

In the UK, for example, a hand portable analog cellular phone costs
in the region of UKP 400, whereas a typical GSM handportable costs
about 50 percent more. Similar price variances are applicable in
other countries, Newsbytes understands.

Detomobile says that it should break even with its network during
1994 and hit a profit, even on its D1 network, in the following
year.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931214/Press & Public Contact: DBT - Tel: +49-228-
1810; fax: [phone])


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

Romania Buys South African Payphone Technology 12/14/93
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA, 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Romtelecom, the Romania
state telecom operator, has announced that it has purchased around
800 card-operated payphones from Telkor, the South African telecom
equipment company.

The move will come as a surprise to many telecom industry
watchers, as South Africa has been largely ostracized from the
international telecom equipment market owing to the political
situation there.

Expert opinion suggests, however, that Telkor has pitched for the
contract very hard and Romtelecom, given the state of the Romanian
economy, has gone for the best deal possible.

According to Romtelecom, the 800 payphones were purchased at around
US$900 each, which is around half of the going rate for card-
operated payphones in the US and UK, Newsbytes notes.

According to Adrian Nicolae, the head of Romtelecom's telephone
network, most of Bucharest's 6,000-odd coin-operated payphones are
in very poor condition, mostly owing to vandalism and theft. "We
want to improve telephone services in Bucharest and replace public
phones in operation at present, which are technically and morally
worn-out, with modern, smart phones," Nicolae is quoted as saying.

If the first stage of the project goes well, then Romtelecom will
purchase another 1,200 phones from Telkor during 1994, for
installation in other Romanian cities.

Newsbytes understands that the bulk of the contract is being
financed by a 142 million European Currency Unit (ECU) loan from the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which was agreed
in 1991. It has taken Romtelecom two years to decide on which
cardphone technology to adopt.

According to Nicolae, an initial quality of 800,000 prepaid debit
cards have been purchased from Gem Plus, the French card supplier,
for use in the Telkor phones. Further supplies will, Newsbytes
understands, be contracted out as and when required.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931214/Press & Public Contact: Romtelecom - Tel:
[phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00025)

Switzerland - Siemens Subsidiary Still Stable 12/14/93
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Siemens-Albis, the Swiss
subsidiary of Siemens AG of Germany, has announced that it has
weathered the European recession well, and will turn in a profit of
SFr 27.8 million for the year to 30 September, 1993 -- the same
level of profit as reported a year ago.

According to Siemens-Albis, the 1992/93 profits were on the back of
sales of SFr 1,273 million for the year, an increase of 4.3 percent
on the previous year. The slight reduction in overall profitability,
the company says, is due to orders having slipped by almost eight
percent in the year, meaning that sales for 1993/94 are likely to be
down on the year to date, unless orders pick up.

Siemens-Albis concentrates on a similar mix of business as its
German parent, including large contracts in the telecoms and
electronics business, as well as smaller contracts in the medical
and transport marketplace.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931214/Press & Public Contact: Siemens-Albis - Tel:
[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00026)

Phone Sex In Finland Embarrasses Church 12/14/93
HELSINKI, FINLAND, 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- The Evangelical Church of
Luther Agricola is beginning to wish it had not been so open with
its facilities for the unemployed. The church, which opened a cafe
for the unemployed earlier this year, has just received a quarterly
phone bill for more than 71,000 maarka ($12,500), whereas its usual
bill is around one percent of that figure.

According to Inkeri Lonka, the accountant to the church, one of the
regular visitors to the cafe has admitted calling one of the newly
operating "sex call" phone services from the church, thereby
incurring a premium phone rate.

Lonka said that the man, who admitted to the calls as soon as news
of the bill broke at the church, had made long calls to the sex call
services, often for several hours at a time.

Because the man is unemployed and has no assets, church officials
are considering whether to take legal action. The Finnish state
telecom company is being sympathetic to the problem, church
officials said, and may waive all or part of the bill.

Aside from the bill problem, Helsinki's unemployed have no
reason to thank the habitual sex line caller -- the church,
which opened the cafe in the summer, has been forced to close
the operation down, after the phone bill was found to greatly
exceed the church's budget for the year.

(Sylvia Dennis/19931214)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00027)

Olivetti Secures 20,000 Million Lire Contract In Russia 12/14/93
IVREA, ITALY, 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Olivetti, the troubled Italian
computer manufacturer, has signed a contract said to be worth 20,000
million lure with the Russian Ministry of Transport with computer
technology for use at Russia's airports.

The bulk of the investment will be made at the various regional
airports under the control of Russia, as well as in planes operated
by Aeroflot, the Russian state airline. Newsbytes understands that
the Olivetti equipment will allow automated messaging between the
airports and suitably equipped planes using the airport facilities.

The idea behind the messaging system is that planes will be able to
exchange messages at high speed with the ground staff, as well
as on an air-to-air basis. This would mean that a pilot wishing to
change course on a predetermined basis, could "broadcast" his
intentions over the network, making aircrew on the ground, as
well as in the air, immediately aware of what is happening.

This contrasts with some systems in use in Russia today, where
aircraft under the control of ground controllers have their details
logged on to a plastic card, which is shunted around boards on
display in the controller's main room. Since the 1970s, computers
have replaced such manual systems and it appears it is this
technology that Olivetti is being asked to supply to the Russians.

Until quite recently, this type of technology would have required
clearance from Cocom, the controlling body on technical exports to
the former Eastern Bloc. Since the decision to disband Cocom was
taken earlier this year, however, such exports now require nothing
more than rubber stamp approval from the relevant government, in
this case, the Italian government.

(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19931214/Press & Public Contact:
Olivetti - [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Bill Gates Talks Chicago 12/14/93
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Bill Gates
addressed 5,000 developers in Anaheim, California at the
Microsoft Professional Developers' Conference. The emphasis was
on getting ready for Microsoft's next release of its Windows
operating system, code-named "Chicago."

Microsoft said over 250 32-bit applications for Windows are now
available, with several hundred more expected to ship by spring
of 1994. Windows NT began shipping in July of 1993; Windows
"Chicago" is scheduled to ship in the second half of 1994; and
the next version of Windows NT, code-named "Cairo," is scheduled
to ship in the first half of 1995.

Gates said to the largest crowd of Windows developers so far:
"Our message to developers is very clear and consistent. Write
for Win32 and OLE (object linking and embedding) 2.0 today, and
your applications can run on our present and future software
platforms. By using a single set of APIs (application programing
interfaces) and following a simple set of guidelines, developers
will be able to build advanced 32-bit applications for any market
they wish to target, whether it's the high-volume desktop market,
the high-end desktop and workstation market, or the server
market.

"This strategy allows developers to maximize their development
resources and leverage the most advanced technologies in the
industry -- while also giving them access to the broadest markets
possible. Their investment of time and resources is protected,
because by following the straightforward development techniques
we're presenting this week, their products will run on Windows
3.1, or Windows 'Chicago,' or Windows NT, or Windows NT 'Cairo' -
whatever platform is most suitable for a particular customer."

Attendees at the conference received two compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM) discs, the new developer release of Windows
"Chicago," including 32-bit development tools for "Chicago" and
Win32 as well as a pre-release implementation of the next version
of OLE that provides distributed object support for 32-bit
Windows platforms. "Chicago" is not yet available for end-user
evaluation, but Microsoft plans to release it for evaluation
before its official release as it has in the past and is
predicting that will happen in the first half of 1994.

During the conference, Microsoft demonstrated PortTool, which is
designed to go through a developer's code and point out portions
that must change in order for the application to be moved from
Win16 to Win32. If an application is designed correctly, it can
be run under Windows NT, Windows "Chicago," Windows 3.1, and
Windows NT "Cairo," according to Microsoft officials.

To sell developers on that concept, Microsoft demonstrated Welcom
Software's Texim Project, an independently produced project
management application based on Win32 and OLE 2.0. The identical
executable code runs unchanged on both Windows 3.1 and on Windows
NT.

In a second example, image editing application Picture Publisher
from Micrografx was demonstrated. Picture Publisher runs under
Windows 3.1, Windows "Chicago" and Windows NT, but can also take
advantage of features of the operating system it is run under. As
a 32-bit application, it runs more than twice as fast as its 16-
bit predecessor. Under "Chicago" and under Windows NT, the same
executable code uses threads -- one per image -- to allow the
user to do image manipulation in the background while working on
another image or task. Under Windows NT, Picture Publisher also
scales to take advantage of personal computers with multiple
microprocessors.

The bottom line for developers is the opportunity for increased
sales. Douglas Hamilton, president of Hamilton Laboratories in
Wayland, Massachusetts, and developer of Hamilton C shell
utilities for Windows NT, said, "There's a tremendous sales
opportunity for 32-bit Windows-based applications for Windows NT.
That's what's important to vendors." Hamilton Laboratories claims
its sales of Hamilton C shell have expanded 1,000 percent since
the company ported the product from OS/2 to Windows NT last year.

Hamilton added that his company was able to easily move
applications from the Intel PC platform to the MIPS reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) platform, the PowerPC, and to
Digital's Alpha AXP in a matter of hours. "And we didn't need to
debug on any of the platforms," Hamilton maintains.

Microsoft has been heavily criticized by independent developers
in the past who claim the company gives itself an advantage in
developing software products for its operating system platforms.
However, Joseph Dunn, vice president of research and development
at Macromedia asserts: "Microsoft has been very effective in this
development by consistently evangelizing its software strategy
and making early versions of alpha and beta software available to
our developers." Other developers such as Adobe Systems, Wolfram
Research, and LBMS offered praise and commitments to develop for
Win32.

(Linda Rohrbough/19931214/Press Contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft, tel [phone]; Colleen Lacter, Waggener Edstrom,
Portland, 503-245-0905, fax [phone]; Public Contact,
Microsoft, 800-426-9400)


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

NetManage Ships Beta NFS For Windows NT 12/14/93
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- NetManage is
shipping Chameleon32, claimed to be the first TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for Microsoft's
Windows NT operating system. The company has also released a
beta version of Chameleon32NFS for Windows NT.

The company says that both products are being demonstrated at
the WIN32 Professional Developers Conference at the Anaheim
Convention Center December 13-14.

The company claims that Chameleon32 is the first TCP/IP
application package for Windows NT that "provides a suite of native
windows communications applications featuring the ease of use
expected by Windows users."

Chameleon32 is written to the Windows Sockets API (application
programming interface) and runs on the native NT TCP/IP stack.

Chameleon32 provides a suite of TCP/IP applications, including
Telnet terminal emulation (VT100, VT220, TN3270) FTP,
NewsReader, TFTP, Ping, Bind, Finger, and Whois.

The company says that Chameleon32NFS for NT provides all of the
applications of Chameleon32 plus an integrated implementation
of both an NFS client and server. The client-server functionality
allows for file sharing and transferring of data between Windows
desktops and other network devices.

A company spokesperson told Newsbytes that the Chameleon32
is available now and shipping, priced at $495. Chameleon32NFS is
available as a beta version to NetManage customers, and will be
available in first quarter 1994. Chameleon32NFS for Windows NT,
priced at $695.

In July Newsbytes reported that NetManage had introduced the
NEWTNews Windows tool providing users of the Chameleon
TCP/IP for Windows software family to access, read, or post
Internet messages using a click-and-point GUI (graphical user
interface).

(Ian Stokell/19931214/Press Contact: Donna Loughlin,
408-973-7171, NetManage)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

Caere Bundles OmniScan With Corex's CardScan 12/14/93
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 DEC 14 (NB) -- Bundling
software with hardware is commonplace in the scanner device
market. Now Caere Corp., has decided to bundle its OmniScan for
Windows with Corex Technologies Corp.'s CardScan business
card scanning software.

OmniScan integrates image capture and editing, OCR (optical
character recognition) and fax capabilities with a high-quality,
grayscale scanner.

The new software is included at no additional cost to purchasers
of OmniScan, which is claimed to be the first scanner to integrate
OCR, image and fax scanning into a handheld scanner by
incorporating OmniPage Direct OCR for text scanning, Image
Assistant for image editing and FaxMaster fax software to send,
receive, OCR, and compress fax images. The list price for the
Windows version of OmniScan remains at $449.

Corex will reportedly use a version of the new OmniPage 5.0 OCR
engine for the recognition portion of its CardScan product.

In announcing the deal, Jonathan Stern, president and chief
executive officer of Corex, said: "We're pleased to have this
partnership with Caere. The new OmniPage recognition
technologies provide excellent results over a wide range of
business cards."

The company says that CardScan works automatically to read and
store each card, identifying various fields on business cards and
placing them in an address book. Information can be exported into
popular personal information management programs (PIMs),
personal organizers, word processors, spreadsheets, and databases.
The program retains both the text and the image of the card itself,
keeping company logos and other graphics found on business cards.

According to the company, additional features of CardScan include:
autodial, which dials phone numbers automatically at the touch of
a single button; Smart Zoom, that displays the corresponding
information from the address book and the card image by double-
clicking on the information; and drag-and-drop capabilities, which
let users place data into various fields quickly and easily.

The company says that customers who purchase OmniScan for
Windows after December 1 will receive CardScan free of charge
when it becomes available in the first quarter of 1994 by providing
registration and proof of purchase to Caere. Current OmniScan
owners will be able to purchase CardScan directly from Corex for
a special price of $74.95, also in the first quarter of 1994.

OmniScan for Windows requires a 386 processor or above with a
minimum of four megabytes (MB) RAM (8MB recommended), 8MB of
free hard disk space, and Windows 3.1 or above.

In September, Newsbytes reported that Caere and forms and fax
software vendor Delrina Corp., had decided to expand a year-old
alliance. The previous September, Delrina licensed AnyFax
technology, which performs OCR and is designed to cope with
sometimes blurry incoming fax documents, from Caere.
The new deal called for the companies to work together to
create integrated fax and document management software and
integrated fax, image editing, and OCR software.

(Ian Stokell/19931214/Press Contact: Mike Lough,
408-395-7000, Caere Corp.)