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/nb930212

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(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00001)

Shakeout Coming In Object-Oriented World 02/12/93
DELRAN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- The US and European
object-oriented (OO) development market will grow from $865 million
to $4 billion by 1997, but the number of OO programming languages
will shrink in the process, according to a new Datapro survey.

About 80 languages now exist, but an industry shakeout is on the
way, and at present, C++ and Smalltalk are way ahead of the rest of
the pack, said Datapro's Frank Teti in an interview with Newsbytes.

C++ is making the most headway in mission-critical applications and
large-scale production environments, but Smalltalk is coming
on strong in other segments, added Teti, managing analyst within
the enterprise component of Datapro's software group. Two other
languages, Actor and Object C, are also quite popular, he noted.

Smalltalk provides a shorter learning curve for non-C programmers,
while C++ produces greater robustness, due to its foundations in C
and its use of an executable instead of an interpreted language,
the Datapro analyst stated.

Contacted by Newsbytes later, officials of Borland, a major maker
of C++ products, and Digitalk, a leading player in the Smalltalk
segment, concurred with some of these assessments.

"We don't deny that C++ has a steeper learning curve, but what you
end up with is more productivity and power," a Borland spokesperson
remarked. Borland has issued a training video on C++ to help
programmers get up to speed, the spokeswoman added.

Dan Goldman, vice president of business development for Digitalk,
pointed out that Cobol programmers find Smalltalk especially easy,
because of similarities between the two languages. But, he
emphasized, Smalltalk is receiving increasingly wider use in the
Fortune 100 market, where Cobol has traditionally ranked number
one.

And although the current DOS, Windows and Apple Computer
Macintosh versions of Digitalk's Smalltalk/V program are
interpreted languages, the new OS/2 edition is executable, he
said. An upcoming Windows edition, slated for shipment by the
end of this year, will also be executable, he added.

According to Teti, the difficulty of the C++ language is rooted in
the difficulty of C. "About 90% of C++ is C, so you have to
understand C first. And if anything, programming in C++ is even
harder, because you must then move on to the C++ extensions," he
told Newsbytes.

Despite its complexity, though, C++ is solid, he stressed. The C
language is even stronger than Cobol, because C was
specifically developed to work with low- as well as high-level
instructions, he maintained. "And C++ brings the power of C still
further," he commented.

Additionally, as an executable language, C++ achieves more direct
results, leaving less room for failure than an interpreted
language, the analyst observed.

"With an executable language, you take source code, convert the
source code to object code, and then convert the object code to an
executable. With an interpreted language, you work at the source
code level. The interpreter then interprets that source code.
So you never really create either an object code or an executable,"
he elaborated.

Smalltalk isn't necessarily easy to master either, Teti added.
"But the learning curve isn't anywhere near that of C++, and that's
why a lot of people are using or considering Smalltalk," he
told Newsbytes.

Digitalk's Goldman explained that the kernel of Digitalk/V is
written in C, to bring easy portability between processors, but
that the upper layers are in an English-like language similar to
Cobol.

"Like Cobol, Digitalk is designed for solving common business
problems. You don't have to understand how the chips work in order
to write a program. C and C++, on the other hand, are designed to
get you as close to the machine as possible, so you can manipulate
it at a very low level," he said.

Most customers today use an array of programming tools, based
on what they're trying to do, he continued. "For any application
where reuse of code is required, you'd want to use some object-
oriented language, whether it's Smalltalk or C++," he maintained.
Aside from Digitalk, Parcplace Systems also produces Smalltalk
tools.

Borland says its own surveys indicate a massive migration toward
object-oriented programming, with particular popularity for C++.
Borland just shipped Pascal with Object 7.0, to great market
acceptance, yet the company has no further announcements on Pascal
at this time. "Pascal has a huge installed base of two
million users, but most of the market growth is in C++," she
remarked.

Sales of Borland's C++ compiler passed the 750,000 mark last
summer, and the vendor will be announcing another milestone at the
Software Development Conference two weeks from now, she reported.

Borland's C++ compiler is currently available for DOS and Windows,
will be shipping shortly for OS/2, and is also under development
for Windows NT.

Aside from Borland, other active participants in the C++ market
include Microsoft on the PC side and Unix Systems Laboratories
(USL) on the Unix side.

But according to Teti, although C++ and Smalltalk are holding sway
at the moment, the object-oriented programming market is still too
far young for formal standardization.

"Some people may disagree with me on this, but I think it's better
to let the firms go at it for a while before a standard is
developed," he told Newsbytes.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930211/Press contacts: Delran Perron, Datapro,
tel [phone]; Barbara Noparstak, Digitalk, tel [phone];
Susan Nicolls, Borland, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00002)

Kids' DOS Menu System 02/12/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- JumpStart
Software has announced EZplay 1.0, a child-orientated pictorial
menu system for DOS-based personal computers. EZplay lets a user
select and load programs without interacting with DOS or requiring
the user to be able to read.

EZplay allows children from two years of age and up to load their
favorite computer programs without an adult's supervision. EZplay
displays up to nine pictures on the screen at any one time. Each
picture represents a program (game, educational program, or any other
executable file) stored on the user's computer system. Using a
simple interface, the user selects a program which is automatically
loaded and started.

By using a password feature, EZplay can prevent a child or any other
person from starting or using programs not selected for the menu.
It can also protect the parent's computer from software damage that
may result from playful actions such as renamed files or reformatted
disks.

Additional EZplay features include a "Universal Exit" to aid in
getting out of games, a built-in screen saver, and different ways to
generate or change the pictures used on the menu.

EZplay has a suggested retail price of $39.95.

(Computer Currents/19930211/Public Contact: 408/923-2147)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00003)

Complete Scanning Package For General Office Use 02/12/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- UMAX Technologies
is shipping ScanOffice, a complete scanning package for general-purpose
office use. ScanOffice provides productivity tools for users so that
they may create a broad array of documents such as invoices,
invitations, fliers, certificates, pictures and newsletters, the
company said.

ScanOffice users can also employ OCR (optical character recognition)
to replace or reduce typing. ScanOffice includes Microsoft's
Publisher for Windows for desktop publishing and Micrografx's
Windows Draw LE version 3.0, a graphics drawing program, and
Picture Publisher LE version 3.1 for image editing, also from
Micrografx. Also included is TypeReader version 1.01 from Expervision
for OCR text scanning.

Hardware for ScanOffice is the new OA-1, a UMAX 600x300dpi gray-scale
image scanner. The OA-1 scanner can be enhanced through software to
achieve a resolution of 1200x1200dpi and is upgradable to color.
ScanOffice supports the full range of personal computers including IBM
PC/AT and PS/2.

The ScanOffice package is suggested retail priced at $999.

(Computer Currents/19930211/Public Contact: 800/562-0311)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00004)

"Public Utilities" For Macintosh 02/12/93
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Fifth Generation
Systems is shipping Public Utilities, preventive maintenance and
recovery software program for the Macintosh.

"Public Utilities is an extraordinary program to help users of all
levels protect against and recover from potentially damaging disk
problems," said Barry L. Bellue, Sr., president and CEO of Fifth
Generation Systems. It is the only product on the market that works
transparently to prevent most common disk and data corruption
problems from happening."

Public Utilities' main focus is on preventive maintenance. It
regularly scans users' hard disks in the background during idle
processor time looking for potential problems. If an error is found,
Public Utilities makes recommendations about fixing the problem.
Depending on configuration by the user, Public Utilities can also
scan at start-up and shut-down.

The Public Utilities interface is structured toward the novice user,
with additional settings available for advanced users. The default
settings are set to automatically perform most operations
transparently.

Public Utilities has a suggested retail price of $149.

(Computer Currents/19930211/Public Contact: 800/873-4384)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00005)

Now Up-to-Date 2.0 For Macintosh 02/12/93
PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Now Software has
released a new version of its calendar and scheduling application
Now Up-to-Date 2.0. The newest version features integrated
To-Do Lists, WYSIWYG appointment book printing, off-line editing of
shared events, AlarmsClock integration, and the ability to import and
export calendars to the Sharp Wizard, as well as many enhancements
to its existing features.

Now Up-to-Date allows users to schedule appointments, manage To-Do
lists, set reminders, share calendar information over networks, and
print calendars for appointment books. In addition, Now Up-to-Date
functions in both workgroup and stand-alone modes (through Public
and Private Events), and even provides automatic updating of shared
events. Thus, users with PowerBooks can take their calendars with them
and even create and edit Public Events when disconnected from the
network.

One of the key new features in version 2.0 is the addition of an
integrated To-Do list, which displays To-Do list items in a separate
window in a list format. They can be scheduled (due on a certain date)
or unscheduled (free-floating until they are checked off), prioritized,
and automatically forwarded until completed (carried forward).

Now Up-to-Date's Reminder function has also been enhanced with
the integration of AlarmsClock, which was formerly part of the
Now Utilities collection. Another benefit is the ability to enter
new Events or To-Do list items without having to launch the Now
Up-to-Date application.

Now Up-to-Date 2.0 is shipping in four configurations: a
single-user package for $99, a five-user package for $449, a
ten-user package for $799, and a 50-user package for $3,799
(suggested retail prices). All versions can work on their
own or as part of a multi-user configuration.

Upgrades for registered users of Now Up-to-Date version 1.0 will
be $29 and free for those who purchased their earlier version after
September 1, 1992.

(Computer Currents/19930211/Public Contact: 800/374-4750)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00006)

IC Card Modem For Subnotebooks, Palmtops 02/12/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- New Media Corporation
(NMC) has announced its credit card-sized PalmModem for subnotebook
and palmtop computers.

The New Media PalmModem IC card modem communicates via a memory
mapped scheme, a requirement for today's palmtop and subnotebook
computers, the company said. In addition, the PalmModem reportedly can
run for over fifteen hours on two AA batteries, which are typically
the power source for palmtop and subnotebook computers. The PalmModem
offers 2400-baud modem communications and facsimile transmission.

For specific machines such as the HP 95LX, New Media has developed a
complete software interface compliant in format with Hewlett-Packard's
system manager software. Software for the HP 95LX includes all of the
popular modem file transfer protocols such as Xmodem, Ymodem, and
Kermit. Since the HP 95LX has only one PCMCIA slot and no floppy disk
drive, all of the software required to run the PalmModem in the HP
95LX is supplied on the card. All the user has to do is plug in the
PalmModem and execute the software directly from the card.

Suggested retail pricing for the PalmModem with the HP 95LX
software is $259.

(Computer Currents/19930211/Public Contact: 714-453-0100)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00007)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 02/12/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Federal Computer Week, dated February 1, 1993, has an analysis of
the apparent demise of the traditional supercomputer, plus an
article on NASA's decision to request bids on some 26 contracts
only from small minority-owned businesses, a report on the
consolidation of the Department of Defense by the Clinton
administration, and the planned modernization of the Social
Security Administration's computer systems.

In its February 1, 1993, issue, Government Computer News reports
on the slow response of vendors to the government's bulletin
board offering of schedule catalogs; the new draft of the
"Federal Criteria for Information Technology Security" released
jointly by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology
and the National Security Agency; Link Technologies' new slide-in
PC Cards; the unexpected departure of Paul A. Strassmann, the
Pentagon's first information director; the continuing development
of government standards; and how the use of a CD-ROM policies and
procedures' database both helped and horrified officials of the
Social Security Administration.

Telephony's cover story in the February 1, 1993, issue reports on
the desire of the State of Nebraska and the University of
Nebraska to have excellent resources for public education and
medical needs; toward this end, both institutions are looking
into the use of frame relay interconnections. Also featured in
this issue of Telephony are the current controversy on cellular
telephones' possibly causing brain cancer; Time Warner's proposed
nationwide two-way, full-service switched broadband networks;
AT&T's stake in the growing use of ATM (Asynchronous Transfer
Mode); Pacific Bell's five-year plan to bring California's public
network up to date in technology; a comparison of Europe's
telecommunications market with that of the United States; what US
West did to control its maintenance problems; and two plans
being considered by the SMDS (switched multimegabit data service)
Interest Group to permit many more potential users access to SMDSs.

A publication new to this office is Imaging Magazine, which in
its February 1993 issue presents its "Products of the Year for
1992" as the cover story. Other features include how some of the
largest transportation companies are reaping great savings
through their investments in imaging; reviews of TDC's DocuScan
DS-2610W and ZSoft's Photofinish 2.0; why the Macintosh is
quickly becoming an excellent imaging tool; an article on how to
produce your own CDs; a look at CD-ROM's standards, or lack
thereof; whether or not frame grabber technology is worthwhile;
reviews of several presentation tools; and much more.

Multimedia is the topic for February 1993's T.H.E. Journal.

Software magazine, February 1993, covers Vienna, Va.'s Legent
Corp.'s steadfast approach to system management. Other articles
cover the performance problems brought to light through new
technology; how Unix platform tuning functions as a substitute
for system-wide tools; automation of claims processing via
workflow programs; how the use of DBMS saved money for the
Department of Planning and Housing in Victoria, Australia; and
the many problems encountered in testing the newest GUIs.

Network World, dated February 8, 1993, reports that Marlborough,
Mass.'s CrossComm is the second company to license IBM's
APPN Network Node; the ongoing help being sought by managers of
corporate e-mail networks; last week's move by Hughes Aircraft,
El Segundo, Calif., in asking for ATM network proposals; AT&T's
proposed InterSpan ATM, expected in 1994, and the joint venture
between Sprint Corp.'s and France's Alcatel N.V. to build an ATM
switch -- the venture is called Alcatel Data Networks or ADN; plus
Network Equipment Technologies' introduction of a smaller version
of its SONET multiplexer.

February 8, 1993's Reseller News' top story covers the Federal
Trade Commission's failure to close out its 30-month
investigation of Microsoft. Also featured is the disclosure
by Compaq that some desktop Prolinea systems could suffer
premature battery drainage; the signing of Tech Data as a
distributor of IBM's ThinkPad and PS/ValuePoint products, thereby
making Tech Data the first distributor of PCs from IBM as well as
Compaq and Apple Computer; and the stalled 1992 merger talks
between Microsoft and Novell that led to their current rivalry.

The February 8, 1993, issue of InformationWeek has "There's No
Place Like Home" as its cover story, stating that new government
regulations, such as the Clean Air Act which went into effect in
1992, make telecommuting a very desirable workplace alternative.

UnixWorld for March 1993 leads off with Novell's purchase of Unix
System Laboratories and its opposition of Microsoft in the client
server arena. Other articles tell how to choose the e-mail system
that is right for you; how Internet can save you money; how Unix
groupware may challenge OS/2's present domination of servers;
reviews of three X servers for Next, a 20-inch multiscan color
monitor from Sony, and presentation graphics software; and the
move by the German software manufacturer SAP AG into the U.S.
market.

In its February 9, 1993, issue, Computer Currents's main articles
report on selecting the right storage device, hard disk and power
failure packages, and inexpensive utilities for data compression.
Other feature articles cover IBM's ongoing woes and how to back
up your PC network. There are reviews of a Windows user interface
from CompuServe; Passport Designs' Producer for the Macintosh for
easy multimedia production; and Connectix PowerBook Utilities
from Connectix. Computer Currents also introduces a new column
called "Home Office Computing."

CommunicationsWeek dated February 8, 1993, carries articles on
Borland's Paradox for Windows; how many believe client-server
computing will be the solution to IBM's ongoing problems; next
month's expected introduction by Herndon, Va.'s Newbridge
Networks of three ATM hubs; BASF Corp.'s beta-testing of
Wellfleet Communications' Backbone Concentrator Node; and, last
but certainly not least, the battles among Hewlett-Packard, IBM,
and SunConnect, for the UNIX-based network management platform
market.

(John McCormick/19930212/)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00008)

 ****Macworld Expo Tokyo Floods With Visitors 02/12/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Macworld Expo Tokyo, which opened
February 10 with Apple Computer Chairman John Sculley's keynote
speech, has attracted throngs of Japanese visitors. According to
show sponsor IDG, more than 100,000 people will visit the show,
which represents 20,000 to 30,000 more than last year.

Some 235 firms exhibited their latest Macintosh products, most
of which are related to multimedia. CD-ROM products, color
printers and network-related products were everywhere at the
exhibit hall.

IDG's press manager Toshiro Nishihara told Newsbytes that
many of the new products utilize Apple's latest system
software KanjiTalk7 and QuickTime 1.5. Mr. Nishihara added,
"These new products have affected Japanese software as well as
hardware makers, and they [Japanese computer firms] have started
producing products with quality pictures and graphics."

He added, "Japanese users are especially concerned about the
quality of graphics. KanjiTalk 7 and QuickTime are well accepted
by such quality-conscious people."

Despite its weekday venue, Macworld was flooded with visitors and
the typical show floor scene featured people inching to get
from one booth to another. At the Apple booth, people were
packed like sardines, a sight similar to what one sees on
Japanese trains. More than 30 new Macintosh computers were on
display at the Apple booth, including a nonworking prototype of
the "Newton" which Apple Computer is currently developing
with Sharp. Newton is a flat hand-held sized personal digital
assistant, as Apple calls it. The unit has a 15 x 8-cm LCD
screen and features a small antenna attached to the side
for wireless radio telecommunication.

Lotus showed its latest Japanese language version of the 1-2-3
program. The software provides the same user interface,
and the date files are compatible with DOS computers, OS/2
systems, and Windows. KanjiTalk7 is supported on the program.

Microsoft was demonstrating Japanese Excel ver. 4.0 at its booth,
saying the program has a powerful auto-sum feature and outline
feature. Also, it supports 14 file formats including Windows.

WordPerfect was showing WordPerfect 2.2 which also supports
KanjiTalk7, meaning it can be used as a Japanese word processor
or as an English word processor. It supports QuickTime and
the files are compatible with NEC's best-selling Japanese personal
computer the PC-9801 and Toshiba's J-3100 as well as other popular
PCs such as IBM's.

Kodak, Fuji Xerox, and Canon were showing digital picture devices
for the Macintosh. These devices accept video picture input and
print the images out on a color printer. The end result was
photographs so clear and crisp that they are nearly identical to
chemically processed color prints. Other devices featured
connections between the Mac and video projectors and digital
still cameras.

Hewlett-Packard and Seiko-Epson displayed a line of new
color laser printers. HP's low-cost color printers, the "DeskWriter
550C" and the "DeskWriter C" were attracting many visitors. The
low-cost version the "DeskWriter C" costs only 98,000 yen ($815).

A device to take into the Mac motion pictures from high
definition TV (HDTV) was displayed by TG Information Network
Tokyo. The system consists of the interface, hardware device, and
the software. With this system, the Macintosh can display extra-
crisp pictures based on HDTV technology.

Tokyo-based DIT was demonstrating CAMEC Personal Video System,
which transmits motion picture data through an ISDN (integrated
digital services network). It is a personal conference system
created under license from Compression Labs in California.
DIT was demonstrating actual data transfer between Macintoshes
located in Paris and California at the booth.

As always, retailing is at full tilt during the shows. Discount
shops sold hundreds of software packages and hardware. Amazingly,
the latest versions of the Macintosh computers were also being
offered at prices 30 to 40 percent cheaper than list. For
instance, the Color Classic was being sold at 169,000 yen ($1,400),
which is about 70,000 yen ($580) cheaper than its suggested
retail list price. The LC III with an 80MB hard disk was
sold at 191,000 yen ($1,590).

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19930212/Press Contact: IDG World Expo, Japan,
[phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(MOW)(00009)

Russian AutoCAD Version 12 02/12/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Autodesk Russia has announced
the availability of the Russian language version of the leading
computer-aided design (CAD) software package AutoCAD v12. A
massive advertising campaign and road show are soon to be launched.

The Russian version of this CAD software, a de-facto standard in
Russian engineering, will be sold for US$1400-1600 per copy in
the first half of 1993, while the English language version
with the same functionality retails for US$5000. The company
claims that to be "investing in the Russian economy in the
design and manufacturing field."

Upgrade price for registered owners of previous versions runs
at US$500.

Autodesk will run a travelling show to Togliatti, the center
of Russian car manufacturing, and then to Voronezh, Nizhny
Novgorod, Samara and Kazan, centers of high-tech and military
production.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930212/Press Contact: Autodesk Russia,
phone [phone])


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Review of: Understanding Network Management, Strategies 02/12/93

From: Windcrest/McGraw-Hill, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0850

Price: $19.95.

PUMA Rating: 4 (1 to 4, 4 being highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Ian Stokell

Summary: Excellent book on the complex subject of networking.

======

REVIEW

======

Networking is one of the fastest growing areas of the computer
industry. It is also one of the most complex, which is probably
why most people who deal with computers in some way shy
away from the subject. However, once you get into it a little,
it's not really that bad. And a basic understanding of the various
technologies involved in corporate networking can prove to be
very beneficial to anyone involved in computers. It can also be
pleasantly rewarding.

"Understanding Network Management, Strategies and Solutions"
is a highly informative book, written by Stan Schatt. It covers
everything about networks, from Chapter 1's "Communications
systems today: an overview," through Chapter 2's "Network
design" and Chapter 3's "Network security," right up to Chapter
8's "The challenging role of the network manager" and Chapter
9's "Managing a wide area network."

Along the way it stops off to explain bridges, routers and
gateways, network architectures, and a very important chapter
on TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
TCP/IP is a set of protocols originally conceived by the
Department of Defense, and used to connect networks together.
The last three chapters deal with the IBM, AT&T, and Digital
Equipment approaches to network management.

The book is very readable and well-written, although it can get
to be a bit too much sometimes, leading to an insatiable urge
to reach for the funny pages in the Sunday newspaper. However,
that is not the fault of the author, but the subject matter. I
guess you can only take so many acronyms at one time: TCP/IP,
ARP, UDP, DNS, FTP, SMTP, SNMP, OSI, MAU, FTAM, VT, JTM, NAU,
ISDN, FDDI, SONET, SMDS, UNMA....get the picture. If you want to
know what they all mean, buy the book, it's worth it. Everyone
involved in computers should have a space on their bookshelf
for at least one book on networking. You could do a lot worse
than this one.

===========

PUMA RATING

===========

PERFORMANCE: 4.0. Very informative and well written.

USEFULNESS: 4.0. Pretty cheap for a computer book these days.
Computer books are big business. Is the high cost of computer
books an indication that more people are getting interested in
computing, or that computers and applications are becoming so
complex and the accompanying documentation so bad that more
people are turning to third-party publications in an effort to
make sense of them?

AVAILABILITY: 4.0. If its a Windcrest/McGraw-Hill book you can
probably get it at any bookstore you like.

(Ian Stokell/19930212)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00011)

Review of: Putt Putt Joins The Parade, For Children 02/12/93

Runs on: PC-ATs with a minimum of 10.5 megabytes of free hard
disk space, a mouse, and a high-quality sound card, under MS-DOS
PC/MS-DOS 3.3 or higher, plus a VGA or higher quality monitor

From: Humongous Entertainment, 13110 NE 177th Place, #180,
Woodinville, WA 98072-9965, 206-487-0505; distributed by
Electronic Arts

Price: $49.95

PUMA Rating: 2 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Dana Blankenhorn 02/12/93

Summary: Bah, Humbug! Everything that's wrong with kids' software
design in one package.

======

REVIEW

======

Putt-Putt says it's designed for ages 3-7, meaning it's the
perfect game for our Robin, who turns 5 in February. Since most
games we get are for the Macintosh, not the PC, we were anxious
to fire it up.

There are two machines here. Mine has a 386 chip, twin 40
megabyte hard drives, and a CD-ROM drive, along with a mouse.
Robin's has a Creative Labs' SoundBlaster sound card, and a 40
meg hard drive with plenty of extra space, but inside it's my old
PC XT. Still, the fact is, very few kids are going to have more,
better computers than Robin.

Neither machine could properly run Putt-Putt. Mine lacked sound.
Hers isn't fast enough, and offers just CGA graphics. I tried
loading it onto Drive C, which had the 10 megabytes of free disk
space the install program said it needed. But the final version
of the program wanted 10.4 megs. I finally installed it on Drive
E, from which my old story files had just been expunged for the
Christmas holiday. There's also a version of the program on a CD-
ROM disk.

With the regular PC speaker, however, you get a crippled
entertainment. You can either listen to tinny music or
impossible-to-understand speech. We tried it both ways. Robin
couldn't hear the speech, and with the music she saw subtitles,
which she can't read.

The game itself is a very graphic kiddie adventure, in which a
car called Putt-Putt tries to earn money delivering groceries and
mowing lawns so he can join a parade. Along the way he has to
clear hazards from roadways using tools like birdseed and a
magnet. In action, this game lets your kid point and click with a
mouse all day. The main lesson is in dragging, picking up, and
using icons.

Robin was bored and frustrated with this game because the mouse
action required for correct play is beyond her. I tried it, too,
and the precision required is beyond me. Perhaps the joystick
version works better than the mouse version -- how many high-
powered PCs have joysticks? Robin was, however, very excited by
the accompanying workbook, which included a very simple crossword
puzzle -- the first she has ever completed -- along with
simple math problems. She liked the workbook a lot -- too bad it
isn't sold separately for a fair price of, say, $1.25.

Now, let me get on my soapbox for a moment. Computers and
education have failed together, in part, because of what I call
the upgrade-itis of software vendors like Humongous. The
computers you find in schools, or in the control of most little
kids, are not state-of-the-art. Yet software is designed only for
the newest PCs. The result is that even an extraordinary kid like
Robin, whose dad has an old XT with a sound card he can lend her,
finds her machine an orphan, unable to use new software. Is it
any wonder, then, that educators feel constantly burned by the
computer industry?

Let's say you were a progressive educator willing to commit
thousands up-front, years ago, to buy computers. If you bought
the first PC clones, you had machines which couldn't run standard
DOS and were obsolete within a year. If you bought True Blue PCs,
then advances in processors, power supplies, and graphics left
you high-and-dry within a very short time. As far as other
educators could see, you blew your capital budget on wasted iron.
If you bought the computers for a school, your career as an
administrator ended right there. Your successor is not so stupid.

My own New Years' resolution is to find a way out of the problem,
explaining the problems of computers to educators, and education
to computerists, then finding solutions both sides can live with.
If you're a book publisher, I've got an outline to offer. And
this game is such a fine example of what's wrong I felt compelled
to mention it here. It's the only silver lining in the dark cloud
we found this Christmas called "Putt Putt Joins the Parade."

============

PUMA RATING

============

PERFORMANCE: (0.5) Robin got bored with it.

USEFULNESS: (0.5) There's a nice workbook that Robin liked. But
there's more educational value in a Nintendo game than this.

MANUAL: (4) Not needed. And there's a neat workbook for the kid.

AVAILABILITY: (3) Electronic Arts games have extensive
distribution.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930104/Press Contact: Shelley Day, Humongous
Entertainment, 206-487-0505)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00012)

IBM PC Price Cuts - Further Details 02/12/93
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- As Newsbytes
reported yesterday, IBM Personal Computer Company has cut prices on
certain PS/ValuePoint and ThinkPad personal computers. Here are
further details.

The IBM ThinkPad 300 laptop computer with a 386SL microprocessor
with four megabytes of memory, and an 80-megabyte hard drive is
now priced at $1,999. The same model with a 120-megabyte hard
drive is now $2,199.

The price of the PS/ValuePoint 325T, which uses IBM's
25-megahertz 386SLC microprocessor and has 8K bytes of internal
cache, four megabytes of memory, 80-megabyte hard drive, and a
6312 Super VGA color display, is now $1,409.

The PS/ValuePoint 425SX, based on the 25-megahertz 486SX
microprocessor, with four megabytes of memory, 120-megabyte hard
drive, and 6312 Super VGA color display, is now $1,499.

The price of the PS/ValuePoint 433DX, with a 33-megahertz 486DX
chip, four megabytes of memory, 120-megabyte hard drive, and 6312
Super VGA color display, now lists at $1,899.

The new prices are as much as 14 percent lower than previous list
prices, according to a company spokeswoman.

The prices are available through IBM's Direct Response Marketing
(DRM) toll-free order number, the company said. Reseller prices
may vary.

Michael Coleman, vice president, marketing and brand management,
for IBM PC Company North America, said in a statement that the
price cuts were "a direct response to actions taken earlier this
week by our competition." Early in the week, Austin, Texas-based
Dell Computer Corp. announced price cuts of as much as $500 per
system on a number of its computers, as well as reductions on
some peripherals.

(Grant Buckler/19930212/Press Contact: Liz Arends, IBM,
914-642-5408)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00013)

Bell Canada Wants User Fee For 911 02/12/93
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Bell Canada, the
telephone company serving Ontario and Quebec, has an application
before federal regulators to charge its customers directly for
911 service. At present, Bell bills municipal governments for the
emergency telephone service.

According to a public notice on the application obtained from the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC), Bell wants to tack onto each residential and business
line a charge of 30 cents per month in Ontario and 41 cents per
month in Quebec, with lower per-line rates for organizations with
160 or more lines on certain kinds of large telephone systems
such as Centrex.

The rate for Quebec is higher because the province is less
densely populated than Ontario and the cost of 911 service is
therefore spread over fewer subscribers, Bell spokeswoman Linda
Gervais said.

Gervais said Bell made the application because smaller
municipalities cannot afford to pay the cost of 911 service
themselves. If the application is granted, she said, 911 service
would be extended to every telephone exchange in Bell Canada
territory.

While the cost of 911 service would appear as a separate item on
customers' bills, it would not be optional, Gervais said --
customers would not have the choice of doing without 911 service
to save money.

Gervais said the application was made after "a lot of discussion
with local governments."

Bell Canada also recently applied to the CRTC for increases in
local rates amounting to more than 50 percent in many locations,
coupled with an extension of local calling in the Toronto,
Ottawa, and Montreal areas.

Last September, the company asked the CRTC for permission to turn
over wiring inside of subscribers' buildings to the subscribers.
Bell proposes to offer service contracts on the inside wiring at
C$1.50 per month, or charge C$91 per hour for service calls where
there is no service contract. Subscribers would also be able to
install and maintain their own inside wiring or hire other
contractors to do it.

Also in September, Bell said it had submitted a "tentative"
proposal to the CRTC to charge large customers for local calls
after the first 1,300 minutes per line per month.

(Grant Buckler/19930212/Press Contact: Linda Gervais,
613-781-3724)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00014)

India's Largest Bank Installs ATMs 02/12/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- The State Bank of India, the
country's largest banking chain with over 5,000 branches, is planning
to install automatic teller machines at 29 locations in Bombay.
The first three machines will be installed in June. The Bank also plans
to install ATMs in select branches in New Delhi, Calcutta and Madras.
Officials claim the machines will be installed within three years.

Following the Reserve Bank of India (the central bank of the country)
directives, which do not permit foreign exchange to be used for this
purpose, SBI is buying the equipment from Madras-based HMS Systems
which is manufacturing the machines in collaboration with DieBold
of the US.

The total package of the ATM, cameras, encoders, and other equipment
will come to around Rs 4 million (around $0.13 million) per unit.

Indian banks, the largest 28 of which are in the public sector, have
been slow to take on computerization despite a long-pending plan
by the RBI for banking automation and networking in phases. The
foreign banks, like Citibank, Hongkong Bank, ANZ Grindlays,
and Standard Chartered, have, however, developed their own
computerized networks including ATMs.

After the multi-billion-rupee securities and banking scam
last year, there is increasing pressure on the financial and
banking sectors to revamp their information systems.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930212)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00015)

World Bank Says Revamp India's Telecom Monopolies 02/12/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- The World Bank has suggested a
thorough overhaul of the functioning of Indian Telephone Industries
(ITI) and Hindustan Cables Corporation (HCC), reports United News
of India.

The two public sector organizations are considered to be the mainstay
of India's telecommunications sector. ITI and Hindustan Cables had
been operating on a cost-plus pricing arrangement, with the
Department of Telecommunications of the Government of India being
the sole purchaser of their products. The report stated: "Not
surprisingly, this resulted in high prices, very poor productivity
levels by world standards, poor quality and stagnant technology
development."

However, some success in the objective of self-reliance had been
achieved with over 90 percent of the equipment and materials
procured by DOT were products of Indian units.

The Bank also said it was doubtful if ITI will be able to carry out
its plans to increase the output of digital switches, particularly
of OCB 283 switches in collaboration with Alcatel of France. Also,
the Bank suggested that a detailed corporate restructuring study
should be carried out. In a fully competitive environment, it was
unlikely that either ITI or Hindustan Cables would survive in
their present forms.

The Bank said a policy of encouraging private investment and greater
autonomy and flexibility for DOT would have a far reaching effect
not only on the telecommunications arena but also on capital
markets. DOT's privatization exercise introduced in 1992, has been a
partial success with only two multinationals, Ericsson and Alcatel,
setting up joint ventures for digital switching systems in Haryana
and Rajasthan.

The Bank stressed the need for a rapid change in the structure of
telecom services if the pace of economic reforms is to be
enhanced. The report added that advanced and cost effective
technologies were the need of the hour. This would require an
imaginative policy which will harness local and foreign capital
and entrepreneurial energies.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930212)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00016)

India - Big Digital Telecom Switch Order 02/12/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Fujitsu, Siemens, and AT&T
are likely to get validation certification for their large digital
telecom switches by the end of this month. The Department of
Telecommunication of the Government of India is hopeful that import
orders on the certified companies will be placed by April or May.

Initially, eight equipment manufacturers were in the race to install
10,000-line test exchanges at various sites allotted to them to
enable the Department to validate and evaluate their performance:
AT&T's 5 ESS system at Ahmedabad; Alcatel's E10-based OCB 283 at
Delhi; GPT's System X at Hyderabad; Fujitsu's FETEX 150; Siemens's
EWSD and Ericson's AXE 10 at Calcutta and Madras, respectively.

NEC of Japan with its NEAX and Oriental Telecom of South Korea with
TDX 10 were to their respective sites at Jaipur and Pune.

The Department of Telecom had earlier, before the technical
validation, issued letters of intent for the purchase of 300,000
lines plus additional 350,000 on lease to three of the bidders:
Siemens, Fujitsu and Ericsson. That led to allegations that
priority was given to the financial package and the testing of
technology was relegated to the second place. All the selected
companies were sure to pass the tests. They, however, did not make
it past the most crucial tests of peak hour call success rate.

The issue had raised a storm of sorts when none of the five companies'
(Siemens, Fujitsu, Ericsson, AT&T and Alcatel) switching systems
could clear the validation tests in the stipulated time period.
Reportedly, GPT was rejected because of some procedural lacunae in
its financial bid papers. And NEC and Oriental Telecom opted out
of their bids.

The ministry for communication has come under fire for working in
the reverse order - first selecting the technologies and then
verifying whether they can interface with the telecom network.

Against the current year's target of commissioning 1.1 million
lines, 200,000 lines were to be imported from the selected
companies. The latest estimates are that only 0.9 million lines will
be installed in April 1992 - March 93 (Indian financial year).

Official sources say the delay in validation has resulted in slippages
in achieving the target. DOT has reversed its earlier decision not to
raise the targeted borrowings of Rs 1,200 crore (around $ 400 million)
in the current financial year as its proposed plan of importing
200,000 lines was delayed.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930212)


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

 ****FAA Studies Electronic Interference 02/12/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- The Federal
Aviation Administration has begun studying interference from
electronic devices in the wake of wildly differing rules among
the nation's airlines.

An agency advisory asks airlines to report any instances of
suspected navigation interference, adding a reminder that
cellular telephone use is banned except when planes are stopped
at the gates. This is not a hardship on passengers since the
phones do not work at cruising altitudes and most planes today
are equipped with phones from vendors like In-Flight Phone or
Airfone. The FAA also asked airlines to clearly explain their
restrictions and establish procedures to report suspected
problems to the FAA.

As the number of devices have proliferated, pilots have begun to
complain about problems with their instruments. But the FAA does
not really believe the problem is as bad as the pilots believe,
calling the chance of interference "very remote." But the agency
is responding to a request from the Air Transport Association,
which represents major airlines, to consider banning the use of
electronic devices during takeoff and landing and to conduct
tests.

At Delta Air Lines, for instance, spokesman Neil Monroe told
Newsbytes current rules prohibit the use of portable CD players,
but allow the use of portable tape players. He said the company's
engineering department is responsible for the rules, and it is
"constantly reviewing" them.

"These are devices that interfere with avionics in the aircraft.
You can take them on the airplane, you just can't use them," he
said. "Cellular phones cannot be used, any radio receivers
including handheld TVs...anything that might interfere with the
electronics" cannot be used. "There's concern that CD players do
that, so we've prohibited their use."

Computers, however, are OK. "We still let you use laptop
computers, and audio tape players. Nintendo Game Boys are fine."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930212/Press Contact: FAA, 202-267-3883;
Delta, Neil Monroe, 715-2600)


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

International Telecom Update 02/12/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- The rush by
telecommunication firms to open new market, and the fevered
reaction of analysts, highlighted the week's telecom news.

With US companies still shut out of Vietnam by a trade embargo
imposed for its victory in war, French President Francois
Mitterrand personally took a hand in trying to get his nation's
hand into a market with 70 million people. He visited Dien Bien
Phu, where Vietminh fighters beat France in 1954, and sat next to
Vo Nguyen Giap, who won that battle, at a state dinner. He also
called France's Indochina experience a "mistake." While in the
country, he signed a joint venture between Alcatel of France and
the Vietnam General Posts and Telecommunications Department.
France is now the third-largest investor in Vietnam, following
Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Stock analysts like the efforts by Western countries to open new
markets, with First Boston issuing a "buy" recommendation on
Pacific Telesis, in part because of its foreign moves. Singapore
Telecom and other newly privatized national authorities are also
seen favorably. Markets will not look well at an Italian move to
sell state-owned Azienda Telefonica di Stato to another state-
owned firm, Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale, for
stock, since that will boost the state's total stake in the
crucial telecommunications sector. ASST is responsible for inter-
urban and international calls inside Europe for Italy.

Elsewhere in Europe, Ericsson shares rose smartly on the heels of
favorable earnings report, taking the entire Swedish exchange
with it. The company said it earned 1.3 billion Swedish crowns
last year and should do even better in 1993. Despite the rise,
analysts are putting the stock on their buy lists, with Salomon
Brothers among the latest to do so. The stock trades at about $30
per share in the US. The company's wireless operations are a
real highlight, analysts say, with new products like its Freeset
business wireless phone rated highly. But Western valuations, and
Western technology, can also mean Western crime problems. Police
authorities in Stockholm are investigating their first case of
cellular toll fraud, in which phones are stolen and re-programmed
with chips identifying other people as users so that the real
holders of the phones will not be billed. Police said the phones
were reprogrammed with a program copied from Ericsson offices.

In Eastern Europe, Bulgaria and Turkey said they will go ahead
with a major telecom link without Yugoslavia, where war has
devastated the economy. Bulgaria also hopes to use money from
Western interests to modernize its phone network, a $230 million
project European companies are now bidding on. Turkey itself,
meanwhile, is selling 20 percent of its Netas telecom company to
Northern Telecom of Canada, at a price indicating a total value
of $130 million for the company, the second-largest telecom unit
in the nation after the state-owned PTT. Northern now holds a
majority of the shares.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930212/Press Contact: Ericsson, Kathy Egan,
212/685-4030)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

 ****Subpoena Issued For Prodigy Messages In Libel Suit 02/12/93
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- A libel suit
has led to subpoenas of messages on the Prodigy network which
were first written in the spring and summer of 1992.

The suit, filed by Medphone Corporation in a US District Court in New
Jersey, charges that Peter Denigris libeled the company on the
Prodigy network last spring and summer, with messages termed
"erroneous" and "inflammatory" by Medphone counsel Eric Wachtel.
Medphone, which offers a system linking hospitals with accident
victims using wireless phone networks, saw the price of its
stock, which is traded on the American Stock Exchange's Emerging
Markets list, fall sharply, and it has yet to recover.

Medphone did subpoena some Prodigy messages in the process of
discovery, in which both sides to a legal dispute collect
information for the court. But, Wachtel insisted to Newsbytes,
"While we did subpoena some messages, Mr. Dinigris' attorney
subpoenaed more. They were looking for other people who posted
messages about the company."

In response, some Prodigy members protested the release of
messages to the court, some of which had already gone offline.
Prodigy attorney William Schneck said in response that all
postings to message boards are public and that, after consulting
outside counsel, he concluded Prodigy had no means of refusing
the subpoena. He added that public notes don't become private
after they are archived and that, under Prodigy guidelines,
members are responsible for the content of their postings. He
said the guidelines protect Prodigy from any liability.

Prodigy users who complained were referred to Mr. Schneck's
opinion, which spokesman Brian Ek told Newsbytes are consistent
with policies of other online networks. The notes at issue were
part of the company's "Money Talk" section, which remains online,
and not part of the "Frank Discussion" section which was taken
down, the company said, after discussions became a little too
frank. Ek added, however, "We only gave a portion of what was
requested. There were other pieces we felt they had no right to.
They were asking for things besides public board posts,
information regarding the users." He also said, "There is a 4-
year limit on the archive," so older notes are, in fact,
overwritten.

Eric Wachtel, general counsel for Medphone Corp., also gave his
company's side of the story. "The major business of our company
is an emergency assistance program which consists of a portable
unit which includes a cellular transceiver built-in. That reaches
one of our 13 base station hospitals, where the doctor is online
and can see the patients' ECG. If he sees cardiac arrest, he can
remotely difibrillate. Advice is also given. It's a rather
revolutionary product, which works well."

Wachtel said Mr. Dinigris was not an employee, and his firm
didn't know of him until a stockholder told the firm about the
postings. "It did, in fact, have a negative effect on the company
stock," which "has not recovered since. The damage was extremely
severe." He said the Prodigy notes had a more lasting impact than
national publicity over cellular phones and cancer because "these
cellular stocks are large. We're a small, thinly capitalized
company on the Amex Emerging Markets program."

Wachtel added that the notes began appearing just as the company
went public, last spring. "One of the rumors was we
lost our insurance, and that was erroneous. We have never had an
instance where the unit didn't function well, and our premiums
have been reduced as a result. In the spring we had just launched
our cellular rescue, and we were in the throes of a major
financing. This did considerable damage." The company has issued
no subpoenas regarding any other network than Prodigy.

Wachtel added that he is in agreement with the public statements
he has seen from Mr. Schneck, who is the company's inside
counsel, concerning the case. "The one I recall seeing, the
position that individuals are responsible for their actions, I
agree with. As citizens we're all responsible for our actions. We
all have a right and freedom to express views, but where things
are erroneous and defamatory, you have to be responsible for
that."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930212/Press Contact: Ericsson, Brian Ek,
Prodigy, 914-993-8843; Eric Wachtel, Medphone, 201-843-6644)


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

Rochester Tel Proposes Breakup 02/12/93
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Rochester
Telephone has proposed to the New York Public Service Commission
that its flagship network in 6 upstate New York counties be
divided into two companies in order to let competitors into the
local exchange market. If the move is approved, it could become a
model for deregulating local networks nationwide.

Diane Melville, corporate information manager for Rochester
Telephone Corp., explained the move to Newsbytes. "What we're
proposing is we split the local operations into two companies.
One is a wholesale network company fully regulated by the New
York PSC. The second would be a competitive company that would
sell dial-tone and enhanced services. It would compete with any
company that wanted to sell local dial-tone. Our hope is the plan
will be attractive enough so competitors will purchase from the
network company at the same rate. The idea is to bring
competition to the local network, which we think is inevitable,
and which we want to respond to." The result would be a holding
company and two separate subsidiaries serving Rochester, each
with different boards.

"We're hoping the state commission will make a ruling within a
reasonable time frame, perhaps kicking off by the beginning of
1994. Six months after approval we would ballot local customers
and ask them to select a provider for local service. We think
that six month window would give competitors time to enter the
field and create their own marketing," added Melville.

Perhaps to prepare for such a break-up, the company has bought
CoAccess voice processing platforms worth $1 million from Boston
Technology. The systems are capable of offering enhanced services
such as call answering and voice messaging.

The upstate New York operations are just one of 38 local
telephone companies operated by Rochester Tel in 15 states. "We
also have unregulated companies in long distance, business
equipment, and a paging and cellular operation."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930212/Press Contact: Katherine Raphaelson,
Boston Technology, 617-246-9000x3504; Rochester Telephone, Diane
Melville, 716-777-7337)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00021)

Air Force Buys DEC Alpha Workstations 02/12/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC) has won a piece of Pentagon contract with a
potential value of as much as $30 million to supply Alpha AXP
workstations and servers over the next four years.

The initial contract, valued at just over $4 million for DEC
hardware alone, calls for immediate installation (March and April)
of 350 of Digital's high performance DEC 3000 Model 400 AXP
workstations to support Air Force command and control activities.

Digital, which recently saw major staff reductions and
reorganization, coupled with the retirement of its founder and
head, may sell as many as 2,500 more Alpha computers to the US
Air Force during the life of the four-year contract.

The contract was actually awarded to Computer Sciences
Corporation, which is using the DEC computers running CSC custom
software to support the Air Force's Air Mobility Command-Command
and Control Information Processing System for real time mission
monitoring and scheduling. According to DEC, the Alphas will
initially run under the OpenVMS AXP operating system, with a
potential move to the DEC OSF/1 for AXP Unix operating
environment in 1994.

This same program was utilized during Air Force operations in
Desert Storm but not on Alpha computers which were only
introduced last summer.

CSC reportedly chose the Alpha systems in a move to become POSIX
(Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX standard set by the
IEEE) compliant, a requirement for many federal systems.

The DEC Alpha chip is a next-generation microprocessor which
operates on a 64-bit bus as opposed to the 32-bit bus of the
Intel 386- and 486-based processors.

The DEC 3000 Model 400 AXP systems are the low-end Alpha
computers which start at a base price of $15,000 and operate at a
133 megahertz clock rate to produce performance in the 130
million instructions per second or 26 megaflop range. The top-of-
the-line DEC 10000 uses up to six 200 megahertz Alpha chips to
achieve mainframe processing capabilities, so the new Air Force
system has a clear potential for extensive upgrades without
discarding the models for which they have now contracted.

(John McCormick/19930212/Press Contact: Glen Zimmerman, Digital
Equipment, 508-493-9857)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00022)

 ****Potential Prolinea Battery Failures 02/12/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Computer Reseller
News dated February 8 reports that Compaq Computer is warning
resellers of potential problems with the batteries used to
maintain CMOS or complimentary metal oxide semiconductor
configuration information for the desktop computers. In letters
sent to resellers last month the company reported that some 386-
and 486-based Compaq Prolineas shipped before November have been
exhibiting premature battery failure.

This is not a dangerous situation and is probably due to some
minor internal problem causing the batteries, which should
normally last for years, to discharge too rapidly because of a
problem with an incorrect resistor value in the battery charging
circuit.

Modern personal computers use a long-life battery to maintain a
trickle of current to a CMOS memory chip which stores the basic
configuration information for the computer. The number and type
of floppy and hard drives, as well as other system information is
stored in CMOS and when the battery fails the computer will not
restart until a new battery is installed and the system
reconfigured.

Such problems are annoying and can put a computer out of
commission on a temporary basis, but does not affect data stored
on a hard disk in any way -- the information just can't be
accessed until the computer is back in full operation.

CRN says that the Compaq report to dealers indicates a possible
battery life as short as six months and that a system board
replacement is required for some Prolinea systems to correct the
problem.

Some systems with serial numbers between x222 and x242 are
included in the advisory as are some other computers.

No comment from Compaq was available at deadline.

(John McCormick/19930212)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00023)

Storagetek Credit Agreement Amended 02/12/93
LOUISVILLE, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Storage
Technology Corporation (Storagetek) says it has reached agreement
with its lenders on the revision of certain terms of its
$100 million revolving credit line.

The company said it has credit agreements with its US banks that
provides up to $100 million in advances and outstanding letters of
credit. Storagetek says it had no outstanding advances at the end of
the last fiscal year, which closed December 25, 1992. At that time
the company reported cash and cash equivalents on hand of about
$118 million. Newsbytes has learned that there were no changes in
the amount of the credit line, nor in the banks involved. However
Storagetek has reportedly gotten better terms under the new
agreement.

Storagetek builds and sells data storage tape systems for midrange
computers and more recently for networked personal computers. The
company has gone through some difficult times recently. Its highly
touted Iceberg product, a data storage device for mainframe
computers which uses a technology called RAID (redundant array of
inexpensive disks), has been delayed several times. Redundancy is
important to computer managers because it assures that if a portion
of data is lost due to a malfunction, the data is stored elsewhere
on the system and can be retrieved.

Iceberg is also expected to include data compression, another
important technique because compressed data allows more information
to be stored in less disk space. Storagetek says Iceberg will go
into testing in the second half of 1993.

Iceberg has experienced three delays in shipping, which has had a
serious impact on Storagetek's stock. Once at a high of 78, company
stock fell after each delay became public, and is now selling in the
high 18's to mid-19s per share. A $125 million preferred stock
offering is expected as soon as SEC approval is obtained. The
offering was filed with the SEC late last month.

Further pressure is being put on the company by IBM's announcement
earlier this week that it will include data compression in its new
mainframe computers. Some industry watchers see that as making one
of Iceberg's features redundant even before Iceberg comes to market.
However one analyst said that the Iceberg compression technology is
more efficient than IBM's which he characterized as a re-work of an
existing IBM technology already in use. Kemper Securities analysts
Joseph Payne says users will probably turn off IBM's host-based data
compression and use the Iceberg version.

Iceberg will both compress and compact code. Compacting removes the
space between pieces of code, while compression removes multiple
parts of the code. Storagetek spokesperson David Reid told
Newsbytes that a significant difference between Iceberg and IBM's
technology is that Iceberg will compact data, while IBM's system
compacts only program code.

Iceberg's compression algorithms will cut in half the amount of time
required to send data to remote locations. "That's very good news
for our library business," Reid told Newsbytes, referring to the
storage of data off-site for disaster recovery purposes.

(Jim Mallory/19930212/Press contact: David Reid, Storagetek,
303-673-4815)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00024)

Apple Chooses Western States Educational Distributor 02/12/93
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Rocky Mountain area
microcomputer dealer Random Access say it has signed a 30-month
exclusive contract with Apple Computer to handle school accounts in
a six-state region.

To handle the new business, Random Access says it will form its
Education Access division, with personnel in existing offices in
Albuquerque, Denver, Omaha, and Salt Lake City. Random Access
spokesperson Beth Lawrence told Newsbytes the company will open an
additional office in Des Moines, Iowa. Some additional staffing is
anticipated. The agreement, which takes effect the first week of
April, makes Random Access Apple's exclusive Apple Education Sales
Agent in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and El
Paso, Texas for school grades K-12.

Random Access CEO Bruce Milliken said the contract gives the company
an entry into the educational computing market and an increased
presence in markets east of the Rocky Mountain region.

Apple Education Sales Agent are responsible for specifying equipment
configurations, technology planning, and relationship building in
sales area schools. Milliken said the new Education division expects
to utilize other company divisions such as cabling, systems
integration and networking services to support it.

(Jim Mallory/19930212/Press contact: Bruce Milliken, Random Access,
303-745-9600)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00025)

Novell, Sun Expand Alliance, NetWare 4.0 Due March 10 02/12/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- One of
the major reasons for Novell's success in the networking arena is
the company's ability to enter into strategic agreements with
other major vendors. Along those lines, Novell and Sun
Microsystems Computer Corp (SMCC) have announced an agreement
that calls for the two companies to deliver "native" NetWare onto
Sun's SPARCserver systems.

Newsbytes has also learned that NetWare 4.0, the company's
new high-end version of its flagship network operating system,
will be officially announced on March 10.

According to a Newsbytes Novell source, "native" NetWare is
processor-independent and can run without another operating
system on different kinds of hardware. NetWare has run mostly
on Intel products. To run on any other hardware, another
software product such as NetWare for Unix was required, which
would let it run side by side with another operating system.

According to the Newsbytes source, the first kind of hardware
that is going to be supported, in addition to Intel, is RISC-based
hardware, through a RISC-based processor.

According to the companies, the agreement is an expansion of
a "long-standing" relationship. During the last few years, Novell
and SMCC have already introduced a number of products, such as
NetWare NFS from Novell, and SMCC's SunSelect's NetWare
SunLink on Solaris and NetWare client support in SunPC 3.1.

According to the Newsbytes source, the new agreement marks
the first time that Sun is making its hardware available without
a pre-installed operating system. Said the source, "What that
means is that now you can run NetWare natively, right on the
RISC processor. Up to now Sun has sold Solaris on their
hardware, and they are not going to do that in this case,"
although that will still be an option. The processor-independent
NetWare is based on the upcoming NetWare 4.0.

Said the source, "Novell announced a relationship about a year
ago with HP, for processor-independent NetWare to run on HP's
RISC product -- HP PA-RISC. Now we have talked to Sun, and have
a strategic agreement with Sun to make processor-independent
NetWare available on Sun's SPARC chip, which is also RISC-
based. It is the same version of NetWare." The product will
be native NetWare running without another operating system.
It will be the only operating system on the server.

The Novell source told Newsbytes that NetWare 4.0 will be
officially announced on March 10, with the product being
shipped sometime in March.

According to Novell, NetWare 4.0 will provide directory services,
a foundation for simplified network access and management,
fault-tolerance, and reliability, as well as such services as
database, imaging and electronic software distribution and
licensing.

NetWare commands between 60 and 70 percent of the
network operating system market.

(Ian Stokell/19930212)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00026)

RasterOps Video Board For Mac Centris 02/12/93
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- RasterOps
has announced a new design of the 24STV video board for Apple
Computer's new Macintosh Centris 610. RasterOps claims to be the
first company to provide full-motion video-in-a-window, still
frame capture, and QuickTime movie creation capabilities to
Centris users.

The new Macintosh Centris line, introduced Tuesday, are midrange
computers geared toward mainstream business and professional users.
There are two systems -- the Macintosh Centris 610
and Macintosh Centris 650 -- both equipped with the Motorola
68040. The Centris 610 is retail priced at $1,859 while the
Centris 650 carries a $2,699 price tag.

The 24STV takes up a single slot and, according to the company,
enables Centris users to capture and display 24-bit images from
a variety of video sources and overlay graphics onto live,
full-motion video.

"RasterOps has redesigned the current 24STV into a compact
seven-inch format that gives extensive multimedia capabilities
to Centris users," said Randy Cook, RasterOps product marketing
manager.

According to the company, the video source for the 24STV can
originate from videodisc, videotape, cable and television and
can be composite or S-video in NTSC, PAL or SECAM.

The 24STV supports 640 by 480 output to standard Apple or
Apple-compatible 13-inch RGB (red-green-blue) monitors. It can
also output to NTSC or PAL monitors using the RasterOps Video
Expander II.

The company says that the Centris-compatible 24STV will be
available in April for the suggested retail price of $999 and will
come bundled with RasterOps MediaGrabber 2.1 software. It
will also include a three-year warranty.

(Ian Stokell/19930212/Press Contact: Renee Courington,
408-562-4200, RasterOps Corp.)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00027)

UK - 3 Unix/486 Systems Released 02/12/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Data General, Unisys, and
Wyse have all announced plans to release high-end Unix/80486
processor-based PCs in the UK within the next few days.

Jeremy Davies, a director of Context Market Research, told
Newsbytes that he was not surprised by the sudden rash of Unix
machines being launched within days of each other.

"They've woken up to the fact that Unix is where the profits are.
They've discovered that users really are in the upgrade market,"
he said, adding that the main market for the new machines is
likely to be in the accounting arena.

Richard Foden, product manager with Data General, shied away from
suggestions that the Dasher II-486DX2/66LE2 and /33LE2 series are
aimed purely at the Unix marketplace.

"I wouldn't pigeonhole them as Unix boxes. They will go into the
LAN environment as well. I see them as covering a wide range," he
said. The /66LE2 is a 66MHz 486DX2 system with 4MB of RAM,
starting at UKP 1,866. The /33LE2 is a 33MHz version starting at
UKP 1,538.

Unisys' Unix offerings are the Business Computer Systems (BCS), a
range of machines aimed at Unix and LAN server users. The 486-
based systems are designed to run SCO Unix and are available with
a range of options.

Announcing the new machines, Ian Osborne, program manager with
Unisys, said, "The move towards open systems is spreading to
smaller organizations interested in multi-user Unix PCs," adding
that he thinks the BCS series offer better price/performance than
the competition.

At Wyse, marketing manager, John Cummins, said that his company's
new Unix PCs are four new processor configurations of the
Decision 486se desktop.

The EISA systems join the i486DX systems introduced late last
year in the UK. They are 25MHz and 33MHz 80486SX systems, plus
the 50MHz and 66MHz 80486DX2 systems. Pricing starts at UKP
1,400.

"They're a form of insurance for users," Cummins told Newsbytes,
adding that customers are worried about the payback of a system
over a three-year period rather than just the price.

According to Cummins, the main advantage of the new machines,
which will be available to users in the UK from the end of this
month, are that they can run Unix now and, when Windows NT (New
Technology) arrives. Customers can upgrade with no worry that
their hardware will be obsolete, he says.

(Steve Gold/19920212/Press & Public Contact: Data General - Tel:
081-758-6000; Unisys - Tel: [phone]; Wyse - Tel: 0734-
342200)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00028)

Apple, Macromedia In Multimedia Deal 02/12/93
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Apple
Computer has linked up with multimedia specialist Macromedia
to "stimulate the use of multimedia technologies in business,
education, and home markets." Specifically, the deal calls
for bundling of products, joint development of authoring tools,
the establishment of training centers and educational efforts, and
more resellers for the products.

First, Macromedia products will be bundled with Macintosh
computers equipped with CD-ROM drives. The bundle includes
Action!, a multimedia business presentation package, SoundEdit
Pro, a sound editing software package, and ClipMedia,
a collection of video, animation andsound clips.

The next initiative involves Apple and Macromedia jointly
developing templates with Authorware Professional 2.0, in order
to reduce the amount of time necessary for the development of
interactive learning applications.

Both companies also plan to establish training locations
worldwide to support developers in making interactive titles.

The companies will also collaborate on efforts to educate
customers about multimedia. Activities planned include
advertising, direct mail, seminars, and on-line information
through services such as AppleLink, CompuServe, and America
Online. The companies also plan to develop a new Multimedia
Information CD.

The two companies also plan to cooperate in educating and
increasing the number of authorized multimedia resellers.
Joint activities planned include recruitment, product and sales
training, technical support, and sales tools.

(Ian Stokell/19930212/Press Contact: Tricia Chan,
408-974-3886, Apple Computer Inc.)


(EDITORIAL)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00029)

Editorial - The Home Team 02/12/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
Our fast-paced,  high-tech era has created a major low-tech
problem - child care.

Indications of what was to come date from the 1960s, with IBM's
problems developing its first System 360 mainframe. As Thomas
Watson Jr. writes in "Father, Son and Company," delays in getting
the product to market could not be solved by throwing more
engineers at the problem, as had been the case with industrial
products, because large groups of specialists got in each others'
way.

Bill Gates of Microsoft solved the problem with a macho corporate
culture based on that great college tradition, the all-nighter. As
described in the new biography "Gates," junk food and coffee were
provided to workgroups on deadlines who struggled day and night to
meet deadlines, while peer pressure and incentives forced all the
"high-bandwidth" types to conform.

The pattern has extended from high tech into every area of work.
To reach the top in any profession, it seems, the 40-hour
workweek is passe. Congress regularly stays up late at night,
either in regular session or at fund-raising cocktail receptions.

This long-simmering problem has finally reached the boiling
point, thanks to the high-profile problems of Attorney General
candidates Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood. Both women wound up in
careers demanding many 60-hour workweeks. Thus, their family
caregivers had to work many 60-hour weeks. Undocumented or off-
the-book workers were most likely to make that kind of sacrifice
in a low-wage profession.

Many conservatives have a very simple solution to this problem.
Take women out of the power-loop, get them back home with the
kids, and the problems disappear. At best, give them a "mommy
track" of regular work days, and force any wimpish men stupid
enough to want to care for their kids into a companion "daddy
track." The trouble with this approach should be obvious, since
many of us lived with it in the 1950s and 1960s. Children of high
achievers grew up without fathers. Today, they also grow up
without mothers.

President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton came out
with a shared solution in Arkansas. That is, both devoted as much
time as they could to daughter Chelsea in her early years,
bringing her into their activities as much as possible. Limiting
themselves to one child helped.

The solution for our home is also limited. We have a 24-hour
child care center for our two. But that's good for, at best, 45
hours a week. What if both of us have to work late? It's cruel to
bring up any kids in an institution.

The Clinton Administration could see its "nanny problem" as an
opportunity to develop a total child-care strategy, encompassing
not only the problems of caring for high-need pre-schoolers but
dealing with school-age kids who are now left at home alone
between the end of school and the end of the work day. A central
tenet of such a "family friendly" policy, however, must be that
parents can limit their work hours somewhat and not lose-out on
the fast track as a result. Fathers as well as mothers must
pitch-in with the kids if they're to grow up really healthy.

The President has taken some unconscious steps in this direction
already, publicly dealing with and even hugging his daughter. But
he could take more. Take some time off, and let the world know
it, so he and his wife can hang out with Chelsea. Let Al Gore run
the store once in a while. Operate the simpler parts of the White
House, like the communications office, on double-shifts, say from
6 to 2, then 2 to 10, so the people who work there can get a
life. Encourage businesses to similarly team up high stress job
functions, so they can get those 16-hour days in but still let
their people live.

Teamwork is the word. Marriage is a form of teamwork. Bill and
Hillary are a team. So are Bill and Al. So are Dana and Jenni,
for that matter. More and more, our workplaces are defined by
teams. Double-shifting will also mean more jobs in addition to
happier, better-adjusted families. We're talking a win-win deal
here.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930209)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Next Dealer Reacts Next's Exit From Hardware 02/12/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- With
Next's announcement it is no longer selling hardware, do Next
dealers feel betrayed? Not at all, according to one Next dealer,
San Francisco, California's Macadam.

Tom Santos, the owner of Macadam, said his company is confident
Next will stand behind products it has already sold based on
his past dealings with his company. However, Macadam said his
company is looking forward to offering Nextstep 486 for the
Intel-based personal computer market.

In thirty days Santos said he'll be able to start taking orders
for the Nextstep 486 graphical operating system with delivery
expected by the end of May. "I like being a specialist. Do I
look forward to handling the commodity and complexity of the
486? No. But, on the other hand, this opens up an enormous new
market for the Nextstep system," Santos said.

When asked if Macadam anticipates being able to buy Nextstep
hardware from Canon which has taken over the manufacturing,
Macadam said that's not likely. However, Macadam said it got its
current inventory at an excellent price and is anticipating
being able to move what it has left of the Nextstep hardware.

Applications are expected to spring up quickly for the Nextstep
486 operating system, but Macadam says the cost of the Nextstep
486 will probably keep Next from making a bundling agreement
with someone like Dell. Santos said he expects the Nextstep 486
to be priced between $350 to $495, while he estimated
Microsoft's Windows NT will run in the $200 to $400 price
range.

What was Next's mistake? According to Santos it was not
competing in the workstation price wars. Next never lowered the
price of the Nextstep after its introduction. Santos said, "You
can be the best, but if no one knows it and everyone else drops
their prices, well...."

(Linda Rohrbough/19930212/Press Contact: Tom Santos, Macadam,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00031)

 ****No New Newsbytes Issue Monday, Feb 15 02/12/93
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 12 (NB) -- Due to the
observance of President's Day, a national US holiday, there will be
no new issue of Newsbytes for Monday, February 15.

Newsbytes' regular publishing schedule resumes Tuesday, February 16.

(Wendy Woods/19930212)