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/nb930219

Text File | 1993-02-19 | 75.3 KB | 1,729 lines

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

Australia - Gibson Int'l Signs NZ, Philippines Distrib 02/19/93
CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Australian software developer
Gibson International Pty Ltd has signed Universal Software Solution
in the Philippines and New Zealand as distributors for those
countries.

The products carried are the Enterprise series of business software.
Gibson MD Gregg Gibson said it was not only pleasing to be able
to bring export dollars into Australia, but to have his company's
software chosen over many international competitors. Adolfo
Suzara is president of the company which will distribute
Enterprise products in the Philippines. He is president of
the Computer Distributors and Dealers Association of the
Philippines. He said, "Computer users in our country have
matured and are now recognizing the requirement for
industry-specific software. The flexibility of the Enterprise
modules will allow us to assemble packages specifically for
each customer."

Gregg Gibson said he believes the ease of producing a custom
system from competitively priced modules will "add to the market
tension in each country." He said his company's products were
always sold at the same price, regardless of country. The
Enterprise system ranges from a simple cashflow module to
complete vertical systems such as industry-specific accounting
systems.

(Paul Zucker/19930219/Contact Gregg Gibson on phone [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00002)

Fuji Xerox Supplies Laser Printers To Apple Computer 02/19/93
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Fuji Xerox says it has started
supplying laser printers to Apple Computer on an OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) basis. With this agreement, the firm expects
to double its share of the worldwide personal computer printer
market.

The agreement calls for Fuji Xerox to supply between 500,000 and
600,000 LaserSelect 300 and 310 printers to Apple Computer in
its first year. Fuji Xerox is widely believed to currently hold
a 10-percent share in the worldwide personal printer market.

The LaserSelect 300 and the 310 were announced by Apple
Computer on February 9. These printers were jointly developed by
Fuji Xerox and Apple Computer. Fuji Xerox developed the
hardware parts, mainly the printer engine, while Apple Computer
developed the controller and software. These laser printers
are manufactured at Fuji Xerox's plant in Japan, and are
supplied to Apple Computer through Xerox International Partners
(California, US), a joint venture firm of Fuji Xerox in the US.

Xerox Group is also selling printers for personal computers
through Xerox International Partners. Fuji Xerox reports that it
is currently supplying printers to Digital Equipment (DEC) and
Compaq on an OEM basis.

Fuji Xerox now makes about 500,000 personal computer printers
per year. The firm seeks to increase its worldwide market share to
20 percent within 5 years.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930219/Press Contact: Fuji Xerox,
[phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00003)

Russia - Satellite Projects 02/19/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Russia's communications
minister, Vladimir Bulgak, has announced support of the number
of satellite communications projects proposed by Russian companies.
All the projects are designed to help formerly military
space exploration companies to get into civil service.

Only 6 percent of the communications channels in Russia are
satellite-linked, while the country needs at least 20%,
Minister Bulgak told reporters at a news conference. The
minister said the space industry will be supported in its
quest to serve the world market with low-cost communications
technologies.

Five communications systems are now in various stages of
implementation now.

The Gonets (Messenger) is a project to launch 36 low-orbit satellites
that will provide low-cost data communications services. It is
managed by the SmallSat association of Moscow, Russia. Two
satellites are already in space.

The "Express" satellite telephone communications project (run by
the Moscow-based InformKosmos company) will use 16 another
satellites and provide up to 4000 Intelsat-grade phone lines.
The first launch is scheduled at the end of 1993.

The "Signal" project is the competitor to the Motorola's Iridium.
Plans of the International space communications consortium call
for the launch of 48 satellites by the end of 1994.

"Zerkalo" (Mirror) is the Noos Space Telecommunications' project
to link Russian banks and other high volume users with a
large satellite to be launched into the geosynchronous orbit
in 1995.

And finally, the Maraphon mobile communications system calls
for three geosynchronous satellites to provide low-cost service.
It is managed by the NPO applied mechanics of Krasnoyarsk.

Although all the projects have been announced, they all need
additional financing and all parties are seeking outside
investors. The Ministry of Communications, although promising
rapid licensing and governmental support, has said it will
provide almost no financing, according to the minister.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930219)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00004)

Russia - DEC Sells To Bankers 02/19/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Digital Equipment has concluded
a three-day business seminar in Moscow in which it hosted
representatives of major Moscow and regional banks. DEC reports
that 15 Russian banks, including the Central Bank of Russia,
Savings Bank, and Vneshtorgbank (bank for foreign trade), are
actively using the company's technologies.

DEC's goal is to encourage more bankers to switch to Digital's
technology, despite the fact that DEC is charging hefty fees
for both hardware and software it sells and supports.

According to the company, DEC is trying to raise its share in the
growing banking market in Russia.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930219)


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

Byers' View Station And Mobile Mapper, For Pen Computers 02/19/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Byers
Engineering has announced two new pen-based graphics and
mapping packages for pen computing.

View Station, an off-the-shelf package, is slated for release in
the second quarter for Microsoft's Windows for Pen Computing, a
company spokesperson told Newsbytes.

Mobile Mapper, a custom application for utilities and
telecommunications companies, is already shipping for Windows for
Pen.

Mobile Mapper will later be released for GO's PenPoint, and both
packages will eventually run on the upcoming OS/2 extensions for
pen, the spokesperson added.

The new pen software from Byers is designed to give mobile workers
greater accuracy and efficiency than was possible via traditional
paper-based equivalents.

The two packages are based on a familiar notebook metaphor aimed at
getting the user up and running in a day or less, regardless of
previous familiarity with computer systems.

View Station and Mobile Mapper both let the user draw freehand
sketches and accessing stored drawings and maps. The applications
also offer basic CAD functionality, including zoom-in and zoom-out,
symbology placement, and redlining of lines, shapes and text.

View Station is intended mainly for letting users view Intergraph,
Microstation, and TIFF (raster) files when out in the field,
according to the spokesperson. The package will be priced at
$495.

Mobile Mapper, on the other hand, incorporates company documents as
well as custom forms for use in such areas as design engineering,
surveying, data collection, and inspection and inventory.

The custom forms provide pick lists and other user-friendly
characteristics, circumventing the need for handwriting recognition
and speeding data entry.

In the future, Byers plans to add greater file format compatibility
to View Station, and increased engineering capabilities to Mobile
Mapper, the spokesperson told Newsbytes.

View Station and Mobile Mapper will both be on view at Mobile World
& Pen-Based Expo in Boston March 2 through 5, AM/FM International
March 22 to 25 in Orlando, and SuperComm '93 April 19 to 22 in
Atlanta.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19930218/Press contacts: Angie Tedford, Byers,
tel [phone], ext 330; Karen Smith, Byers, tel [phone],
ext 332)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00006)

Australia - New SITA Telecom Center In Sydney 02/19/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Societe Internationale de
Telecommunications (SITA) has opened a new telecommunications center
in Sydney to service its worldwide network of airline and
travel-related customers.

The new facility combines a number of separate services and adds
much-needed traffic capability for the fast-growing South Pacific
region.

SITA was established in 1949 by a small group of Airlines which
pooled their existing communications systems to provide a much
more reliable and cost-effective system shared by all. Today there
are more than 500 worldwide members making this the world's largest
private communications network.

Recent SITA achievements in the region include the commission of a
CUTE 2 passenger check-in system at Sydney airport which allows
any airline to use any check-in counter, and migration of Air Niugini's
computer reservation system to the SITA data center in Atlanta,
Georgia.

The Sydney hub is connected to X.25 nodes in Melbourne, Brisbane,
Perth, Auckland, Wellington, and soon in Noumea, Papeete, Nadi and
Port Moresby with portable nodes planned for other cities in the
region. Sydney is linked to London, Hong Kong, Paris and
Los Angeles by satellite, and to Singapore and Los Angeles by
cable. Auckland will link by the new fiber-optic cable and this
will be used for other Pacific Rim countries as the service is
made available.

So important is the system that it not only has redundant paths
for communications, but a 250-kilowatt generator system with 48
hours of fuel and two battery banks. Even the air conditioning
system has backup units, and even then only half of the system's
cooling capacity is needed.

A Windows system is used to graphically monitor the system in
its region, and network controllers can "zoom in" on any site for
closer examination. The system currently handles 10 million
messages a week that will increase at around 30 percent each year.

(Paul Zucker/19930219)


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

More On MobiLink Launch 02/19/93
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Chicago will be
the base for the new MobiLink cellular consortium, Newsbytes has
learned. But its office will include less than a dozen people.

Newsbytes discussed the new arrangements with manager Doron
Lurie, who came to the group from PacTel Cellular with a
background in sales and management. "This is the first
comprehensive set of quality standards in the cellular industry,"
he said. "We represent 83 percent of the US and Canadian
POPs" or potential customers, "88 of the top 100 markets, and
161 of the top 200."

Lurie also addressed the coming use of 10-digit phone numbers
similar to the codes already used by wired phone customers. "The
number is based on the home cellular switch. The number would go
with the person. Through our software, whenever a customer goes
to another market, they would enter a two-digit code to let that
market know they're there. It's *18. Then, anytime an outside
caller dials that customer, the call would automatically be
delivered to whatever market the customer would be in."

Lurie added that all of MobiLink would come online at once. "The
roll out will be done by mid-year. What we're doing now is
working with the companies to upgrade their processors, system
and facilities to meet the launch date. People are staffing now,
changing procedures, buying software and call processors for
customer service. There are a lot of things to do."

Advertising will also start in the third quarter, he said. "It
will be a combination of two levels of ads. One is a full national
campaign, significant enough to launch a national brand and
sustain it. At the regional level each of the 15 companies will
be providing regional advertising that is synchronized in terms
of the strategic message, including the look, the logos, and the
messages that are put out there. Each carrier will decide to what
extent they use the MobiLink brand. Each will treat it
differently -- some will use MobiLink dominant, others their own
name dominant. Our expectation over time is the Mobilink name
will become recognized," and all the carriers will use it first
instead of their own brands -- Ameritech in Chicago calls itself
Mobile 1.

Still undecided at this juncture are such key questions as
centralized MobiLink voice services, the group's united stance
toward the CDPD packet cellular system, and a standard for
digital cellular. Many member carriers, like Ameritech, offer
voice services, often through the number *123, but not all do.
Many of the members are part of the CDPD group, but not all are.

And, while some members have committed to upgrading their
networks with Time Division Multiple Access, or TDMA equipment,
others like US West are committed to the competing Code Division
Multiple Access, or CDMA, and others still have not made up their
minds. "This is the first industry benchmark we're setting out
there," Lurie conclude. "There's huge potential for this to grow.
You have to prioritize it.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930218/Press Contact: Stephanie Sacks, for
MobiLink, 202-833-4229)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00008)

Dell To Preinstall Creative Labs Sound, CD, Video 02/19/93
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Dell says it
plans to offer sound and video preinstalled in certain of its
personal computers. The sound and video products will come from
Creative Labs under a new agreement between the two companies.

Dell has had a preinstallation program for software and
peripherals and now says the Creative Labs sound and compact
disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) products will be available for
preinstallation as well. The company says it will offer
Creative Labs' Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster
16 ASP, CD-ROMs, and software preinstallation on 386 and 486 PC
systems.

In addition, the Dellware catalog, new from Dell, will offer
for retail sale Creative Labs' Multimedia Starter Kit, Upgrade
Kit, CD-ROM Upgrade Kit, and Sound Blaster sound cards.

Dell is doing well in the competitive PC market these days. The
company was awarded a 1992 Customer Satisfaction Award by
market research firm Dataquest which says Dell has been number
one in its overall customer satisfaction surveys in three
consecutive quarters.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930218/Press Contact: Benita Kenn, Creative
Labs, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

Lotus Upgrades Gateway To SMTP 02/19/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- The cc:Mail
division of Lotus Development Corporation has announced a major
upgrade to its e-mail gateway product. cc:Mail Link to SMTP now
allows cc:Mail users on PC networks to connect to the world of
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) which is used in
many Unix sites and is the backbone of the Internet mail system.

cc:Mail Lint to SMTP v2.0 is a significant upgrade for several
reasons, not the least of which is that the product has been
completely rewritten in C from Pascal. Other enhancements include
an automated name mapping maintenance function. This solves an
irritating problem for network administrators, who have had to
follow such changes with updates to the maps that tell the
computer systems where to forward mail.

Other major improvements include the incorporation of support for
Lotus Vendor Independent Messaging (VIM) standard, simultaneous
sending and receiving of messages in as many as five channels, and
the ability to do this while also handling uuencode message mapping.
This is an important capability in those sites that have
to deal with uuencode code and decode steps and allows the gateway
to operate at a significantly higher throughput.

Other upgraded features include support of Internet RFC-1154; the
ability to feed Internet News to a cc:Mail bulletin board; and
preparations for future support of MIME (Multimedia Internet
Mail Extension).

cc:Mail Link to SMTP is available to new users for $3495.
Users of previous versions can upgrade for $495.

(Naor Wallach/19930217/Press Contact: Nancy Scott, McGlinchey & Paul
for Lotus, 617-862-4514)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00010)

Interplay Gets Star Trek License 02/19/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Interplay Productions
has reached agreement with the Paramount Licensing Group of
Paramount Studios for the exclusive use of the Star Trek name
and characters for all gaming industry purposes. This
is an exclusive multi-year, multi-product, and multi-platform
agreement which allows Interplay to market games based on the
original Star Trek show and characters.

Interplay is planning to releasing eight new titles, not including
its current game for the PC, "Star Trek: 25th Anniversary."
There will be a Macintosh version of Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
in the second quarter of this year as well as a CD-ROM version
of the game at the same time.

Interplay is talking about only one of its eight new games.
Planned for the third quarter is a game tentatively called
"Judgement Rites." Similar to Star Trek: 25th Anniversary,
it will be an action/adventure game.

Interplay plans to develop each of the products in various
formats: PC, Macintosh, CD-ROM, Nintendo, and Super-Nintendo.
There is also some discussion about releasing these products
in Sega format.

This agreement's exclusivity applies only to the gaming industry
which explains why Berkeley Systems is still able to offer
an "official" Star Trek edition of its screen saver product. Screen
savers are considered to be utilities and are not covered
by this agreement between Paramount and Interplay.

(Naor Wallach/19930218/Press Contact: Ann Emmerth, Interplay
Productions, 714-553-6655/Public Contact: Interplay Productions, 714
-553-6655, 800-969-4263)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00011)

Davidson Signs Kenfil For Product Distrib 02/19/93
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Davidson
& Associates has announced that a distribution agreement with
Kenfil, the largest software-only distributor in the US,
carrying more than 3500 software titles from 230 publishers.

The agreement covers all of Davidson's products as well as all of
Davidson's Affiliated Label partner products. These Affiliated Label
partners include Creative Pursuits, Earthquest, Lawrence Productions,
and Zugware. This agreement is not exclusive and is in addition to
similar agreements that Davidson has in place with other distributors
like Merisel, Ingram Micro, and Educational Resources.

Part of the distribution agreement signed between the two companies
calls for Davidson to participate with Kenfil in joint marketing
activities including the listing of Davidson's products in Kenfil's
"Pocket Software Sales Guide" and sales presentations. Other details
of the agreement are not being disclosed.

(Naor Wallach/19930218/Press Contact: Linda Duttenhaver, Davidson &
Associates, 310-793-0600 Extension 230/Public Contact: Davidson &
Associates, 310-793-0600)


(NEWS)(IBM)(WAS)(00012)

PC Magazine Picks Best Low-End Super VGA Monitors 02/19/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- The March 16th issue
of PC Magazine carries the results of the magazine's extensive
laboratory tests of 58 14- and 15-inch Super VGA resolution
monitors, the most popular size and resolution for today's
business computers, so popular in fact that there have been
reports of shortages in the supply lines.

Five monitors received the coveted Editor's Choice ratings, two
14-inch and three 15-inch units.

The ADI MicroScan 3E+ and Optiquest 1500D rated tops among the
tested 14-inch monitors, based on quality and price. The $750
(list) ADI monitor comes with external DIP dual-inline-pin
switches that allow the unit to be switched into service mode,
while the $500 (list) Optiquest monitor only offers half the two-
year warranty of the more expensive unit. Street prices for the
two are nearly identical at around $400, which would seem to make
the ADI monitor the best deal.

PC Magazine rates the $899 (list) MAG MX15F tops among 15-inch
monitors both for its fast 76 megahertz refresh rate and the
exceptional front panel controls.

The Nano Flexscan F340iW, which lists for $900 and has a street
price of $725 or so, gets very high value ratings despite its
high price.

NEC's $760 (suggested street price) NEC MultiSync 4FG gets high
ratings for sharpness and color alignment, but loses a few
points for poor antiglare features.

Detailed test results on all 58 monitors are included in the
magazine.

SuperVGA means that the monitors are all capable of a resolution
of 1,024 x 768 pixels.

(John McCormick/19930218/)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00013)

MacTV Schedule For February 22-26, 1993 02/19/93
MARLOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- MacTV, the
daily one-hour satellite computer product news program broadcast
every day on Galaxy 6, Channel 22 starting at 8 am Eastern
time. Some shows are also broadcast on the Mind Extension
University cable channel.

Previously broadcast programs are available on VHS tape at $9.95
plus $3 Shipping.

Monday, February 22, 1993: QuickTime, an introduction to the
newest file type from Apple; Premiere 2.0, how to create, edit,
and/or redesign QuickTime movies; VideoShop: Overview, a
comprehensive look at one QuickTime movie editor; VideoVision,
multimedia software and one multimedia 24-bit board; SyQuest
Removable, an efficient and well-liked storage program.

Tuesday, February 23, 1993: MacDraw Pro, combines great
performance with illustration tools; Expert Home Design, design
anything you desire, from a kitchen to a grand mansion;
FolderBolt/NightWatch II, gives you a combination hard drive
security system and a folder; INITPicker 3.0, prevents INIT
problems before they occur; Norton Utilities, just what the
doctor ordered for anyone who uses a Macintosh.

Wednesday, February 24, 1993: PowerBooks/180, Apple's newest
portable computer; PowerPort, your PB wants this, the quickest
internal fax/modem; PowerPad, give your PowerBook cursor keys and
added function; CPU, PowerBook utilities; HAM 1.0, the Macintosh
gains a Hierarchical Apple Menu; BookView Imperial, permits you
to give your Macintosh a monitor.

Thursday, February 25, 1993: Quicken 3.0, gets your finances in
order very quickly; BESTBOOKS, one more Macintosh bookkeeping
program; MacInTax, lets you prepare your taxes with ease and no
ulcer; Hi!Finance, financial management extraordinaire; Managing
Your Money, an introduction to the newest version.

Friday, February 26, 1993: Cross-platform, gives you information
on file transfer/file translation; MacLinkPlus/PC, the definitive
method for Mac/PC file exchanging; SoftPC Family, with this your
Macintosh can run both DOS and Windows software; Timbuktu 5.0,
permits control of, diagnosis of, and viewing of another Mac or
PCs; PC Exchange, how to put DOS/Windows files into your
Macintosh; PathFinder, EtherNet and LocalTalk networks can be
connected; MacTOPS 3.1, the undisputable leader in file sharing
and translation.

(John McCormick/19930218/Press Contact: Wayne Mohr, Executive
Producer PCTV and MacTV, 603-863-9322)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00014)

Review of - Books - PCs, DOS, Windows For Dummies 02/19/93

From: Andy Rathbone, author. IDG Books Worldwide Inc., 155 Bovet
Rd, Suite 610, San Mateo CA 94402, 415-358-1250.

Price: $16.95, $21.95 Canada each, 15.45 UK

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: tbass HNDYPRSN, MCI:379-5378 02/19/93

Summary: IDG's Dummies series of books are informative and
helpful for those with little or no computer experience.

======

REVIEW

======

Dan Gookin is considered a DOS expert and has a couple of other
books out on the subject. He's got a great sense of humor which
helps to lighten the mood while imparting information. This is
very effective. The three books reviewed here, "Windows for
Dummies," "DOS for Dummies," and "PCs for Dummies," also feature
cartoons by Rich Tennant, a nationally syndicated computer
cartoonist.

"PCs for Dummies" is designed to give the novice computer user
the basics from organizing one's workspace to troubleshooting
a PC problem. "PCs for Dummies" is divided into parts such as
Introducing Your Computer; Working with a Computer; and The
Parts of Tens.

The various chapters walk one through the components and external
parts. The descriptions show you how to turn the machine on, use
the keyboard, load the drives, and other basic operations and concepts.
There are also important tips, such as "your keyboard is not a
coffee filter" which addresses a common problem with having
drinks and food around your computer. There are very readable
explanations of DOS, software, LANs, Windows, and acronyms normally
used. Finally as in all the Dummies series, there is a list of
ten do's and don't on various PC-related subjects.

The second book in the IDG's books for Dummies series is "DOS for
Dummies" which targets beginners afraid of DOS and computers.
The book, approaching the subject of DOS with humor,
starts with the basics and moves into more complex
areas, breaking down ideas into simple elements. There is
also a list of DOS 5 commands, including those that are
used frequently, those used infrequently, and those which are
never used and are best eliminated. Very few books give much
advice as to what command files you are better off without.
This book will be a great help if you are afraid of DOS 5, yet
you wish to experience unencumbered DOS speed. DOS programs run
faster than the Windows-oriented versions.

The third book, "Windows for Dummies" is sliced into six
sections as was the DOS 5 book of the series. It introduces
Windows basics, including one of the little-known functions
of Windows called Dr. Watson. Windows has a utility that will log
the errors made between Windows and the programs interacting with
it. This helps to determine the problem one may experience in the
Windows environment. The log may not make sense to you, but the
information is important to anyone in technical support.

If you are comfortable with computers and your friends ask you
"How To" questions all the time, suggest these books.

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

PUMA RATING

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

USEFULNESS (4) These books cut through the jargon to approach complex
basics with directness and good humor. If you need to work with
a computer that has DOS 5 for a disk operating system and/or
MS-Windows, but do not know what questions to ask for fear of
looking dumb, get one or all of this series. The $16.95 suggested
retail price is well with in line for what is offered.

AVAILABILITY: (4) IDG Books are well distributed in bookstores
such as B Daltons, Waldenbooks, and most any store that carries
computer books. CompUSA, 800-451-7638, has the series for $13.95
each.

(tbass HNDYPRSN/19930215/Press Contact: Katherine Day, IDG,
415-312-0614, FAX [phone])


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00015)

Review of - Patton Strikes Back, Macintosh game 02/19/93

Runs on: All Macintoshes

From: Broderbund Software, 500 Redwood Boulevard, Novato,
CA 94948

Price: $49.95

PUMA rating: 3.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach 02/19/93

Summary: A war game that recreates the Battle of the Bulge.
Play either the American or German side and see if you can do
better than history. Very simple to learn and play, yet
maintains a good sense of realism.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Patton Strikes Back (Patton) is a war game that is designed to
appeal to those who want to play such games, yet are not
interested in all of the bookkeeping and rule studying that
such games can require. Patton was designed by Chris Crawford
who is one of the premier strategy game designers in the
Macintosh world today and has won renown for games like Balance
of Power and Siboot.

The game comes on four diskettes. There is also a 32-page
instruction manual, a Macintosh specific instruction card,
and a card that allows you to order a video of the real
Battle of the Bulge at a price savings of $5. The game
is copy protected by the look-up method which requires
that you have the instruction book. Once in every game
a dialog box pops up and requests that you enter a word
from a specific page and line in the book. You get four
chances to get it right. If you do not succeed, the program
quits and you are returned to the Finder. If you do
succeed, game play continues to completion with no more
problems.

The game is very large. It comes in compressed form on the
diskettes. Broderbund supplies the necessary decompression
utility which is very easy to use. The total installation
is simply a matter of copying all of the files from the
diskettes to your hard disk and then double-clicking on
any of the four game files. The decompression process is
rather lengthy. -- it took about 15 minutes on a Macintosh
II and about 10 minutes on a Macintosh IIci. The decompressed
game takes up significant disk space. The manual suggests
that the game will use about 5 MB however this is only after
the files have been decompressed. My first attempt to
decompress the files was done on a machine with only 7 MB
of space on the hard drive and the process stopped with an
"out of memory" error about two thirds of the way through.
I would suggest that you make sure that you have at least 10
MB of space on your hard drive before starting the decompression.

Before you play the game, a thorough reading of the 32-page
manual is in order. The manual is written in a very light and
breezy style with lots of personal comments by Chris Crawford.
Overall this is not a difficult game to understand.

Once into the game, decisions have to be made. The first
decision is which side you wish to play. Since this game
recreates the Battle of the Bulge, you are asked whether to
play the German or American sides. You are also asked to
determine the level of difficulty of this session. This
level decision is very important as it affects the course
of the game dramatically. The most immediate consequence
is that your units and the enemy's units interact differently.

While at the easiest levels an attack by a strong unit will
annihilate a weak unit, at the higher levels, the weak unit
may very well resist your unit and in some cases even repel
it!

The final decision that needs to be made first is whether
one uses the historically accurate weather patterns that
affected this World War II battle or some simulated weather
patterns. The choice of weather is very important since
it affects the ability of the Allied air forces to come
in and disrupt the German units. Historically, the Germans
were very successful in hitting the Americans hard on those
days when the American air forces could not come and support
the ground troops.

The game actually begins as the screen takes on the look of
a strategic map of the battleground. The map shows the main
roads in the area, where all of the towns and villages are
located, rivers, and any forests or other natural impediments
to movement. As one of two commanders, all that you see
initially are your units. The game tries to simulate the "fog
of war" by not showing you all of the units all of the time.
Only those enemy units that you know about will be shown on your
screen. Each of your units, and the enemy units, are
represented by one of four symbols which also tell you what
that unit is attempting to do. There are symbols for units
that are in a defending posture which look like dots with
arcs in front of them. Units that are moving are represented
by thin arrows pointing in the direction of movement.
Units that are attacking are represented by thick arrows.
And finally, shattered units are represented by an X.

The game starts at 6AM on December 16 and runs through December
28. At any point you can pause the game clock to issue orders
to your troops. This is done in one of two ways. You can either
click on the unit to which you want to give new orders and the
rest of the game stops until the order giving is completed.
Alternatively you can pause the whole game and then give orders
to all of your units. Order giving is also very simple. You
can change the unit's mode and you can give it directions to
move in.

Let us say that you want to have a unit move into Bastogne
and attack a unit that is just west of that town. What you
would do is place your unit in mobile mode, give it directions
on how to get into Bastogne by dragging the pointer to
Bastogne, alternatively you can do the same thing by using
compass directions (north, east, south, and west). Once in
Bastogne you tell the unit to face west. Change its mode to
Attack mode and then tell it to move west one final time.
Once this is done, the unit will attempt to obey these
orders. The only thing that might hinder your troops
is if another enemy unit appears in your way, or if you
change the unit's orders before they are completed.

The game calculates how long it takes to accomplish different
tasks and gives you an indication of when each order would be
complete. This is very useful as it allows you to coordinate
activities. Obviously different activities take differing
amounts of time and that becomes a very important factor to
remember and use in a swiftly changing battle situation like this.

In addition to events that occur as part of the game, at
certain points in the game, action is paused and a special
screen is displayed which contains a digitized photograph of
one a memorable event during the Battle of the Bulge. The
accompanying text describes the event and its effect on the rest
of the battle and, indeed, the war.

For instance, the Malmedy massacre is fully explained as were
its effects on the morale of the American troops for the
remainder of the war. The insert also explains why there was
such an outcry when President Reagan proposed visiting the
Nazi burials at Bitburg.

As certain events occur in the game, a film clip is displayed.
So, for instance, every time the Germans or Americans occupy a
city or town, a film clip is shown and a message talks of
which unit occupied which spot. When an air strike is
carried out, a film clip is shown of the view from the
cockpit of a strike against a tank. Unlike the special screen
described earlier for timed events, these film clips are always
the same for the same events and do not change. This,
unfortunately, makes them more of a bother after a while.
Fortunately there is a menu item setting to allow you to
shorten the length of the film clip or eliminate them
completely.

Another interesting feature is the inclusion of advice
film clips. These pieces of tactical advice are offered by
a film clip of someone who looks remarkably like Chris Crawford
although in an American or German uniform. These characters
also appear once a day to inform you of the weather
situation and tell you of any prospective reinforcements.

In the lower left part of the screen a square appears which
contains the game clock and an indicator of how you are
doing in the game. This indication takes the form of a
numeric score. In the manual you are told that a positive
score means that you are doing well. A negative one means
that you are doing poorly. If the score at the end of the
game is greater than 500 points in any direction, that is
an indication of a crushing victory or defeat. The game
will normally end because time has expired however there
is a special case in which it might end earlier. If one
side or another conquers all of the landmarks on the board,
then that side is automatically declared the winner.

Probably the most haunting feature of the game is the final
screen. Once the game is completed and you have finished
gloating over your victory, an animated picture appears.
In this picture you see a file of American troops streaming
past a couple of destroyed German tanks. Next to the tanks
are a couple of bodies of dead Germans. As the file of
Americans walk past, several of them look over at the dead
Germans. Over time, a message appears above this scene
stating "Nobody ever wins."

I played this game several times for this review. I played
both the German and the American side and in several
different degrees of difficulty. After all of that time I
was pleased to discover that not once did I encounter a
problem. The game ran smoothly on the machines that I
used. Learning time was minimal as the instructions are
clear and simple.

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

PUMA RATINGS

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

PERFORMANCE: 4 The game runs flawlessly and smoothly. There is
even a setting to tailor the speed at which things happen for
your comfort.

USEFULNESS: 3 I liked this game. However, over time I found
myself losing interest as it remained the same and all the
challenges were gone.

MANUAL: 4 Everything you need to know to run the game is in
the manual.

AVAILABILITY: 3 Available from mail order and software stores.
Broderbund is a quality company and offers a technical support
number. The reason for the point deduction is that this support
number is not a toll-free call.

(Naor Wallach/19921219/Karen Omholt)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00016)

Indonesia Gets National Messaging Service 02/19/93
KOWLOON, HONG KONG, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- US-based telecommunication
services supplier, Mobile Telecommunication Technologies Corp.
(Mtel), announced that its Indonesian partner, Keaung Group, has
received a license from the government of Indonesia to build and
operate a nationwide messaging system in Indonesia.

This makes the country the next link in a pan-Asian network for
international wireless messaging services on 931.9375 MHz
frequency.

Indonesia is the fourth country in Asia to utilize the 931.9375 MHz
frequency as a de facto standard for international messaging.
Mtel's joint venture partners in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia
also have licenses to operate on this frequency.

The system will be owned and operated by a new joint venture
company, including Mtel International with 19 percent, Singapore
Telecom International (STI) with 30 percent and Kedaung Group with
51 percent ownership. The Kedaung Group is a $250 million
conglomerate and Indonesia's largest glass manufacturer.

Mtel and STI have collaborated on paging projects in the past and
are co-investors in paging companies in both Hong Kong and
Thailand.

"The Indonesian government's decision to grant a license to our
new joint venture company moves Mtel closer to establishing a Pan-
Asian network," Alexander Good, president of Mtel International
told Newsbytes.

"This represents a step forward in Mtel's long term objective of
developing a global messaging network using 931.9375 MHz as a
common frequency."

The Indonesian system will utilize Mtel's proprietary international
messaging technology, developed by Mtel Technologies. This
technology is currently used by STI to operate a 931.9375 MHz
nationwide system in Singapore that is linked with the United
States, Canada, and Mexico.

Within the next few months, the company expects it will link Hong
Kong to this network, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia --
providing wireless communication to many of the busiest travel
routes for business in Asia.

The new license will enable Mtel's joint venture company to operate
in urban areas across Indonesia's 17,000 islands. While Indonesia
is the world's fifth most populous country, unlike many Asian
countries, paging services have not yet been heavily developed.

With the addition of Indonesia, Mtel has the ability to link the
United States, Canada, Bermuda, Mexico, Argentina, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia, all countries which have licensed
931.9375 MHz for nation-wide and international paging.

(Brett Cameron/19930209/Press Contact: Peter Rachor, Mtel
International (HK), Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00017)

Shanghai Stock Exchange Chooses HP Servers 02/19/93
SHANGHAI, CHINA, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard's
network servers have been installed at the Shanghai
Stock Exchange to run a new integrated trading system.

The first phase implementation of this system, designed to
accommodate high growth in exchange trading, listings, and
membership, runs on three HP 9000 Model 827 servers.

"With the surge of interest in Chinese securities, we
realized last year that we would soon reach the limits of
our existing information-technology infrastructure," said
Wei Wen Yuan, general manager of the Shanghai Stock
Exchange. He said the implementation of the new computer system
has enabled them to service the backlog of new members waiting
for seats on the Exchange.

The new trading system has been developed by Hong Kong-based
Computer & Technologies International Company (C&T), a systems
integrator and HP reseller. The project is valued at $2.7 million,
which includes hardware, software development, and consultation to
help the exchange build its own information technology team.

The C&T/HP design employs two levels of network servers. The
intermediate servers handle all interaction with dealers'
PCs, including order processing and trading-information
inquiries. The back-end server handles deal matching,
security and settlement.

"By using HP's advanced client/server architecture, we are
able to build a system that meets with the exchange's
criteria in a very cost-effective manner," said C.S. Ng,
managing director of Computer & Technologies International.

The system has been designed to support an initial one million
transactions per day. "This can easily be scaled to the 10
million transactions per day that may be required by 1994,"
he said.

Terry Cheng, general manager of China Hewlett-Packard Ltd., says:
"The computerized trading systems at most stock exchanges around
the world are based on ideas that have been around for the last 15
to 20 years. In Shanghai, we are installing a system that has been
designed from the ground up to take advantage of today's
leading-edge technology."

The C&T proposal, put together with the help of a securities
industry consultant from Hewlett-Packard, was chosen by the
exchange ahead of bids from IBM, Olivetti, and Stratus
Computer.

The exchange says the HP units offer three-second response time
to transactions, scalable architecture to accommodate future
growth, remote access, and fault tolerance to operate throughout
the trading day without a glitch.

A joint C&T/HP team has been working on the Shanghai
Exchange project since May 1992 with coding of the server-
based software starting in August. Shanghai Stock Exchange
staff has been responsible for the development of the
front-end software that runs on brokers' PCs.

The system is being implemented in two phases, the first of
which was completed in December. This involved opening the
upper floor of the exchange's trading hall and use of a
system that includes dual HP 9000 Model 827 servers at the
front-end, and an additional Model 827 acting as the back-
end server.

During the second phase, scheduled for this month, dual HP
9000 Model 877 servers will take over back-end operations,
and an additional Model 827 will be installed. In this final
configuration, each pair of Model 827 servers will handle up
to 300 personal computers, giving the exchange capacity for
600 dealer positions.

(Brett Cameron/19930209/Press Contact: CS Ng (C&T International),
Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


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

 ****Third Largest BBS In US Hit In FBI Raid 02/19/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- In an interview
with Newsbytes, the Software Publishers' Association praised the
recent shut-down of Rusty & Edie's, the nation's third-largest
bulletin board system. But separately, civil liberties advocates
questioned it

Peter Beruk, litigation manager for the SPA, said, "I would safely
say we had over 100 reports on this board in the last year, 6
from members." He said that the SPA and FBI started investigating
the board separately, and when the SPA learned of the FBI
involvement, it let law enforcement take the lead.

Rusty & Edie's, which ran on about 125 PCs in the basement of a
home in Boardman, Ohio, was raided January 30 by federal agents
who confiscated all the equipment on charges of copyright
infringement. No charges have yet been filed against the system
operators, Rusty and Edwinia Hardenburgh.

"We have found many instances of finding commercial software on
the board," continued Beruk. "He certainly had some large name
recognizable programs on that board, recognizable to the average
PC user. We have every reason to believe they were aware what was
going on. We believe once the case is settled that will be
brought to light."

In an interview a few years ago, Mr. Hardenburgh said many
"hackers" had put commercial packages on his board, disguised as
demonstration versions, which he had taken down. He also noted at
that time that no one bulletin board operator had yet been
charged with software copyright violations, and he did not want
to be a test case.

Beruk concluded, "This serves notice to other boards. Any action
that we take serves notice. We'll continue to look at boards."

Separately, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it
may challenge the constitutionality of the raid. Ohio legal
director Kevin O'Neill told reporters that, while the charges
may have merit, it could have been solved through a civil
lawsuit. He compared the shutdown to seizing a newspaper.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930219/Press Contact: Software Publishers'
Association, 202-452-1600; ACLU of Ohio, 614-228-8951)


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

MCI Adds New Fast Data Service 02/19/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- MCI announced MCI
International Switchband, designed to allow on-demand data links
as fast as 1.92 million bits/second between the US and Europe.
The service is compatible with standards of European and Asian
carriers in the GloBand consortium, and uses undersea fiber
cable.

The service will initially be provided to the United
Kingdom in conjunction with Mercury Communications, and is
designed to complement the company's domestic digital data lines.

Customers can use the service for videoconferencing, remote
printing, imaging, LAN connections, radio broadcasting and
normal data transfers, at speeds starting at 256,000
bits/second. Trunk-line access to MCI's network is necessary for
the service to work. MCI plans to expand the service through
links to other countries later this year.

Meanwhile, the company said it will add 100 jobs to its small
business sales force in Atlanta by April 3, moving the office to
a larger location. There are similar centers in Wichita, Kansas
and Towson, Maryland, all focusing on the small business market.
MCI Business Services is based in Atlanta.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930219/Press Contact: MCI, Steve Fox, 404-
668-6056; Corporate News Bureau, 202-887-3000)


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

More On Mobilink 02/19/93
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Even before
opening for business, the MobiLink cellular consortium is looking
to expand.

US West NewVector officials confirmed the group is looking for
cellular companies in Mexico and the Caribbean to join the
group. Mexico may be a tough sell, since Southwestern Bell,
which is part of the competing Cellular One group, holds 10
percent of TelMex, the state-owned phone company, and other
cellular licensees are fairly unwieldy private consortia with
both Mexican and international competition.

NewVector President John DeFeo also confirmed it will not charge
extra for new services resulting from the consortium's creation.
Instead, the partners expect that increased market share and
increased roaming revenues will help offset any costs from such
things as 24-hour customer service lines, loaner phones, and new
software.

While the new group is designed as competition for Cellular One,
which itself is dominated by McCaw Cellular, in which AT&T is
buying a substantial stake, competitive advantages may be nil in
some markets like Atlanta. That's because in Atlanta, as well as
some other cities, both cellular carriers are members of
MobiLink. BellSouth and PacTel, for instance, are the designated
carriers in the Atlanta market.

Analysts, meanwhile, called the group disingenuous in denials
their grouping has anything to do with the McCaw-AT&T deal,
although preliminary announcements of the group's formation do
pre-date that deal. Analysts say the AT&T connection may give
McCaw affiliates a price advantage, which improved service from
MobiLink may offset.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930219/Press Contact: Stephanie Sacks, for
MobiLink, 202-833-4229)


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

International Telecom Update 02/19/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Investor approval
is renewing drives to privatize state-owned phone companies.

Stock markets in Latin America broke out of their slump during
the week, with Brazil's on-again, off-again sale of Telebras
leading the move. The Brazilian bourse in Sao Paolo rose 8.2
percent for the week, led by telecom shares. Uncertainty could
turn the gains around, however. In Mexico, it's the uncertain
fate of the North American Free Trade Accord, in Brazil a tax
reform plan which will add a levy on financial transactions.

Those kinds of problems would seem heavenly to nations like
Honduras, which now wants to sell its military-controlled
Honduran Telecommunications Company, known as Hondutel. National
security was the military's excuse for controlling the $500
million system -- Honduras was a key ally for US intelligence
in its effort throughout the 1980s to overthrow Nicaragua's
Sandinista government. That effort succeeded in an election.
Legislation is still needed to clinch the Hondutel sale.

Besides saving cash, selling state-owned telecom companies also
gives someone else the resulting labor headaches.
Telecommunications of Jamaica workers went on strike, rejecting a
50 percent wage hike and disrupting international service.

Elsewhere, US and European companies continue to make headway
in selling equipment internationally. Digital Microwave Corp. of
the US won a deal to sell $5 million in digital microwave
transmission equipment to Advanced Information Service Public
Company Limited of Thailand. Ericsson of Sweden won another large
order, this time $28 million, from AOTC of Australia to improve
its networks there. And Finland's Nokia won a joint-venture which
will result in sales of digital switching gear to Telekom
Malaysia.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930219/Press Contact: Ericsson, Kathy Egan,
212/685-4030; Digital Microwave, Tom Drohan, 408/943-0777)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

AT&T Launches Effort In Long Distance Market 02/19/93
BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- AT&T
launched the i Plan, a new effort to raise its market share in
the consumer long distance market.

In recent years AT&T has been hurt especially by small long
distance carriers competing on price and MCI, whose Friends &
Family Calling Circle plan has been taking away customers. The i
Plan is described as a new approach to creating personalized
combinations of services, products and discounts for consumers.
The new plan will offer discounts from all AT&T operations,
perhaps including its Universal Card credit card and consumer
products operations. It is aimed especially at "loyal" customers,
and will offer free minutes of calling to those customers.

The discount plan, filed with the Federal Communications
Commission February 17 and scheduled to be available beginning
March 3, would give consumers spending more than $30 per month on
domestic, direct-dialed calls 25 percent off standard AT&T prices
for such calls to a single area code and 15 percent off all
other domestic, direct-dialed calls without a monthly fee or
sign-up charge. Based on calling patterns, consumers may also be
offered new calling plans offering improved discounts, or free
trials of services such as Language Line translation services
Services, Message Services or Fax Mailboxes.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930219/Press Contact: AT&T, Mark Siegel,
908/221-8413)


(EDITORIAL)(GOVT)(WAS)(00023)

Editorial - Clinton Economic Plan Looks Good For High-Tech 02/19/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- By John McCormick.
As the details of President Clinton's economic presentation to
Congress started to emerge late on Thursday, it began to appear
that the much-touted Clinton budget deficit reduction plan was
even less than it had appeared at first, but its final impact was
so confusing that the stock market (Dow Jones average) first
surged up 36 points, then surged down 45, then eased up again,
ending the day on a very mild 10-point loss. Things still look
good for high-tech.

Long-term government bonds jumped in price yesterday, lowering
their yield to just over 7 percent. Some analysts say this was
due to a market consensus that inflation would not grow because
the Clinton plan was so bad for the economy, while others said it
was due to a belief that the administration would finally get a
handle on the deficit.

All this lends credence to the old saying that only economists
could win a Nobel Prize for vehemently disagreeing with each
other, but things still look positive in the high-tech field for
several reasons, something which shouldn't come as much of a
surprise to those who remember the massive Silicon Valley support
for Clinton during the campaign. Capital gains will be taxed at a
significantly lower rate than short-term profits and income, so
people should be enthusiastic about long-term investments in
companies which are developing new high-tech products.

Lower short and long-term interest rates will also make
borrowing for R&D more attractive, as will proposed changes in
the tax laws which encourage companies to reinvest profits in new
equipment rather than by showing big taxable profits.

All smaller companies, approximately those with annual incomes
less than $5 million, not just high-tech companies, will actually
benefit from new tax incentives.

As these details trickled out, analysts and investors struggled
to evaluate the impact of what turned out to be a moving target
rather than the plan people thought they heard outlined by
President Clinton.

For instance, while the President's speech announced a projected
$493 billion budget deficit reduction by 1997 (if all went as
planned), in the cold light of day it turned out that, according
to Leon Panetta, the projected number was "gross," not net. To
anyone but an administration spokesperson, this means that the
numbers used in the speech were misleading.

As the details of the plan emerged, it turned out that the
deficit reduction would actually be far less because the nearly
$500 billion number didn't count proposed new spending and tax
cuts which will cut that number to an actual deficit reduction of
only $325 billion at best over the next four years (about 8 to
10 percent of the multi-trillion dollar deficit) -- this from an
administration which made a campaign promise that it would cut
the deficit in half in four years.

Even worse, it turned out that in the first year of the plan
there would be a $36 billion tax increase and only $2 billion in
net cuts in federal spending.

CNBC reported today that one White House insider said that in
five years we would be looking at about the same size deficit we
have today.

The Federal Reserve Board is apparently on board with the Clinton
program because in testimony before Congress today its Chairman
Alan Greenspan called the plan "a credible deficit reduction
package." He also assured nervous members of the Senate
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee that the Fed would
ease interest if necessary to ensure that the economy did not
suffer from the proposed tax increases.

Central bank heads can't be totally straightforward in making
promises, but Mr. Greenspan came as close as possible for someone
in his position to giving that guarantee when he said that the
Fed would strive to ensure that the economy would not suffer if
the Clinton plan were passed.

(John McCormick/19930219)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00024)

Tough Trade Talk - US Bashing Even From US 02/19/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- The US Trade
Representative's office released a statement late yesterday
calling upon the Japanese Government to stimulate recovery at
home rather than take advantage of trading partners by trying to
offset the current recession by relying on exports. But US
Trade Representative Mickey Kantor was apparently playing both
sides of the blame game yesterday because he had earlier blamed
US companies for the problem.

The mixed signals were separated by the release of a Commerce
Department report showing that the total US international trade
deficit jumped nearly 30 percent last year to a massive $84.3
billion, of which nearly $50 billion was due to Japanese
surpluses. The surge in the deficit came from both a decrease in
US exports to Japan and a large increase in Japanese imports
here.

As might be expected, the Japanese Government said that this was
mostly the fault of the US, but the overnight response merely
echoed comments made earlier in the day when Ambassador Kantor
said that the US was having such a tough time competing
globally because it doesn't save and invest enough in its own
business productivity. Ambassador Kantor also said yesterday that
he will press Japan and China to open their markets to US
goods.

It isn't uncommon to hear comments from US Asian trading
partners which stress domestic problems in the US as a major cause of
international trade deficits, but it is unusual for a US trade
negotiator to apparently undercut his own bargaining position by
admitting up front that there are domestic problems causing some
of the US's problems. Of course, Ambassador Kantor was mostly
speaking for domestic consumption in support of the President's
new economic plan.

Things look especially gloomy for any further opening of Asian
markets following the Japanese Trade Minister's remarks yesterday
that, "[the trade deficit] is a problem with the US; it needs
to increase its competitiveness." He went on to point out that
the US trade balance with Europe has also suffered recently,
indicating an overall problem rather than one confined to
Japanese anti-competitive measures.

Since Japan and the rest of the world are undergoing a major
recession, few Washington insiders see much hope for increasing
US overseas trade in the near future.

Ambassador Kantor's international arm-twisting might be
strengthened by the recent all-time record low value of the US
dollar versus the Japanese yen. Since the devaluation of the
dollar means that Japanese goods cost more here and US goods
should cost less in Japan, in an open market environment US
trade should increase while Japanese exports should drop.

(John McCormick/19930219/Press Contact: Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, 202-395-3204, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00025)

ROUNDUP: Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 02/19/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Boardwatch Magazine for March 1993 features 605 BBSs in the
Chicago area. Some of the other articles cover Al Roger's Free
Educational Mail BBS, version 2.04c of PKZIP from PKWARE, and
AT&T Paradyne's recent introduction of their Dataport Family
modems.

The February 1993 edition of Voice Processing Magazine has a
cover story on design and management of call centers, a buyer's
guide on predictive dialers, and articles on how the Telephone
Consumer Protection Act may affect outbound telemarketers,
whether LANs and PBXs can coexist peacefully, and winners of the
1993 Call Center Awards for Excellence.

A Canadian publication, I.T. Magazine, has in its February 1993
issue articles on how three organizations in Canada connect
information technology to their strategic business plans, Virtual
Corporation's online office using Lotus Notes, how the Office of
the Auditor General is establishing a totally automated audit
system, and the ways that the Government of British Columbia is
connecting its many e-mail systems.

The February 15, 1993, issue of Network World reports on the
Internet Engineering Task Force's approval last week of the
Privacy Enhanced Mail public-key encryption standard; a test by
InterLAB that illustrates the inability of many portable LAN
analyzers to do even the most elementary tasks; Novell's planned
but not-eagerly-awaited introduction of its NetWare 4.0 operating
system; worries that Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups may
hinder network control and security; and Syn-Optics
Communications' 16-port switch and Ungermann-Bass's soon-to-be-
announced modules that bring both companies nearer to their
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) goals.

Front-page stories in ComputerWorld for February 15, 1993, are on
last week's restructuring of the Open Software Foundation; how
IBM intends to make its Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking High
Performance Routing (APPN+) the industry's most-wanted
internetworking protocol instead of the current favorite,
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol; the revelation
that there are serious flaws in each of the top four operating
systems used to run client/server applications; and Compaq
Computer's quest to oust IBM as the PC industry leader.

The cover story in February 1993 issue of Networking Management
reports on the ongoing battle between IBM's advanced peer-to-peer
networking standard, APPN, and Menlo Park, Calif.'s Cisco Systems
Corporation's advanced peer-to-per internetworking standard,
APPI. Also in this issue is the 1993 Conferencing Directory with
17 tables and several pages of vendor lists.

The Office (Magazine of Information Systems and Management) for
February 1993 has ten articles covering seven topics - fax,
recycling, copier controllers (including a buyer's guide),
telephone systems, office furniture (ergonomic or otherwise),
shredders, and PCs - covered in ten articles.

CommunicationsWeek dated February 15, 1993, has five feature
articles. They are: First Boston Corporation's switch from
mainframe and minicomputers to a client-server network;
Cincinnati Bell Information Systems' creation of a time-saving
application development platform; the announcement that the
Desktop Management Task Force will be unable to have final
specifications completed in time to meet its March deadline; the
slow start for Asynchronous Transfer Mode technology; and
Ungermann-Bass's introduction, expected this week, of its Dragon
Switch module to provide more bandwidth for desktop users.

The March 16, 1993, issue of PC Magazine carries a review of 58
multifrequency 14- and 15-inch monitors that were tested by ZD
Labs. Other articles report on the long-awaited Paradox for
Windows, two dozen antivirus software packages to protect your
PC, and the three most widely used ways to connect LANS via WAN
technology.

"NT Mania: Should you go along for the ride?" introduces the
cover article in the February 15, 1993, edition of
InformationWeek. Also featured are articles on Steven Jobs and
his NeXT software, the use by UPS of circuit-switched cellular
technology, and AT&T's court fights with its competitors.

Government Computer News, dated February 15, 1993, has six
articles on the front page. They are: The Internal Revenue
Service's wish for 100 million returns to be sent electronically
by 2001; the Social Security Administration's record-setting, but
not system-breaking, transaction load last month; the Department
of Defense's second attempt to modernize its Worldwide Military
Command and Control System; the resignation of Jean Ichbiah, who
created Ada 83 and is now criticizing the revision being made by
the Department of Defense; why the third set of awards in the Air
Force's Desktop IV procurement is going nowhere; and Secretary of
Defense Les Aspin's planned ADP reorganization, including
consolidation of the 285 most active data centers.

Federal Computer Week for February 15, 1993, reports on the
ongoing problems with the Desktop IV contract, last week's
announcement by Intel and Nestor of the development of the much
faster Ni1000 neural-network chip; James E. Lewin Jr.'s move to
Sprint as vice president of government affairs; and how the
Clinton administration's federal job cuts may affect information
technology operations.

(John McCormick/19930219/)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00026)

GTSI Government Sales Results 02/19/93
CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- If anyone was
questioning the government's commitment to high-tech spending,
then yesterday's financial report from GTSI, Government
Technology Services Inc., a major computer supplier to federal
government agencies, should eliminate those questions. The
company has announced increased profits on strong, record-level
sales for both the final quarter and the year as a whole.

GTSI's net for the fourth quarter of 1992 was $1.85 million
versus $1.65 million for the same quarter a year earlier and
sales totaled $121.9 million versus $98.7 million. The
proportionally smaller profit increase was, according to company
chairman and chief executive officer R.M. Rickenbach, due to a
decrease in gross margins resulting from strong price competition
in the microcomputer industry.

The company's combined sales of microcomputers, workstations,
software, and services totaled nearly $400 million in 1992, $172
million of which was sold on the GSA Microcomputer Schedule
Contract. All of GTSI's sales are to either state, local, and
federal governments or government prime contractors.

GTSI's sales volume and market dominance should increase even
further under the recent dual-contractor Desktop IV award which
split the $700-million Pentagon microcomputer contract between
the Chantilly, Virginia, company and French-owned Zenith Data
Systems.

Of course, Desktop IV has been awarded before, several times in
fact, only to be shot down under a barrage of protests, so it is
by no means certain that GTSI and ZDS or either one of the
companies will actually participate in the actual contract, but
unlike the situation for ZDS, this is a win-win game for GTSI
which will certainly see an ever growing piece of the GSA
Schedule market if Desktop IV fails once again.

(John McCormick/19930219/Press Contact: Bob Capozzi, GTSI, 703-
631-3333, X1035)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00027)

The Enabled Computer 02/19/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- The Enabled Computer
is a regular Newsbytes feature by John McCormick covering news and
important product information relating to high technology aids for
the disabled.

Despite the nice write-up in the February CompuServe Magazine,
The Enabled Computer is not a weekly column -- we strive for twice
each month and usually succeed.

Calls are starting to come in to The Enabled Computer BBS at 814-
277-6337, mostly from those looking to download lists of computer
hardware and software for the disabled, the sort of thing which
is just too long to fit in a column. We also have the old columns
online for downloading or reading online.

The rest of this issue will be devoted to an unusual product that
should find an enthusiastic audience among those in the deaf and
even blind community; it is a closed caption decoder from
International Computers.

What you ask is the big deal about another TV decoder? Well, if
it were just another decoder then there would be no big deal, but
the Closed Caption Decoder (CCD) is not a TV viewing device but a
PC card that can not only display all four CCD channels without
interfering with the TV image - it will also store the text in
ASCII files or print them out.

Of course, once you have an ASCII file you can run it through a
speech synthesis program or a real-time Braille output device --
even a Braille printer. As far as I can determine, this is the only
PC Braille decoder available.

For those of you who don't know, closed caption is the system
used extensively by PBS and ABC to provide visual information
about ongoing programs (usually the dialog). It is sent on a sub-
carrier and is not visible unless the user has a special decoder
which puts the information on the TV screen.

There are actually four channels available; C1 Caption and Text
make up one pair and C2 Caption and Text are the others. English
program text (such as spoken dialog) is normally found in the C1
Caption subcarrier, with second language captions (usually
Spanish) in C2 Caption.

The two text channels are often used to carry program schedules
or other information not directly related to the current program.

This is a vast improvement for deaf and hearing-impaired viewers,
but it is not perfect because the text naturally obstructs some
of the information and also may be too small for some users to
read comfortably at normal TV viewing distances.

Putting the decoder in a computer and displaying the text on a
high-quality monitor offers a major improvement for some users,
and the ability to store and print out the text is even more
useful.

The unit comes with a brief spiral-bound instruction manual which
explains both installation and operation well enough for the vast
majority of users.

The half-length PC board has no switches to set and is just
installed into any open slot, then connected to the Video Out
port on any VCR or television. There is a reasonably long video
cable supplied, but if it isn't a convenient length, both ends
are just standard RCA plugs and another cable could be found in
any video store or Radio Shack.

Although the documentation does not specify which computer is
needed beyond saying it needs a floppy drive, the CCD.EXE file is
only 50K in size so presumably almost any old PC would work.

There aren't a lot of options provided or needed because the
software and hardware detect the sort of video adapter with which
your PC is equipped.

The simple menu-driven program offers onscreen Help; Print;
Captions; File Save, Options, and Exit. Options cover such one-
time settings as which printer port to use and how to display
text.

All four caption channels will be displayed onscreen
simultaneously, but to change which quadrant will be printed or
saved you must go to the Options sub-menu.

For more information contact International Computers, 12021 West
Bluemound Road, Wauwatosa, WI 53226.

Files supplied on the floppy disk are: CCD.EXE - the Closed Caption
Decoder program; SETUP.DAT - file which contains default startup
option settings; CHECKOUT.EXE - program to assist in initial
checkout and selftest; INSTALL.BAT - program to install software
to hard disk; GETAKEY.COM - utility used by INSTALL.BAT to test for
keyhit; ANSWER.COM - utility used by INSTALL.BAT to get user input.

This is a nice device and at just under $100 it isn't even very
expensive.

(John McCormick/19930219/Press and Public Contact: Jay Carr,
International Computers, 414-764-9000)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00028)

Northern To Cut 415 Jobs At Canadian Plant 02/19/93
LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- Northern Telecom
Canada plans to cut 415 jobs this spring at a plant that
manufactures telephones and handsets in Ontario.

While Northern had told employees at the London plant as early as
January 1992 that some jobs would be disappearing, the number has
increased from the original 340 to 415, company spokeswoman
Maureen O'Brien said. The company has offered early retirement
incentives to 240 workers at the plant in hopes of reducing the
number of layoffs, she said. On June 25, layoff notices will go
to whatever number of employees is necessary to bring the total
work-force reduction to 415.

The London plant makes telephone sets, Northern's Millenium pay
phones, and handsets for use in phone manufacturing plants around
the world.

The cuts are due to declining demand for older residential
telephone models such as the nine-year-old Harmony, O'Brien said.
The London plant, which currently has 1,043 employees, also makes
newer phones, but demand for these will not pick up all the slack
created as the older models are phased out.

O'Brien also noted that Northern has invested more than C$30
million in automating the London plant over the past 10 years,
and claimed that the company is "one of the few companies that
still manufacture telephones in North America."

(Grant Buckler/19930219/Press Contact: Maureen O'Brien, Northern
Telecom, 416-238-7206; Public Contact: Northern Telecom,
416-238-7000)


(CORRECTION)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00029)

Correction - Iomega 300MB PC-Powered Removable Media Drive 02/19/93
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- A Newsbytes story on January
19th reported on the introduction of the Multidisk 150 PC Powered
drive from Iomega Corporation. The company is concerned that the
story may have given readers the wrong impression about the
read/write capabilities of the new drive and the diversity of
platforms for which Iomega provides mass media storage devices.

The Multidisk PC Powered 150, an external drive, draws its power
from the PC through a connecting cable that also carries the data.
It comes with an adapter for ISA/EISA-based PCs, driver software,
and one storage disk. Iomega's Linda O'Neill told Newsbytes that the
drive can also read and write to disks with capacities of 35MB,
65MB, 90MB and 105MB and can read Bernoulli 44MB disks. The new
lower-capacity 35, 65, an 105 MB disks are a benefit to the user,
said O'Neill, because they can select the capacity disk that meets
their needs, giving them a lower cost-per-megabyte benefit.

Iomega markets mass media storage devices, including transportable
and dual external drives for IBM-compatible, Macintosh and
workstation platforms.

(Jim Mallory/19930218/Press contact: Linda O'Neill, Iomega
Corporation, 801-778-3345; Reader contact: 800-777-6179)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00030)

Zeos Reports $28.2M Loss For 1992 02/19/93
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1993 FEB 19 (NB) -- PC maker Zeos
International announced that it ended 1992 with a net loss of
$28.2 million on net sales of $206.1 million.

The company's also recorded a loss for the fourth quarter, although
the period improved over the third quarter. For the fourth quarter
Zeos reported a net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.83 per fully diluted
share on net sales of $46.9 million. The third quarter recorded a
$8.1 million loss including $1 million in one-time charges for
consolidation of facilities. Net sales for the 1991 fourth quarter
were $70.6 million for net earnings of $3.2 million, or $0.33 per
share.

Zeos said it ended the year with cash and equivalents totaling $10.7
million, net working capital of $31.7 million, and no outstanding
short-term borrowings or long-term debt. That's a $2.7 million
increase over the third quarter.

Zeos had hoped for a better year. In January 1992 Newsbytes
reported that Chief Financial Officer John Bakewell said the company
could see as much as a 30 percent revenue increase in 92. "Thirty
percent is something entirely possible," Bakewell said, adding that
a 15 to 20 percent sales growth was a conservative estimate. Some
analysts had estimated the company could earn as much as $1.60 per
share for 92.

Zeos Chairman and CEO Greg Herrick said the fourth quarter results
demonstrate that the company is making progress in refocusing the
company on its core business strategies. Contrary to the strategy of
some other companies, Zeos has de-emphasized sales through the mass
merchant and says 98 percent of its fourth quarter sales came from
direct market channels. It is also discontinuing the operation of
its Netherlands telemarketing subsidiary and says it will continue
to service its European customers through its US-based telemarketing
center. It is also merging manufacturing and marketing of its
Occidental Systems brand personal computers into its main
operations, with the Occidental Brand systems becoming a separate
Zeos product line.

In the fourth quarter Zeos introduced it Freestyle notebook
computer, and earlier this quarter launched its Contenda brand
subnotebook computers, a 386SL-based 25 Megahertz system that has a
standard configuration of 2MB of system memory, an 80MB hard drive,
and a built-in track ball.

Herrick says the company will continue to build its financial
strength. It established a new $12.5 million revolving credit line in
the fourth quarter. "This new facility, combined with out improved
cash position... a significant tax benefit receivable and no
outstanding shot-term borrowings or long term debt provides us with
the liquidity necessary to continue in our efforts to address the
challenges ahead," Herrick said in a prepared statement.

(Jim Mallory/19930219/Press contact: John Bakewell, Zeos Int'l,
612-362-1970)