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/nb930423

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

Direct Or Not - That Is The Question 04/23/93
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Australia's major PC vendors
have finally come to the point where they can no longer put off the
question of selling direct as well as through the traditional
channel. And for those not selling direct yet, they have gone part
way by introducing budget-level machines for mass merchandising.

When Dell started trading in Australia earlier this year, it wasn't
the first to sell direct-only, but the event was the watershed for
the local industry. Compaq, which was directly targeted in Dell's
advertising, has repeatedly said it isn't planning to commence
direct sales in Australia despite the recent introduction of its
DirectPlus division in the US.

Competitors contacted by Newsbytes believe that it is inevitable
that Compaq will sell direct in Australia, but many also believe
that it will find ways to soften its insistence that all resellers
have suitable training and support levels and be accredited by
Compaq.

Toshiba said it will not sell direct, and believes the reseller
channel must be fully supported.

Apple is about to introduce the Performa range to a discount
electrical chain. The company recently removed a level of command,
sacking six high-level managers.

ALR has opened a direct sales service but will continue to sell
some product through VARs and its business systems integrator
Webster Computers.

NEC has sacked 30 percent of its staff in the computer division
and says it made a mistake in selling direct. It now claims that
the reseller channel is the only way to go.

Compaq is doing a lot of business (as it is in most markets) but
the margins have been severely reduced. There is industry talk
that the company will drop the accepted practice of issuing a
recommended retail price (RRP) and will come up with a "street
price" which is much closer to the dealer cost price.

IBM recently introduced the ValuePoint range and will expand
this soon. It has also announced a toll-free direct sales division.

(Paul Zucker/19930422)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00002)

Low Cost Contract Manufacturing In India 04/23/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- With the liberalization of
the economy, and the consequent flood of foreign names into the
hardware arena, companies in India are looking for ways to make
their manufacturing facilities viable. Huge assembly lines that
were assets not so long ago, have turned into liabilities.

The need to look for alternatives is felt by those who invested
heavily on surface mount technology (SMT) lines, in the
pre-liberalization period.

When one talks about contract manufacturing today, Pertech
Computers Ltd.'s (PCL's) Rs 150-crore order (around $50 million) from
Dell Computers for manufacturing motherboards comes to mind. PCL
might have foreseen the trend and turned the opportunity into
an avenue of growth and export edge. But for others, like PSI
Data Systems, the Bangalore-based subsidiary of PSI Bull,
contract manufacturing might be the last resort to obviate
the closing down of their plants.

Digital Equipment India Ltd. (DEIL), subsidiary of Digital
Equipment Corp, USA, is already manufacturing some boards and
sub-assemblies for others at its facility in Bangalore.
Wipro Infotech, the second largest computer firm in the country,
is not closed to the idea of lending its facilities. Michael
Klein, managing director, Tata Information Systems Ltd., the
joint venture in which IBM has a stake, has clearly stated
that there was a surplus of SMT lines in the country, some of
which his company could use. That seems enough to assume that
manufacturing contracts are a new business line for hardware
manufacturers.

DEIL started lending its facilities nearly eight months ago. Today,
the company manufactures process control boards for Asea Brown
Boveri, some cartridge tape drive related components for TVS
Electronics, a Madras-based firm, and motherboards for Tata
Unisys Ltd. However, as contract manufacturing yields fruit
only in the long run it will take years to become a distinct
profit line for companies.

While this could pose a disincentive for manufacturers, there
are other negative factors too. Says A. Sadashivam who heads
Wipro Infotech's system engineering division: "More important
than the cycle times, the volumes in the domestic market are not
high enough to make contract manufacturing feasible." Though
Wipro has no immediate plans to lend its facilities, it is
considering undertaking export contracts at its plant in the
Madras export processing zone.

"Contract manufacturing not only brings in revenues, but also
helps the manufacturing facility grow," emphasizes Stephen Arhana,
managing director of Altos, PCL's manufacturing arm. In order
to execute the Dell order, Altos is setting up the largest
motherboard manufacturing facility in India. For Arhana it may
make more sense to look for export contracts outside.

But the growing market for PCBs also reflects the scope of
contract manufacturing. Populated PCBs are still under the
negative list of imports and their import, even under a licence,
attracts a duty of 85 percent. Though some like TISL have
obtained special import licences, sooner or later vendors
will have to look for suppliers within India.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930422)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00003)

India's Software Crunch In Education 04/23/93
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- The availability of
computers in schools has increased. But bright-eyed school kids
across the country still have to make do with learning staid
Basic or dBASE. The potential of computers as a teaching tool
is left unexplored. In sharp contrast to the computer training
segment which has a plethora of players, there are few developers
offering software customized to the Indian educational system.

This despite the vast potential of the market for educational
software. The central government of India has allocated Rs 26
crore (around $8.7 million) to purchase computers for schools
during 1993-94. The University Grants Commission is funding 8,000
first-grade colleges. There are more than a million schools in
the government sector and 50,000 schools in the private sector.
All these put together form a lucrative market for educational
software vendors. Analysts project this market to grow to an
impressive Rs 110 crore (around $36.7 million) over the next
three to four years.

The Computer Literacy and Studies in School (CLASS) project of the
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), a
government-sponsored effort to make computers easily accessible
to school children, made an effort to introduce computers as a
medium to teach school topics, by bringing in BBC micros way
back in 1984. But the PC revolution that followed plunged
the micros into obsolescence and with it waned the enthusiasm.

There were some efforts in the late eighties. Kale consultants of
Bombay announced a PC-based question bank software aimed at
teachers, with a provision to store two types of questions.
Kale, however, switched to the more lucrative hospital and hotel
management segments. A couple of other developers who offered
similar products too followed suit. That leaves us with
imported packages such as Arakkis which is aimed more at the
Western system of learning and the Bangalore-based Cromputer
Systems India Ltd., which is perhaps the only company to have
stayed in the business. Since 1991, Cromputer has published over
a hundred packages covering school subjects like history,
geography, physics, chemistry, biology and math. The company
has set itself an ambitious sales target of Rs 75 crore (around
$25 million) over the next four years.

If Cromputer's success is anything to go by, why the dearth of
players in this segment? "Development of educational software
requires expertise in education more than in software
development," observes N.M. Kalambi, vice president, Cromputer.
With the emphasis on school education being on content rather
than concepts, the task becomes all the more complex.

Utpal Malik, reader, Department of Education, NCERT is more
explicit: "Educational software are being churned out either by
software developers who have scant knowledge of education,
teachers who don't know much about computers, or opportunists
who don't know either. While, only the right combination of
the three can produce good educational software."

(C.T. Mahabharat/19930422)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00004)

Editorial - New Encryption Scheme - Pig In The Poke? 04/23/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- The federal
government recently released a secret encryption system for
public and business telecommunications use. The new strategy is
supposed to make it impossible for others to listen in on your
private telephone communications and AT&T immediately jumped on
the bandwagon, saying that it would include the chip in phone
products.

Sounds great, right? Well, maybe yes, maybe no.

It might be no coincidence that the Clinton Administration
announced this new version of "We're from the government and
we're here to help you," just one day after April 15, the
dreaded U.S. tax day, because there are more twists to this
story than are found in the tax code.

Digital voice and data encryption is nothing new; advanced
computer encryption systems are well-known, as is the fact that
the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland, can
probably break most of them about as easily as the supercomputers
in the basement there can read a message created with a Captain
Midnight Decoder Ring.

But advanced commercial data encryption systems are complex
enough that users have a secure feeling knowing that the data
would be so difficult (and expensive) to decrypt that even the
government wouldn't routinely peek at private data, reserving its
big Cray supercomputer guns for foreign government transmissions
or documents relating to major criminal investigations.

The problem with this new encryption system being offered by the
government is that there is no way to determine just how secure
it is because the algorithm used is itself a secret - only a
working encryption/decryption device is being offered, not a look
at how it works.

The major concern about this government-developed encryption
system is that because the process itself is secret there is no
way users can know just how good it is or whether there is some
simple "backdoor" key which would make it simple for the feds to
easily decrypt any messages sent using the new system.

One way to understand this situation is to consider the older
home satellite subscription module by which honest viewers
received TV movies and programs only after paying a fee. There
were also pirate chips which could be used to descramble any
channel without further payment. What some observers worry about
with the new federal encryption scheme is the possibility that
before the government releases this new voice encryption
microprocessor it first will develop a universal decryption chip for
use by the FBI and other agencies, a microchip which would allow
them to listen in on supposedly private communications with
little difficulty.

Even if a user believes that the government would never abuse its
possible ability to eavesdrop at will, there is the question of
just who will hold the secret keys to this new encryption system
and who might get their hands on it in the future. After all, a
small family of spies (the Walkers) was able to steal and sell
all of the US Navy's submarine nuclear codes, so just how
secure would this particular non-defense secret be kept?

You might think that commercial encryption schemes would be even
less secure but that isn't so, because they don't rely on secrecy
for their strength. Older encryption systems required secrecy
because they were actually relatively simple and easy to decrypt
once the basis for them was known, but modern commercial
encryption algorithms are fully understood by mathematicians and
can therefore be analyzed for weakness or hidden trapdoors -
their security depends not on secrecy but rather on their extreme
complexity and the massive computational power needed to break
messages encrypted using them.

There may be absolutely nothing wrong with this new federal
encryption scheme; it might be highly secure with no backdoor
available for agencies to take advantage of, but since the system
is secret there just isn't any way to tell, and that is the real
problem. Very few people are willing to trust the government and
the rapid decision by the Clinton/Gore Administration to release
this new system may bode ill for other commercial security
projects such as those built into software.

Ken Wasch, executive director of the Software Publishers
Association, has warned that while the government has said it is
reviewing all commercial encryption proposals, the new
administration has made such a quick decision on this system
which covers telephone conversations that it may also jump the
gun on fax and computer data encryption.

(John McCormick/19930422/)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00005)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 04/23/93
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

Informationweek for the week of April 19 gives over its cover to
the marvels of ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) networking which
can achieve speeds of up to 2.5 gigabits per second using fiber-
optic cable. The article lists the equipment now available and
quotes The Yankee Group as saying the total ATM market will grow
by more than ten times from $70 million in 1993 to $840 million
in 1996.

Communicationsweek dated April 19 says that Oracle is developing
a text analysis server which will provide improved database query
response based on concepts rather than on key words.

May's Byte asks if the new Pentium microprocessor provides the
best engine for Windows NT and the initial answer seems to be
that it will be as good as the more expensive RISC chips.

Boardwatch Magazine for May describes a unique San Francisco
commercial BBS system developed by Wayne Gregori who has placed
coin-operated terminals in nearly 20 coffee houses. In line with
coffee house traditions, the cost is very reasonable, totalling
about $3 per hour to access Gregori's SFnet. The article reports
that the "RJ11 Tables" generate from $150 to $600 per month. For
$7 per month outsiders can dial in to SFnet at 415-824-8747.
Gingerbread and cappuccino cost extra.

Network World for April 19 says that the Clinton Administration's
Clipper Chip for encrypting voice and data communications has
some serious "Big Brother" drawbacks. The chip manufacturer,
Mykotronx in Torrance, California, is strictly regulated and all
users must file a secret "key" with the government which can be
used to spy on "criminal" activities, but what major drug dealer
would use an encryption scheme known to be wide open to the FBI?

James Daly writes in the April 19 Computerworld that MS-DOS 6.0's
virus scan feature only caught 1,009 or about 63 percent of 1,590
test viruses.

Computer Reseller News dated April 19 devotes a large amount of
space to exploring the current product shortages which CompuCom
Systems' executive VP Philip Wise says could lead to a situation
where "a reseller could have $100 million in inventory in his
warehouse and nothing to sell," because he can't obtain all the
components needed to assemble a package. The Intel 25MHz 80486SX
is said to be in shortest supply, while any high-performance CD-
ROM drive will be difficult to locate. On the other hand, hard
drives are in such good supply that street prices for a 340 MB
drive have dropped by half in the past year.

(John McCormick/19930423/)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00006)

DacEasy Canadian Accounting 4.3 04/23/93
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- DacEasy Canada Inc.,
has launched Version 4.3 of its accounting software for personal
computers running the DOS operating system.

The Canadian package is similar to that sold in the United States
except for features to handle the Canadian Goods and Services Tax
(GST) and provincial sales taxes, plus provision for Canada's
six-character postal codes and some small spelling differences,
said Jonathan Mah, vice-president of operations for DacEasy
Canada.

Like Release 4.3 in the United States, the latest version adds
the ability to have two accounting years open at the same time,
optional detail posting from accounts payable and receivable,
added costing features for sales and profit analysis, improved
help, six rather than three inventory price groups, and the
ability to group back orders by product or customer, Mah said.

The software also allows "a lot of little shortcuts" based on
feedback from customers, Mah added.

The list price for the software is C$300.

DacEasy Canada also announced a competitive upgrade option that
will allow users of competing packages to switch to DacEasy
Accounting for C$99.95. The same upgrade package is available to
users of previous versions of DacEasy Accounting, the company
said.

(Grant Buckler/19930421/Press Contact: Jonathan Mah, DacEasy
Canada, 416-940-3314, fax [phone]; Public Contact: DacEasy
Canada, 800-563-3314)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

Novell's Network Register Naming/Addressing Service 04/23/93
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- One of the
problems with large enterprise networks covering multiple
sites is conflicts with the same names and addresses appearing
in various sites. Now, Novell has announced the Novell Network
Registry, a network registration service to be administered by
the company.

According to the company, the Registry, which is an optional
service, facilitates network administration by eliminating
name and address conflicts among geographically dispersed
networks. Companies work with assigned network names and
numbers from the registration service in order to ensure they
have a unique set of network identifiers worldwide.

Kay Paumier spokesperson for Novell, told Newsbytes that
the registry is basically designed for anyone with an IPX
(Internetwork Packet Exchange) operation, although large
users will benefit most.

Novell claims that the Network Registry is a key part of its
strategy to empower NetWare customers with tools for
enterprise-wide management and administration.

Concerning the allocation of addresses, Paumier told
Newsbytes that, the registry assigns the addresses,
"but if somebody wanted something, they could ask for it
as long as they have not already been assigned."

The Novell Network Registry is designed to compliment
NetWare Global MHS (message handling service), the NetWare
MultiProtocol Router, and NetWare 4.0s Directory Services -
one of the features of the new version of its network operating
system that is aimed at Banyan Systems VINES directory
capabilities.

In announcing the service, Navindra Jain, vice president and
general manager of Novell's Network Management and
Internetworking Products Division, said: "The Novell
Network Registry brings structure to IPX internetworks and
serves as the foundation for a new generation of global
information sharing."

Customers contact the Registry to reserve an organization
name, or a range of addresses, or both. An organization name
is selected by the requesting user and recorded with the
Registry administrator. A unique range of IPX addresses is
allocated by the Registry with a size matched to the user's
needs.

The Novell Network Registry consists of two separate but
complementary services, with customers registering their
organization names, or applying for a unique set of IPX
addresses, or both.

According to the company, the registry reserves a top-level
organization name for an enterprise, with the customer's
network administrator managing the names of departments,
users and servers within the enterprise.

Paumier told Newsbytes that registration fees start at
$100 and range higher depending on the number of IPX
addresses requested. The company says that the fees
cover the costs of processing requests and maintaining
the database. The service is available now.

(Ian Stokell/19930422/Press Contact: Kay Paumier,
510-656-8512, Novell Inc.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00008)

Dayna SafeDeposit Server For AppleShare 04/23/93
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Anyone
who has ever experienced a system crash knows the
value of regular backups of data. However, regular backups
on a network can often be delayed or overlooked. To alleviate
that problem, Dayna Communications is offering its new
SafeDeposit Server automated backup application for
AppleShare file servers.

Priced at an introductory rate of $229, SafeDeposit Server is
deemed the companion product to SafeDeposit backup software
for Macintosh computers, which the company first shipped on
March 22.

The company claims that SafeDeposit Server is simple to
install on any AppleShare 2.x or 3.x file server. When
SafeDeposit Server is first used, the user is asked four
setup questions creating a "backup schedule" that determines
which files/folders to back up.

File backup can occur continuously, on command, at system
shutdown, upon disk insertion, or at a specified time. It also
can make backups based on established AppleShare users and
groups.

The company also claims that, once loaded and configured,
it runs in the background, backing up files according to the
backup schedule. There is no need to take down the server to
make a backup.

The SafeDeposit Server application is launched only to create,
or modify, a backup plan.

According to the company, SafeDeposit Server will back up
to any Macintosh compatible media that can mount on the
desktop such as floppies, internal hard disks, removable
media like Bernoulli and Syquest drives, and any
AFP-compliant server volume. It also supports magneto-
optical disk drives, and tape drives that can mount on the
desktop.

SafeDeposit Server works with Salient Software's
DiskDoubler compression software, to automatically
compress files during backup. Backup files are saved in
Finder format. SafeDeposit Server is available immediately.

(Ian Stokell/19930422/Press Contact: A. Cory Maloy,
801-269-7273, Dayna Communications Inc.)


(CORRECTION)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00009)

Correction - Man Buys Cray 1 At Gov't Auction 04/23/93
HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- In the news
item with the above title published April 16, 1993 Newsbytes
reported the Cray 1 was cooled by liquid nitrogen. It has come
to our attention, however, that the Cray 1 used a liquid
cooling system requiring 300 pounds of an inert fluoron, not
liquid nitrogen.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930423/Press Contact: Tony Cole, tel 510-
881-1772; Steve Conway, Cray, 612-683-7133)


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

Triple Play Baseball Software Now At Radio Shack 04/23/93
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- It's springtime, and
that means baseball time. While millions of people will go to
the ballparks to see professional, semi-pro, local, and little
league games, some of us will be happy to sit at our computers and
enjoy an electronic version of the game.

For those people, Radio Shack has just the software package. The
company says that it is now exclusively marketing Triple Play, an
IBM-compatible three-set baseball game package that comes with a
baseball inscribed with Texas Ranger pitcher Nolan Ryan's
autograph. Ryan threw his 5,000th strikeout in 1989, got his 300th
win in 1990, and is currently playing in his 27th major league
season. "He's kind of a Texas hero," a Radio Shack spokesperson told
Newsbytes.

If you elect to play Tony LaRussa's Ultimate Baseball, you'll play
the game using very accurate information, including correct fence
distances, wind conditions, and turf surfaces that exist in the major
league parks. The game provides for a full 162-game season just like
the big-leaguers play, as well as league playoffs and a World
Series. The program tracks 49 batting, 19 fielding, and 44 pitching
statistical categories through the entire season. Digitized umpire
calls like "Stttriiiike Thrrrreeeeee!" and the usual ballpark
sounds like the crack of bat against ball are also present. The
program supports Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, Roland and PC Speaker sound
cards.

Radio Shack spokesperson Tony Magoulas explained to Newsbytes that
another of the game selections in the package is for Fantasy and
Rotisserie league managers. These afficionados of the game who
create fantasy leagues can conduct drafts and player auctions,
record team and league information, automatically update real-world
player statistics from Computer Sports World, perform player trades,
activate players, and even print comprehensive statistical reports.

If you secretly yearn to be a big league manager, the third
offering, MicroLeague Baseball, the Manager's Challenge, is the game
for you, or as Radio Shack says, "the thinking man's game." A Stat
Compiler feature allows managers to accumulate team season stats,
track league standing, manage reserve and disabled players, or even
create new leagues. Magoulas said Manager's Challenge allows the
manager to decide what pitch to throw, when to bring in a new
pitcher, and what hit or take signals to flash to the batter. "He
gets to strategize in this ballgame," says Magoulas.

Extra disks are also available that update the program with
information like current playoff teams for $19.95, says Magoulas.

The Triple Play package depicts the three games on the outside, and
the autographed baseball shows through a circular baseball-size
window. The box comes with a handy carrying handle on the top.
Triple Play is available on 3.5-inch disks only, and you will need a
386 based machine or better, 640 kilobytes of system memory, a 3.5-
inch high-density floppy drive, and EGA or VGA graphics. A mouse or
joystick are optional.

(Jim Mallory/19930422/Press contact: Tony Magoulas, Radio Shack,
817-878-4852; Reader contact: Call your local Radio Shack outlet)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00011)

UK - Aashima Intros Trust Local Bus Systems 04/23/93
WITHAM, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Aashima Distribution has
announced a new Trust brand local bus computing system for the UK
market. The PC distributor is claiming that the technology used
in the machines is capable of providing up to 400 percent better
performance than a standard 16 bit VGA-based system.

The local bus video PCs conform to the VESA standard laid down by VESA
in the US, Newsbytes notes, and are available in Intel 486DX-33,
486DX-50 and 486DX2-66 microprocessor configurations. All the machines
come with 4 megabytes (MB) of memory, a removable hard disk, two VESA
32-bit local bus slots, and six standard 16 bit slots.

Announcing the new machines, Stuart Greenfield, Aashima's managing
director, said that the VESA local bus offers greatly improved speed
increases for any PC using CAD (computer aided design) or intensive
Windows applications.

"This is because the VGA card or other peripherals can directly access
the CPU, by-passing the standard bus. This product will fill a gap in
the market for competitively priced local bust technology," he said.

Pricing on the new Trust machines has been set at UKP 750 for the
486DX33 system, UKP 900 for the 486DX50 system and UKP 975 for the
486DX2-66 system.

Aashima is a relatively new PC trade distribution company operating in
Essex. The company has an established dealer base of more than 1,500
resellers and supplies to trade computer dealers.

(Steve Gold/19930422/Press & Public Contact: Aashima - Tel: 0376-
502050)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00012)

GB Tools Windows Mailing Software 04/23/93
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Mail systems are fast becoming a
high technology business, with almost all mailing companies using
computers to control their systems. Now a specialist mailing company,
GB Mailing Systems, has launched a Windows version of its GB Tools
address management system.

According to the company, the package is aimed at marketing
departments across all sectors and is the only product of its kind
that makes full use of the Windows graphical user interface (GUI). The
package has already been sold to Olivetti, for use in its direct sales
division, as well as to Allied Dunbar, the financial services company.

GB's software takes the Royal Mail's postcode address file (PAF),
which is normally supplied in compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)
format, and allows the data to be sorted and even updated using high-
speed searching techniques. The software allows third-party
applications, typically companies' own mailing databases, to be
interactively linked with the PAF system.

According to Paul Chapman, GB's marketing director, the original idea
behind the software was that almost all marketing departments will
have marketing and address management software in place by the late
1990s, just as companies make extensive use of spell checkers today.

"The launch of the Windows solution is a turning point, opening up the
productivity benefits associated with rapid address input to Windows
users," he said, adding that GB now plans to introduce its mailing
software to a new generation of PC users who appreciate the Windows
graphical user interface (GUI).

GB Mailing Systems employs 30 staff and, after selling its software for
two years, has an annual turnover in excess of UKP 1.5 million. The
company was established in October of 1990 and specializes in mailing
software technology.

(Steve Gold/19930422/Press & Public Contact: GB Mailing Systems - Tel:
0829-270714)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(HKG)(00013)

Industry's Most Powerful CAD/CAM System 04/23/93
WAN CHAI, HONG KONG, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- EDS Asia Pacific has launched
Unigraphics V10, claimed to be the computer industry's most powerful
software for computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering. It
provides capabilities in such areas as user interface, modelling,
drafting, analysis and manufacturing.

Version 10, Unigraphics' most significant enhancement to date,
provides a complete approach to manufacturing. Its new advanced
product modelling, mesh-free boundary integral analysis, kinematic
analysis, evolutionary assembly modelling, and integrated CAM features
are the culmination of more than 50 man-years of research and
development, and tens of millions of dollars in investment, the
company claims.

"V10 will revolutionize the entire industry," said Donald E.
Davidson, managing director of EDS' Asia Pacific Unigraphics Division.
"It is in direct response to our customers demands for an CAD/CAM
environment suitable for developing their products from the design
stage through to manufacturing. In effect, V10 is a complete art-to-
part continuum."

Modelling with Unigraphics V10 extends far beyond parametrics.
Wireframe, surface and solid models, both dimension-driven and
feature-based, are available for models of any size and complexity.
Users can assemble their models from the top down or the bottom up by
laying out the product first, or by starting with one component and
moving up through the rest of the assembly.

Unigraphics V10 combines a variety of construction techniques
bolstered by an ability to quickly update and modify products using
dimension-driven editing. It automatically captures the restraints and
design intent of any solid, wireframe, or free form construction.

V10 offers precise validation of product performance by bringing
analysis tools closer to the design cycle. Meshing, the most intuitive
step in stress analysis, is completely eliminated. Analysis can be
performed without leaving Unigraphics and rapid iterations are
possible early in the design stage.

Unigraphics' strong background in manufacturing is maintained through
V10's CAM feature. The full range of geometric entities, from simple
two-dimensional shapes to solids, is supported by all Unigraphics
machining modules.

A new Motif-based interface makes V10 one of the easiest systems of
its kind to use, increasing productivity still further. The intuitive
interface allows access to any part of the product throughout its
lifecycle from the desktop.

"V10 reflects all the principles of quality and service around which
we structure our company," said Chris Jones, director of marketing and
business development at EDS Asia Pacific. "Many of V10's new features
are particularly applicable to Hong Kong's vibrant manufacturing
industry.

"The system is extremely accurate and easy to use, so staff are more
productive and the quality of products is improved," he said.

(Brett Cameron/19930422/Press Contact: Chris Jones, EDS, Tel: +852-867
9888;HK time is GMT + 8)


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

Supercomm - ISDN Blues 04/23/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Integrated Services
Digital Networks, or ISDN, holds great promise but is also
being implemented too slowly by the Bell companies -- that was
the consensus among ISDN equipment makers at Atlanta's
Supercomm trade show in Atlanta this week.

Single-line tariffs for the service are still not in place in
many states. Under Georgia rules, for instance, four lines are
practically a minimum order. This angers the companies which
make equipment used by the Bell companies, because if the Bells
can't sell new services they won't buy equipment which provides
new services, and the equipment makers are stuck.

ISDN is selling well in Europe, partly because state-owned phone
companies are committed to digital networks, and have been
pushing markets in that direction. Here, the seven regional
Bells, plus GTE, control the pace of change. They argue their
hands are tied by state rules on how much they can charge.
The same rules also mean they can't subsidize investments
in new services like ISDN with profits from Plain Old Telephone
Service, or POTS. Their standard response is the demand that
their local rates be deregulated or they can't justify new
spending.

The arguments have taken on new urgency for two reasons. First,
the Clinton Administration is a big fan of digital services.
Second, ISDN can bring new digital services.

Some of it was on display at Supercomm. Sun Microsystems, for
instance, is selling a $595 card with a single-chip ISDN
implementation from AT&T. The plug-in S-Bus card lets
your Sun workstation handle lots of ISDN services, like
videoconferencing, fast Internet connections, voice mail and e-
mail, all under the Solaris interface Sun users know so well.
They're selling ISDN software to make all this happen, on CD-ROM,
at $495 for 100, and they'll make you a deal on the
hardware, too. Best of all, the hardware is standard equipment
with the SPARCstation 10 and LX models, which have been sold
since August.

Benjamin Stolz, a member of the Sunsoft unit's technical staff
who was demonstrating the card at Supercomm, noted that it's
selling well in Europe. More than half of Sun's revenues come
from Europe. "Customers in Europe want ISDN, because there's a
clear market and a clear advantage over having an analog line,"
he told Newsbytes.

Pacific Bell will start offering ISDN on a per-line basis next
month at just $30 per month, plus usage charges. But the
problem is, with ISDN, every call is metered. Thus, there won't
be a true "residential ISDN" tariff for a couple of years.
If home-based businesses want ISDN, in other words, they will
pay business rates. And, with present residential set-ups,
you're saving money with two regular phone lines to handle
your modem, voice, and fax calls over the cost of a single
ISDN line, despite its other advantages.

Sun announced during the show it's reached agreement to jointly
market ISDN products and services with Ameritech, the regional
Bell for the upper Midwest. Ameritech has been the most
aggressive of the Bells in selling ISDN. It has been selling the
service for a few years at about 30 percent more than the
business line rate. It is currently available throughout
Chicago, and by year-end, the company said, ISDN should be
available in cities like Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus,
Ohio, and Indianapolis.

But Ameritech is an exception. At the Fujitsu booth, Alan Conroy
noted, "All the Bells are different in how they're handling
equipment sales related to ISDN. Fujitsu is working with
distributors in California. Other regional Bells have just opened
ISDN to their agents, who are selling the equipment." Fujitsu
just sold a lot of ATM switches, which run data at multi-megabit
speeds, to BellSouth. Sam Hartin, senior vice president
of TelAviso Inc., which is working with BellSouth on its ISDN
roll-out, told Newsbytes that ISDN is just starting to happen.
Huntsville, Alabama is ready for ISDN, and Nashville, Tennessee
will be ready soon, but in Atlanta the tariffs state you can only
buy four ISDN lines at once, on a business tariff, and it all has
to run through your Southern Bell switch, where it's sold under
the ESSX trademark.

Meanwhile, TelAviso is also working on something
called IAS+, "an initiative to get system integrators, equipment
makers and BellSouth together an sell ISDN applications." But
these are business applications, linking LANs, calling
mainframes, handling security, or sending medical, real estate,
or other records. "They'll call on business customers selling the
applications rather than ISDN."

All this is happening more than a decade after the regional Bells
started touting ISDN as the telecommunications future.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930422/Press Contact: Sam Hartin, TelAviso,
404-843-2387; Sun, Lauren Swingle, 415/336-7273; Ameritech,
Judith Meyer, 708/248-2156)


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

Supercomm - Battle Of The Fault Tolerant Computers 04/23/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Phone switches are
dumb but reliable. Computers are smart but unreliable. To deal
with that truism, phone companies have turned to makers of fault
tolerant computers, primarily Tandem and Stratus, whose booths
were among the largest at the Supercomm trade show in
Atlanta this week.

Supercomm is where phone companies go to look at new equipment.
Both Tandem and Stratus have been looking to Supercomm for big
sales for a few years now. At this show Tandem announced a new
subsidiary in Hungary, a new CTRON-based system for Japan, both
hot equipment markets, and discussed its alliance with Northern
Telecom to develop and market systems with Intelligent Network
capabilities. That alliance will directly link NT's DMS switches,
Tandem's TSCP-2000 service control points for telephone networks,
and software from Cincinnati Bell Information Systems, as a
complete system.

Tandem's phone system operations are based in Plano, Texas, and
in the US it's concentrating on three primary markets. First,
it's selling those service control points, which are used in so-
called Signaling System 7 networks which offer services like
Caller ID. Second, it's selling a version of the TSCP for fax
services, so that phone companies can sell such things as fax
broadcasting and fax mailboxes from their central offices. Third,
it's selling a version of the TSCP for cellular companies, which
are also moving to the SS7 standard.

Stratus, by contrast, centralizes its telecom marketing groups
in its Marlboro, Massachusetts offices, and has only been
concentrating heavily on the market in a public way for about two
years, having announced the effort with great fanfare at
Supercomm '91 in Houston. At this show, it announced that NYNEX,
the regional Bell for New York and New England, had selected
Stratus for its video on demand trial. It also announced its XA/R
systems now meet compatibility standards with AT&T's 800
Intelligent Call Processing system, meaning companies who use
AT&T toll-free services, like airlines, credit card companies,
and big retailers, can now move those calls around easily between
various calling centers and computers. The company also began a
joint venture in Frankfurt, Germany, with Swedish Telecom, the
PTT of the Netherlands and the PT of Switzerland, to offer
private networks across European borders.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930422/Press Contact: Stratus, Pam Laufer,
508-460-2952; Tandem Telecom, Kelly Nielsen, 214-423-5383)


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

 ****Dell Computers To Be Sold In Wal-Marts 04/23/93
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
announced a distribution deal with Wal-Mart stores for its Dimension
line less than a week after Newsbytes reported that the company
would be selling through Sam's Clubs and Price Warehouse.

A Dell spokesperson told Newsbytes the company said it will
distribute the Dimension line through more than 900 Wal-Mart stores
across the country, and would be packaging the personal computers
with user-selected software which will be pre-installed. The
spokesperson said specific models and configurations had not been
worked out yet, but all the units sold through Wal-Mart will be
486-based systems.

Dell said shipment will begin next month, which starts the company's
second fiscal quarter. "Our consumer distribution agreements are
part of a carefully planned strategy to increase our penetration in
the small office and home office market," according to Dell USA
President Joel Kocher. Kocher said Dell doesn't intend to be
"everywhere PCs are sold" which he says creates conflicts among
competing distribution channels. However he did indicate that the
company will continue to seek alliances with other mass market
partners.

Dell systems sold through discount warehouse outlets are supported
and serviced directly by Dell.

Speaking to financial analysts yesterday company Chairman Michael
Dell said he expects the consolidation currently underway in the PC
industry to drive huge market share growth for the industry leaders
over the next two or three years. Dell predicts his company will
attain 20 percent market share worldwide by the end of the decade.
The company is also finalizing plans to expand into the Asian
market, and to double its manufacturing capacity by year end to
handle expected sales volume increases. While withholding specific
details, the company said near-term product plans include a new
notebook offering and a full array of Pentium-based products.
Pentium is Intel's new high speed microprocessor which is expected
to ship shortly after the first of the year.

(Jim Mallory/19930423/Press contact: Jill Shanks, 512-794-4100;
Reader contact: 800-289-3355 or 512-338-4400, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00017)

Philips Preparing New DCC Audio Products 04/23/93
EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Philips has announced
it is developing a new range of digital compact cassette systems
for launch this summer. The DCC systems will consist of both in-
car and personal ("Walkman-style") units.

According to Philips, pricing on the car CDD systems will range
between DM1,500 and 2,000. The personal Walkman units are
expected to cost a little more, owing to the miniaturization
required, although Philips is aiming to cut this pricing as far
as possible.

According to a spokesman for Philips, the DCC format is still
very much in its infancy, having been unveiled earlier this year.
The company does not expect the fledgling format to take off for
a couple of years, at least until car manufacturers offer the
digital cassette format as a standard facility in their cars,
rather than the existing compact cassette machines.

At the CeBIT computer fair in Germany last month, Philips
revealed that personal DCC units are the most effective method of
achieving mass market penetration. The company admitted, however,
that the high cost of the units might act as a dissuasive factor
in the mainstream market. DCC Walkman units are expected to cost
around $750 when they appear this coming fall.

The DCC cassette format, which was launched in the fall last
year, allows cassettes the same size as existing compact
cassettes to record data digitally. The format's key advantage
over the rival digital audio tape (DAT) system is that DCC tape
recorders can record and play back conventional compact cassettes.

Just to make life more complex, the digital recording marketplace
has a third format to contend with, Sony's Minidisc, which allows
digital recording on a miniature version of the compact disc (CD)
format. Industry experts suggest that the market will only
support a single digital recording system from the three
currently available.

(Steve Gold/19930423)


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

 ****Personal Communicator Era Opens 04/23/93
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- The only
remaining uncertainty about the EO Personal Communicator is what
name it will have on it when it lands on AT&T Phone Center store
shelves in June.

EO said its Personal Communicator 440 is being shipping in volume
as of earlier this week, but company spokesmen contacted by Newsbytes
said no decision has been made yet on whether to put the EO logo,
the AT&T logo, or both on the device when shipments begin to AT&T
Phone Center stores. Early orders to 60 large companies have been
filled, the spokesman added, and the company is also selling
through a toll-free number -- 800-458-0880.

The Personal Communicator 440 combines a pen-based display and
operating system with fax, modem, phone and other functions. It
runs the PenPoint operating system from Go Corp. It's the first
so-called "personal digital assistant" to ship, although Apple's
Newton device is due to ship within a few months. The sale price
ranges from $2,000 to $4,000, depending on options like an
internal hard drive and cellular phone. The company said current
units are being made at a Matsushita plant in Franklin Park,
Illinois.

President Alain Rossmann acknowledged that much of his industry
remains vapor in a press statement. "In an industry inundated with
hype, hoopla and pie-in-the-sky promises, we are delivering on
our commitment to be the first company to bring to market a
personal communicator," he wrote. But spokesmen say the company
does not expect to have a mass market product right away. At a
press launch last fall during the COMDEX trade show, company
officials said that personal communicators won't become a mass
market product until their price falls to mass market levels of
under $1,000. That will come with mass production, they said at
the time.

EO, which was founded in 1991, is backed by a consortium that
includes AT&T, Matsushita, Japan's Marubeni trading firm, the
Italian Olivetti computer firm, and venture capitalists Kleiner
Perkins, Caufield, and Byers. Olivetti will distribute the machine
in Europe. Companies and agencies which have taken deliveries
include Andersen Consulting, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory,
and the New York Stock Exchange, EO said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930423/Press Contact: Sharon Miller, for Eo,
415-904-7070x270)


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

Supercomm - Call For Digital Standards 04/23/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- A highlight of the
recently completed Supercomm trade show was a speech by officials
of Hughes Network Systems urging that the US cellular industry
stop fighting over digital standards and get behind its Extended
Time Division Multiple Access, or TDMA scheme.

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association had
repeatedly endorsed TDMA, which divides a calling channel into
at least three parts and sends digitized voices through each
channel. McCaw Cellular, Southwestern Bell, Ameritech and AGT
Cellular in Canada have all committed to TDMA in recent months,
and taken delivery of equipment. But in recent months, Bell
Atlantic and US West have both committed to a competing system,
called Code Division Multiple Access or CDMA, which sends
digitized voices through whole calling channels with markers
identifying callers. CDMA claims it gets 10 calls into each
channel, compared with 3 for TDMA. But Hughes' E-TDMA claims it
can get at least 15 callers into a single channel.

Hughes' argument is that the existing TDMA standard, known as
IS54, is ready for market, while CDMA is two years away from full
implementation. The arguments echo those of InterDigital
Communications Corp., which shares TDMA patents with Hughes. Last
year, InterDigital bought SCS MobileComm, which owns some CDMA
patents, and the company is now trying to get its Broadband-CDMA
scheme endorsed as an alternative to the regular CDMA offering of
Qualcomm Inc., which is partly owned by PacTel and NYNEX.

Hughes' arguments are unlikely to end the squabble. CTIA can't
enforce its endorsement of TDMA, since as a trade group it can
merely advise. But the speech does highlight the growing rift in
the cellular industry which could keep customers from moving to
digital at all, especially in cities like Seattle where a
decision to move to digital "locks in" a customer to a carrier,
either McCaw and TDMA or US West and CDMA.

All this comes in the wake of increasing concerns about cellular
privacy, which digital service in any form can alleviate. Bridge
Communications Corp. said it formed a national network which
eliminates the ability of radio scanners to hear cellular calls
on April 14. And on April 22 the FCC made the manufacture or
import of scanners for use on the cellular band illegal, under a
law passed last year. The FCC rules also prohibits the manufacture
or import of frequency converters that switch cellular
frequencies into those that could legally be picked up by a
scanner, but don't apply to law enforcement surveillance or
cellular system maintenance.

Meanwhile, the TDMA-CDMA battle is going overseas. While most
European countries are installing Groupe Speciale Mobile, or
GSM, networks, which are similar to TDMA, Korea has committed to
pushing CDMA in international markets. Following an agreement
with Qualcomm, the country's Ministry of Communications officially
chose CDMA for Korea's cellular network, with service to start in
1995. So far, four Korean manufacturers have committed to making
dual-standard analog-digital phones with CDMA, both for domestic
consumption and export. Director General In Hak Lee of the
nation's Radio Regulatory Office noted that some arguments in
CDMA's favor, along with its larger capacity, is a claimed 30
percent savings on system installation and operating expenses.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930423/Press Contact: Hughes, Judy Blake,
301-428-7113; FCC Press Office, 202-632-5050; Thomas Crawford,
Qualcomm, 619-597-5715)


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

America Online Adopts Rights Plan 04/23/93
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- In the wake of its
own price cuts, Prodigy price increases, and interest expressed
by AT&T in acquiring an online company, America Online has
adopted a shareholder rights plan.

The plan, which is aimed to thwart a possible hostile takeover if
one is launched, will distribute a single preferred share
purchase right for each outstanding share of America Online
common, payable May 3 to shareholders of record on that date. The
rights would expire in 10 years, unless redeemed prior to that
date. The idea is to give existing shareholders the right to buy
stock at a discount if someone adverse to the board launches a
buy-out attempt. Stock in the company jumped in the wake of the
announcement.

While America Online executives emphasized that they have no
knowledge that any attempt is underway to buy-out the company,
AT&T Chairman Robert Allen has said, in response to questions,
that his company is interested in buying an online information
service. The stock price had fallen April 20 after the company
announced a sharp cut in its prices, switching to a $9.95
monthly fee with 5 hours of service from $7.95 with two hours.
That move comes just after Prodigy, the large but unprofitable
service owned by IBM and Sears, announced it would begin time-
based charges in an attempt to gain profitability. Prodigy's
basic monthly fee is now $14.95, but add-on charges for using
certain popular features could raise that price for some users
starting this summer.

America Online claims it has 220,000 subscribers and is the
third-largest consumer online service in the US, behind only
CompuServe and Prodigy. GEnie also claims the three-spot -- the
two companies disagree on how to count subscribers.

The new America Online prices are a slight departure from those
of its rivals. GEnie has a "Star Services" plan similar to
CompuServe's new pricing policy, offering unlimited use of some
services but time-based charges on others. Prodigy will also move
to a similar plan, but America Online's new pricing scheme does
not differentiate among services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930423/Press Contact: Lennert J. Leader,
America Online, 703-448-8700)


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

International Telecom Update 04/23/93
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- The first state
takeover of a private telecom firm in many years highlighted a
busy week in international telephony.

The Philippine government of President Fidel Ramos took over the
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company after months spent
trying to break its monopoly. In the end the government seized
the stake on a PLDT holding company owned by an associate of
former President Ferdinand Marcos, saying it's part of the
government's move to seize assets it claims were stolen by
Marcos. After taking control of the board, the government pledged
to leave management in private hands. Just two people in 100 are
linked to PLDT phones, and it's facing a backlog of over 600,000
orders.

Investors were nervous in the wake of the takeover. The
government has been seeking foreign investment in the economy,
and in the short-term the takeover could dampen foreign interest,
regardless of the merits of the government's case, according to
analysts.

On the other side of the privatization issue, five firms were put
on a short list to buy 35 percent of the Greek OTE phone
company. Bids are due in June, and a decision in August, from
among NTT of Japan, France Telecom, GTE of the US, Telefonica
de Espana of Spain and Italy's STET.

Speaking of Telefonica, that company said it is likely to sell
its stake in Chile's Entel company, following a decision by
Chile's Supreme Court stating it can't have both 20 percent of
Entel and 44 percent of Compania Telefonica de Chile on
antitrust grounds. The Supreme Court ruling also ended a 15-year
monopoly on international service held by Entel. CTC is widely
held, and its stock is traded in the US.

In Eastern Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development approved a $91 million loan aimed at improving the
Czech telephone net. This will help finance a $245 million
digital overhaul of the network. But the EBRD recommended, as a
condition of the loan, that prices be raised substantially, that
competition in the market should be put off, and that the Czech
phone network should be privatized in conjunction with the
granting of the loan.

Also, Siemens of Germany won the contract to expand Bulgaria's
telephone network, which will also be financed, in part, by the
EBRD. A total of 80,000 digital switches will be put into the
capital of Sofia and the northern part of the country by 1996,
using Siemens' EWSD technology.

In the former Soviet Union, Simko of Turkey won a $100 million
deal to build new phone exchanges in Turkmenistan. Turkey has
become a primary supplier of telephone equipment to the Muslim
republics of Central Asia, while at the same time the government
has been moving to privatize the nation's phone suppliers, often
with Western capital. The result is that the West is gaining
influence over formerly Soviet telecom nets through Turkey, a
charge certain to be made by Iran, which is competing with Turkey
for influence in the region.

Finally, Nokia of Finland won a $20 million order to update Sri
Lanka's telecomm net, with financing from Finnish state agencies.
And telecom workers in the Ivory Coast staged a 48-hour strike
aimed at improved pay and working conditions. The capital of
Abidjan is a major center for West African telecom links with
Europe and the rest of the developed world.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930423)


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

New US Frequencies To Be Auctioned 04/23/93
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Now that the
question of whether to auction new US frequencies has been
settled on the side of auctions by the Clinton Administration,
debate has opened on just how to handle the auctions.

Generally, small firms and those which won "pioneer preference"
awards from the Federal Communications Commission under former
chairman Al Sikes are protesting that they may be shut out by
large regional Bell companies, AT&T, and others in the race to
commercialize microwave-based PCN phone services. They also asked
that they be allowed to buy frequency on credit, again so that
large companies don't dominate the market. Most government
auctions are for cash-only.

Testimony from Geoffrey Goodfellow, founder and chairman of
RadioMail Corp. of Menlo Park, California, was typical. He urged
that before competitive bids take place, "pioneer preferences" be
awarded for novel, efficient uses of spectrum. "Second, the
spectrum auction should be structured to provide for a limited
number of nationwide carriers with the balance allocated to
regional, statewide, city-wide and on-campus systems," he said.
Goodfellow proposed that three national licenses for PCN service
be awarded, that a few more than three city-wide licenses be
given in each city, and that an unlimited number of licenses be
offered for "campus-wide" service, as recommended by the FCC.

"This brings the laws of economics and reward into play. The
entrepreneur is rewarded for innovation with a free allocation,
while other service providers and users can gain an allocation
through the competitive bidding process," he said.

The small companies also noted that regular payments rather than
lump-sum payments can work out best for the government, noting
that if TV licenses had been given out on this basis starting in
the 1940s, the government could have reaped billions of dollars
by now. Craig Roos of Personal Communications Services, New
York, NY, urged that at least one license in each market be
awarded on merit, not on the size of a check. But spokesmen for
large companies, like William deKay, of the Telocator, cellular
and paging industry association, noted that it would be hard to
rank the value of cash bids against royalty arrangements, which
would force federal officials to evaluate the business plans of
bidders. Other large-business spokesmen, like Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association President Thomas Wheeler,
urged that some frequencies be set aside for small businesses
while others are sold for cash.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930423/Press Contact: RadioMail, Geoff
Goodfellow, 415/328-5615)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

 ****US West Launching "Superhighway" In Omaha 04/23/93
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- At a press
conference attended by area politicians including Senator Bob
Kerrey, Governor Ben Nelson and Mayor P.J. Morgan, US West
announced it will begin the re-building of its regional network
in Omaha.

US West, like other companies performing digital network
upgrades, calls its plan part of the Clinton-Gore "information
superhighway" program. The 1994 budget calls only for new
research in super-fast networking at multi-gigabit speeds, an
increase of speed for the Internet backbones. But Vice President
Gore himself has urged that digital services be expanded into
local networks, allowing more homes and businesses to access more
fast data services. That's where the US West plan fits in.

The company said in February it had developed a topology for its
network that will allow improved services without a great
increase in cost, as would be associated with replacing copper in
local networks with fiber. The topology includes some fiber
cable, but also coaxial cable as used by cable television
companies and plain copper wire. The company said in February it
could make the upgrade work with its existing $2.2 billion annual
capital budget. But company officials warned that its plans must
still be approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

When the upgrade is complete, US West hopes to offer such services as
video-on-demand, interactive education and high-speed data
transmissions to most of its customers. Equipment suppliers will
be announced shortly, the company said, with construction
beginning early this summer, pending regulatory approval.

By 1995, US West said, it could have a construction schedule
allowing 500,000 lines a year to be linked to the new fast-speed
network.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19930423/Press Contact: U S WEST
Communications, Terri Howell, 402/422-3587)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MOW)(00024)

Russian Cars Getting Computers On Board 04/23/93
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- The Lada car factory is to start
installing fuel-saving trip computers on its cars. The computers
are being produced by a local Russian company.

These are not general purpose computers, but a specialized tool which
gives a driver instant data on fuel consumption, speed, and driving
time to a certain point. The computers are to be installed on
Russian-made Lada 21099-03 cars. The computer will allow even the
experienced driver to save up to 8% on fuel costs, according to
the company.

The systems will be produced by the Kursk-based Schetmash factory, and
will retail for US$100-120.

As no cars produced in Russia are now equipped with a similar device,
experts claim this will be a major trend-setter in the car industry.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19930422)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00025)

Microsoft CFO Frank Gaudette - Obit 04/23/93
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Microsoft
reports that Frank Gaudette, its executive vice president  of
operations and chief financial officer, died this  morning at
3:15 a.m. after an eight-month battle against cancer.   He was 57.

Gaudette came to Microsoft in September, 1984, after holding senior
management positions at C3, Informatics General, Rockwell
International, Frito-Lay Inc., and other companies.  In March,
1986, he was instrumental in organizing Microsoft's initial public
offering, in what was heralded by the investment community as one
of the most successful stock offerings of the decade.

He has been executive vice president, Operations Group, since
January, 1992, responsible for overseeing finance, manufacturing,
human resources, investor relations, the information technology
group, and Microsoft Press.

"Frank combined the street-smart wisdom of his New York roots with
the knowledge he gained through decades of experience," said
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in an electronic mail message
announcing the news to employees.  "Over the years, I have counted
on Frank for the wisdom of his counsel and for the strength of his
leadership.  Frank's talent and spirit, his commitment to this
company and his immeasurable contributions to it, will always be
remembered.  I want to offer my personal condolences to his family
and his children.  He will be greatly missed."

Gaudette is survived by his wife, Doris, his family and children.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made
to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle or any major cancer
research organization.

Microsoft reports that the current management team of the
Operations Group, selected by Gaudette, remains in place and will
continue to operate as it has throughout his illness.  The company has
made no decisions on a successor.

(Wendy Woods/19930423/Press Contact: Marty Taucher, 206/936-8184)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00026)

Mainframe Price Wars Force Amdahl To Cut Workforce 04/23/93
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Mainframe
price wars have cut into the bottom line of mainframe manufacturer
Amdahl and the company says lower profits are forcing it to reduce
its workforce thirteen percent or about 1,100 employees to 8,500.
This is the second workforce reduction the mainframe manufacturer
has made in the last year, but it is in good company.

IBM, the company's largest competitor, has also announced
enormous losses and huge layoffs. Yet Amdahl says demand in the
mainframe market is still growing at twenty percent a year.
"That's not as fast as it has been in the past," said Amdahl
representative Bill Stewart, "but it is still significant
growth."

So what's hurting the bottom line? Like the personal computer
market, mainframe computing has also entered the era of
price wars. Stewart says the company is selling more millions
of instructions per second (MIPS) but pricing pressures have
forced Amdahl to offer more MIPS per buck, cutting heavily
into company profits. "Users are getting more bang per buck,
but we're seeing lower profits," Stewart added.

Stewart called talk about downsizing from mainframe to PCs
"rhetoric" and said most of the downsizing taking place is at
the level of machines much smaller than the mainframe computers
his company sells. "Nothing out there can match the
input/output of a mainframe. You just can't run an airline
reservation system on a PC system because you can't get the I/O
to handle the intensive transaction demand involved," according
to Stewart. "Mainframes are still in demand for client/server
applications," Stewart added.

While Amdahl says it is cutting back in the areas of mainframe
computing production, it insists it plans to continue to
support its mainframe market. The company says it plans to
split its efforts between mainframe computing and open system
development. It is pointing to Huron, its new application
development system for writing applications on IBM and
compatible computers that will also work on other systems.
"There's a strong interest in open systems on the part of our
customers," Stewart said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930422/Press Contact: Bill Stewart, Amdahl,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SFO)(00027)

Hardware Vendors Support Clinton's Environmental Policy 04/23/93
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- A number of
major hardware vendors have shown support for the Clinton
Administration's endorsement of the federal government buying
energy-efficient computers. Among the vendors supporting
the policy are AST Research, Intel, and Apple Computer.

In his endorsement of computers that use less electricity,
Clinton  said that all federal government agencies will
purchase only Energy Star products in the future, providing
they are commercially available and meet the agency's
performance requirements.

AST Research is the latest to announce support for President
Clinton's Earth Day recognition of energy-efficient computing
and the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program.

The company has also announced its intention to introduce an
Energy Star-compliant PC this year that exceeds Energy Star
guidelines that stipulate 30-watt maximum electricity usage
each for the system and monitor.

In announcing the company's support, Safi Qureshey, AST
president and chief executive officer, said: "We are pleased
the President has given the thumbs up for federal government
procurement of Energy Star-compliant PCs. The development
of energy efficient PCs is the next logical step for government
agencies, as well as corporate America, to take in protecting
the environment, while benefitting the bottom line."

According to the EPA, computer systems currently account
for five percent of commercial electricity use in the United
States, with potential growth to 10 percent by the year 2000.

Intel has also announced support for President Clinton's
actions to require the federal government to purchase
energy-efficient computers.

Said Andrew S. Grove, Intel president and chief executive
officer, "The President and the EPA deserve a lot of credit
for such an enlightened use of the federal government's
purchasing power. Nudging the computer industry in this
direction will pay off in both lower energy consumption
and a better environment. All of Intel's new microprocessors,
including the recently introduced Pentium processor, will
have energy-saving circuitry that will enable computer
makers to meet EPA Energy Star standards."

Apple has also announced plans to market a wide range of
energy-efficient personal computers and printers. Fred Forsyth,
senior vice president  and general manager, Macintosh Systems
Division, said:  "We plan to make energy efficiency a feature
of all Apple computers and peripherals. Reducing power consumption
is  good for our customers and the environment."

Apple claims that the Apple Macintosh Color Classic,
introduced February 1993, is the industry's first available
desktop computer system to automatically reduce power
consumption to less than 25 watts when it is inactive. This
power-down feature could cut in half the electricity used by
the system.

In June, the EPA is expected to release the Energy Star
symbol for display on products that meet the program's
technical criteria.

(Ian Stokell/19930423/Press Contact: Emory Epperson,
714-727-7958, AST Research; Howard High, 408-765-1488,
Intel; Marianne L. Lettieri, 408-974-1109, Apple Computer)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00028)

Electronic Arts Booming, Company Readies For 3DO  04/23/93
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 APR 23 (NB) -- Electronic
Arts, known for its production of entertainment software for
personal computers, says its fourth quarter net income is
up sixty-one percent and the company's net income for the year
is up sixty-five percent. The company credits sales of software
game titles for the home entertainment systems Sega Genesis and
Super Nintendo (SNES), but says it is gearing up for new
interactive titles for the Sega Genesis and 3DO markets.

Net income for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 1993, was
$8,595,000, up from the $5,322,000 in the fourth quarter of
fiscal year 1992. Net income for the fiscal year 1993 was
$30,858,000, compared to $18,688,000 for fiscal year 1992, an
increase of 65 percent. Like most companies these days, EA
reported revenues that were higher than its net income. The
company reported revenues for the fourth quarter of
$86,581,000, compared to $47,999,000 in the fourth quarter last
year, an increase of over 80 percent. And for the year revenues
were $298,386,000, up over 70 percent from fiscal year 1992
revenues of $175,094,000.

The company says its top-selling titles were twelve of the 51
titles it released during 1993. Five of the new titles were for
the Sega Genesis, six for the IBM PC, and one for the Amiga. EA
says its top-selling new releases during the quarter were Road
Rash II for the Sega; PGA Tour Golf II for the Sega, John
Madden Football '93 for both Sega Genesis and SNES; NHLPA
Hockey '93 for Sega Genesis and SNES; and Bulls vs Blazers for
SNES. In addition, revenue from PC products were up over 35
percent compared to the fourth quarter last year, the first
year-over-year increase in this category in many quarters.
Overall for the fiscal year the company released 51 new
products, compared to 45 last year.

In addition, EA said its presence in the depressed European
market was strong with revenues up in Europe 89 percent. North
American revenues were up 56 percent in North America, and
Australian revenues showed a 49 percent increase. However, EA
said approximately $7 million of its revenues were out of the
Japanese market.

EA has received attention lately, because the company's founder
Tripp Hawkins, has started 3DO, a company which claims it can
revolutionize the home entertainment market. The first 3DO
player was demonstrated at the Winter Consumer Electronics show
in January and the first 3DO player which will use compact
discs (CDs) is to be released from Panasonic this summer.
Billed as the next "VCR" of the 90s, several important
companies have gotten behind the 3DO including American
Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). EA says it is developing titles
for the 3DO player as well.

"The 16-bit cartridge market continues to be strong and new
CD-ROM formats such as Sega CD and 3DO offer new opportunities
to significantly improve on the current generation of software,
and we believe, expand the markets for interactive products,"
said Larry Probst, president and chief executive officer of
Electronic Arts.

(Linda Rohrbough/19930423/Press Contact: Jack Heistand,
Electronic Arts, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(REVIEW)(APPLE)(SFO)(00029)

Review of - Victory Garden, novel for Mac, 04/23/93

Runs on: Macintoshes

From: Eastgate Systems, P.O.Box 1307, Cambridge, MA 02238
800-562-1638, 617-924-9044

Price: $34.95

PUMA rating: 3 on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Naor Wallach

Summary: An interactive fictional novel about the dawning of
the 1991 Gulf War. Serves several purposes including a
glimpse at Stuart Moulthrop's writing, Hypertext, and the
possibilities of StorySpace.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Victory Garden is a hypertext novel created by a product called
Storyspace and authored by Stuart Moulthrop. It is an unique novel
with a story to tell, an exploration of the hypertext medium,
and a demonstration of the power of Storyspace, all rolled into
one package. In fact, the three elements are so intertwined that
this review will bounce back and forth between all three elements.

Victory Garden is a collection of stories and tidbits of things
that happened around the time of the beginning of the Gulf War
in 1990. Victory Garden is not like a book in that there is
no clear beginning and ending to the story. There are actually
many parallel stories happening all at the same time and there
are links between them so that you can jump among them
at will.

The author's preface refers to life being a mosaic where
people and events come together in various ways but where
each life is its own story. With a product like Storyspace it
is possible to tell several stories that revolve around the
same events.

One reads Victory Garden in front of the computer screen. Once
the program has started, you can read a "page" and then
decide on what to do. I put the word page in quotes because
a page may be a picture, or it may be a screen full of text,
or it may be a quotation.

Another component of the program is an icon bar which
contains four icons that are used to navigate through the
program. When you are ready to flip to the next page, you
press the return key. If you want to flip back, you click
on the arrow icon in the icon bar. The other icons allow
you to answer yes/no questions, review all the hypertext
links in the page, and print the specific page. If you hold
down the option and command keys together, you will see
all the words that have links highlighted. This is useful
if you reach a point in the text for a second time and
wish to take a different path.

There are several heroes to this story, but there is no real
sense of overall plot. I frequently found myself reading
about a certain character and following their activities for
a while and then, suddenly, I would find myself switching over
to another character. This can be quite disconcerting as all
sense of unity and purpose seems lost. What makes things even
worse is that it is quite possible for one to suddenly find
themselves back at a point that they already read. This
happened to me on several occasions.

The program comes on one diskette in compressed format. The
file can be uncompressed by simply double clicking on it and
it will occupy almost 1.5 MB of space on your hard drive.

In addition to the program you get an eight page manual that
is mostly concerned with an introduction to Victory Garden
and a couple of essays discussing hypertext and the publisher's
role in promoting this communication medium. Everything that
you need to operate the program is contained in the manual
as well as a heavy dose of hypertext philosophy and goals.

When you start the program up, you are asked whether to start
a new reading or, continue with your previous one. In both
cases the program then proceeds with loading in all of its
operating data. This process can take as long as five minutes.
During this time, the program tells you of its progress.
When you are ready to quit the program, the same process
happens in reverse. Should you choose to save your spot,
you then have to wait for several minutes until the program
saves all of the information about where and what you were
doing and had done.

Victory Garden itself can be interesting reading if you
get beyond the bewilderment stage. In the beginning, I was
constantly confused and thrown off guard by the surprising
twists that the reading material was taking. After a while
though, I started understanding the pattern and could more
easily command the program to follow a specific story line.

It is not always easy for me even now and I still find myself
surprised on may occasions. Not only can the story veer
unexpectedly into a new direction, but also new elements
can keep popping up and lead you into totally new areas
to investigate. Of course, this is one of the main tenets
of hypertext and as such this represents a successful
application of the technology.

If you are curious about Hypertext, this product is a good
exploration of what it means as applied to fiction. There
are however, some technical details that still need to be
worked out. For instance, there are very many typographical
errors strewn throughout the text. With over 2800 pages
combined and linked in various forms, I know it must have
been a difficult task to proofread them all. However, the
quantity of errors that still exist in the text are
significant.

Another technical problem is that the program attempts to
show you some of the links that you have traversed as a
method of moving around and going to explore places that you
haven't been involved with yet. The presentation of that
option needs to be made significantly simpler before it
will become of much use. I puzzled over it on several
occasions and essentially gave up in frustration.

Once I got used to the presentation and could start controlling
my environment, I could actually get down to the reading of
the material. And here I was somewhat disappointed. For a
novel, the text was relatively superficial. Some characters
appeared and disappeared with very little preparation or
background. Others were intertwined in ways that made very
little sense. Not being a literary critic, I will not dwell
on these issues too long beyond to say that as a story, I
think Victory Garden is not successful.

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

PUMA RATINGS

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

PERFORMANCE: 3 The program ran fine but was slow to start and
end. There are also numerous typographical errors throughout
the text.

USEFULNESS: 2 I see this program as more of a demonstration
of capabilities and ideas then as a finished product. As a
novel, it was superficial, as a demo it is excellent. Since
it is being sold as a novel I cannot recommend it.

MANUAL: 4 All the information necessary to the program and
then some is present in the manual.

AVAILABILITY: 3 This is not a program that is universally
available. Eastgate Systems is a small publisher with
limited distribution.

(Naor Wallach/19930402)


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

Review of: The Smiley Dictionary - a book, 04/23/93

From: Peachpit Press 2414 Sixth St. Berkeley, CA 94710,
510-548-4393

Price: $6.95

PUMA rating: 3.75 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for NEWSBYTES by: Naor Wallach

Summary: An amusing collection of "Smileys" that can be
used on online services and in other forms of computer-based
writings.

=======

REVIEW

=======

With the advent of computer information services like
Compuserve and GEnie, a whole new way of writing has developed.
Regardless of the kind of computer that one might own, these
services would allow you to communicate, get information, play
games, and get known around the world. Unfortunately, to allow
for everyone under the sun to access these services, the service
providers had to use the lowest common denominator of terminal
access. This means that even though you may have access to all
kinds of fonts and graphics on your computer, the information
service only allows you to use the basic character sets on the
keyboard.

This created the problem of expressing emotions in print. The old
ways in which people knew each other's sentiments from the style
of their handwriting, are not possible online. So, inventive
minds created the "emoticons." That's the fancy name for the
collection of symbols that you will see strewn through the text.

For instance, this is a symbol called a "Smiley" :-) If
you tilt your head to the left, you'll see it.

Smileys have become prevalent throughout online communications.
They are so prevalent and getting so complex that it was only
a matter of time before someone published a directory of
smileys. That someone turned out to be Peachpit Press who
published The Smiley Dictionary.

This little book contains over 200 different smileys broken
down into categories. There are chapters for Classic Smileys,
Character Smileys, Celebrity Smileys, Nasty Smileys,
Challenging Smileys, and Non-Smileys. Some samples will
surely help give you the idea. From the Celebrity Smiley
chapter comes this character =):-) (Uncle Sam)

A very different smiley comes to us from the Challenging Smiley
chapter :-( And so on.

Each page of the book contains three or four smileys with an
explanatory title underneath it. This book itself is small,
measuring 5.5 inches per side and is all of 80 pages. In
addition to the pages of smileys, there are chapters on the
development of smileys and on their proper usage. There is
also a call for people who run across or develop new smileys
to send them into the author for publication in future revisions
of this dictionary. There are also a set of coupons for
Compuserve and America Online as well as several indices to
help you find the appropriate smiley or its meaning in a hurry.

This is the kind of book that you would give to a computer
friend as a joke gift. It is small, quick to get through, and
can even be useful in the right circumstances. I personally
enjoyed it.

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

PUMA RATINGS

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

PERFORMANCE: 4 It does what it sets out to do in an informative
manner.

USEFULNESS: 3 If youre into these things then this book is
great. Otherwise, youll wonder whats it all about.

MANUAL: 4

AVAILABILITY: 4

(Naor Wallach/19930411/John Grimes, Peachpit Press, 2414
Sixth St. Berkeley, CA 94710)