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/1994/jan_feb_94/nb010394

Text File | 1994-01-03 | 75KB | 1,637 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00001)

Krone Secures Australian Network Compliance Certification 01/03/94
WYONG, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Krone Australia has received a
"certificate of compliance" from the Underwriter's Laboratories (UL)
in Australia. The certification is for telecommunications outlets
and patch panels in accordance with EIA/TIA 568 TSB 40 standard,
relating to category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP).

Krone is the first manufacturer in Australia to be issued a UL
certificate for this standard. Category 5 UTP cable is able to
transfer multimedia at speeds in excess of 100 megabytes per second,
which means it supports the latest developments in Asynchronous
Transfer Mode (ATM) and Fast Ethernet, as well as existing network
technologies.

Krone designs and manufactures most of its product range near Sydney
in Australia. The company is fully accredited to the AS3902/ISO9002
quality standard.

Announcing the certification, Luke Mitchell, marketing manager at
Krone said: "For users, the certificate of compliance from
Underwriters Labs means there is now international accreditation fro
Krone's category 5 UTP cabling products."

"For Krone, a company with 160 employees throughout Australia, the
certificate represents increased export potential. We are already
exporting Australia-made equipment to the United States and Japan,"
he added.

According to Mitchell, since UL testing is held in high regard
amongst overseas purchasers, "this certificate will allow Krone
access to new international markets."

(Paul Zucker/19940103/Press & Public Contact: Contact: Krone
Australia - Tel: [phone]; Fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00002)

Upcoming Trade Shows And Meetings For 1994 01/03/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- The following are details
of trade shows and open meeting listings which have been supplied to
Newsbytes' Washington Bureau.

These listings will be published on a regular basis, but readers are
cautioned to confirm with the sponsor that shows will actually take
place -- shows are occasionally cancelled:

January 9-13, ObjectWorld, Boston, Massachusetts, IDG World Expo.
Contact 508-879-6700.

January 10-12, The US Naval Institute will sponsor a conference
in San Diego California. Contact 703-631-6129

January 10-13, The Ada Software Engineering Education and
Training Team will sponsor an Ada software forum in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Contact 703-845-6626.

January 16-20, Pacific Telecom Conference, Honolulu, Waikiki,
Hawaii. Contact 808-941-3789.

January 16-22, Client Server Conference, San Jose, California,
CMP. Contact 516-562-7460.

January 16-22, (and again in February) Re-engineering: The
Implementation Perspective, Boston, Hammer and Co. Contact 617-
354-5555.

January 24-27, ComNet'94, Washington, DC, IDG World Expo. Contact
508-879-6700.

January 26-28, MexCom'94, Mexico City, Mexico. Contact 305-670-
9444 or Fax [phone].

February 7-8, Silicon Interactive: Capitalizing On The Multimedia
Future, conference, San Francisco, California, Advanstar. Contact
503-343-1200.

February 14-16, 6th Annual Software Support Conference, San
Francisco, California, Institute for International Research. Contact
212-944-3500.

February 15-17, Networks Expo (formerly Networld), Boston,
Massachusetts. Contact 201-436-1400.

February 15-18, Expo Comm Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico. Contact
301-986-7800 or Fax [phone].

March 1-2, Call Center'94 Expo, Dallas, Texas, Advanstar
Expositions. Contact 713-974-6637 or Fax [phone].

March 1-2, Computer-Telephone Integration '94, Dallas, Texas,
Advanstar Expositions. Contact 713-974-6637 or Fax [phone].

March 13-17, Help Desk Institute (Ziff Technology Group) 5th
Annual International Help Desk Conference, Nashville, Tennessee,
Help Desk Institute. Contact 719-528-5138 or Fax [phone]; in
Europe call [phone] or Fax [phone].

March 16-23, CeBIT, Hannover, Germany. Contact [phone] or Fax
[phone].

April 19-21, InfoText'94 and Voice'94, Anaheim, California,
Advanstar Expositions. Contact 713-974-6637 or Fax [phone].

May 3-5, Voice Asia'94, Hong Kong, Advanstar Expositions. Contact
713-974-6637 or Fax [phone].

May 16-20, Informatics'94, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Canadian
Information Processing Society conference. Contact 902-421-5792
or Fax [phone].

(John McCormick/19940103)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00003)

 ****Software Toolworks/Ziff-Davis Deal; New Titles Due 01/03/94
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- The Software
Toolworks has announced a deal with Ziff-Davis Publishing to create
and market an interactive compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)
product based on PC/Computing Magazine editor Ron White's book
"PC/Computing How Computers Work."

The company also said that it is now shipping new educational titles
based on the famous Italian home entertainment heroes the Mario
Bros., and is offering newer versions of its other popular software
titles as well.

In the PC/Computing How Computers Work title, the two companies say
they hope to create the first in a series of informational products.
In addition to what one would expect in an interactive multimedia
product about PCs, such as three dimensional renderings, video, and
audio, the companies are planning to create a "host" in the form of
an animated character who will help the user through the program.

The CD-ROM will be distributed in a test drive or "lite" version at
a promotional price. To gain full access, users will need to call a
toll-free number in the US, purchase the full program, and get the
code to unlock the CD. Neither company has announced specific dates
it would make the product available.

This is the second such deal of its type, Newsbytes notes, the first
being the collaboration Software Toolworks has going with Newsweek,
a general interest news magazine, for development and distribution
of the multimedia CD-ROM Newsweek Interactive title.

On the educational front, Software Toolworks is shipping its Mario
Bros. line of educational software. Made popular in the Nintendo
home entertainment world, the Mario Bros. have now been put to work
to teach young children the basics of reading, numbers, and colors
and older children geography and history.

Four Mario titles are available. Two DOS titles for PCs: Preschool
Fun and Fun With Numbers, are aimed at children 3 to 6 years of age
and make up the Mario's Early Years series. The company said that it
consulted educational research experts, speech and language experts,
experienced teachers, and did focus group testing to come up with
the fun, colorful, and age-appropriate materials for the titles.

Aimed at 7 year olds and up, Mario's Time Machine and Mario Is
Missing are part of the company's Mario Discovery Series. With the
rising success of products such as Broderbund's Carmen Sandiego
Series, Software Toolworks has decided to enter the market with
these titles intended to offer history and geography skills. The
titles are available for DOS-based PCs, with the geography game
available in CD-ROM format.

The company says it will also make the titles available for the
Nintendo and Super Nintendo Entertainment Systems (NES) as well.
Translation of the Mario is Missing title into French, Italian,
German, and Spanish is also being accomplished, Toolworks added.

The company has also announced new versions of its popular programs
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and Chessmaster. Mavis Beacon Teaches
Typing is in its third version, with improved analysis for accuracy,
sophisticated customized lessons, games for building typing skill,
and a new text library.

The program also takes advantage of 256-color video graphic array
(VGA) monitors. Chessmaster has been released in the 4000 Turbo
edition, a 32-bit chess engine that Toolworks boasts won the 1992
World Computer Chess Championship.

For the emerging 3DO game system platform, the company also said it
is shipping Software Toolworks Presents... Oceans Below, a
multimedia undersea exploration that can be different each time it
is played.

Six other titles are in development for the 3DO including: The San
Diego Zoo Presents... The Animals; The Software Toolworks
Presents... Space Shuttle; The Software Toolworks 20th Century Video
Almanac; a battle-racing game Megarace; and a fantasy, role-playing
game Dragon Tales.

Prices for the titles varied from between $49.95 to $69.95, though
prices for some products have not been announced. Software Toolworks
(NASDAQ: TWRX), headquartered in Novato, California has offices in
Chatsworth, California; Naperville, Illinois; London; Dusseldorf,
Germany; Paris; and Castle Hill, Australia.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940103/Press Contact: Jeneane Harter, The
Software Toolworks, tel [phone] ext 520, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00004)

Microsoft Hong Kong Ends Year Of The Customer On A High Note 01/03/94
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 19934 JAN 3 (NB) -- During 1993, Microsoft Hong
Kong introduced a broad range of new and enhanced customer services
intended to position the company to maintain strong business growth
in 1994.

"The positive moves of Microsoft since it opened its own office a
couple of years ago have been welcomed by users in Hong Kong," one
local consultant told Newsbytes.

"This part of the world had previously been treated very arrogantly
by ill-informed parochial representatives from the USA, as has been
the case with most Us software publishers. It is to be hoped that
the success of Microsoft's local operation will become a benchmark
for others," he told Newsbytes. "Microsoft has really worked hard to
meet local requirements, particularly those of Chinese language."

"1993 was really the Year of the Customer as far as Microsoft was
concerned. We started the year promising to deliver a higher level
of customer service and I think we have more than fulfilled that
promise," commented Laurie Kan, Country Manager of Microsoft Hong
Kong Ltd.

"Microsoft customers in Hong Kong are benefiting from first-class
telephone hotline support and we've also introduced additional
services tailored to major account support. With the launch of
Microsoft Club we're evolving our relationship with customers,
beyond basic product provision and support, to include a range of
complementary services," he said.

Kan also noted that Microsoft had made significant enhancements to
its channel distribution model with the addition of Microsoft
Solution Providers. The company has been aggressively recruiting
system integrators, support and training partners to the Solution
Providers programme in order to offer the market a high degree of
solution focused expertise.

1993 was, of course, a significant year in terms of the Microsoft
product line. The arrival of Windows NT, the most significant new
operating system in over a decade, heralded a new era for enterprise
computing. By the end of the year, more than 2,000 copies had been
sold in Hong Kong against 200,000 worldwide.

Sales of Microsoft Windows in all its forms topped US$ 5 million,
with a significant percentage accounted for by Windows for
Workgroups. With the addition of Chinese Windows 3.1, Microsoft laid
a solid foundation for local language graphical computing during
1993.

The company also moved decisively into the desktop database market
by chalking up sales of over a million copies for Microsoft Access,
making it the company's most successful product ramp-up. FoxPro 2.5,
launched during the year, became the best selling Xbase language
product and set new records for desktop database performance.

"The launch of Office 4 in November was probably the most successful
event yet by Microsoft Hong Kong. We received orders from over 50
per cent of the people who attended, which really is an
extraordinary result," said Kan.

Microsoft Office 4 reflects the need for greater integration in how
people work. This need is also being addressed with Microsoft at
Work, a set of enabling technologies that will support intelligent
communication between a range of office devices.

"We've already integrated Microsoft at Work technology into Windows
for Workgroups and in 1994 we'll see it appear in telephones, fax
machines and photocopiers from office equipment companies. This will
result in a much more seamless way of working within the office and
ultimately between offices," Kan told Newsbytes.

"People have been talking about the merger of computers and
telecommunications for years but with such developments we're
beginning to see real results. Using low cost digital connections,
companies are going to be able to link their intelligent offices in
ways that will revolutionise the way business is conducted.

"The Hong Kong Government's decision to award licences to three new
telecommunication network operators is going to provide a tremendous
stimulus to digital communication here and ensure that we are part
of the emerging global digital highway."

(Keith Cameron/19940103/Press Contact: Sasha Skinner (Microsoft):
[phone])


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

Creative Technology Takes Stake In Voice Processing 01/03/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Continuous speech
recognition, the interface for computer users that is often promoted
but seldom achieved, may be one step closer to reality with the
recent investment of Creative Technology (Sound Blaster sound
boards) in the technology developed and licensed by Cambridge,
Massachusetts-based Voice Processing.

The long-term development agreement involves an initial investment
of $2.5 million and a further $4 million investment contingent on
various unspecified developments. In return for the cash infusion,
Creative Technology, the well-known maker of PC multimedia sound
boards, will gain access to speaker-independent speech recognition
technology for its future multimedia hardware offerings.

Speaker-dependent speech-recognition, the ability of computers to
match sound patterns with previously stored by users and activate
macros corresponding to those commands, is well-known and works well
both in the newer audio video computers being marketed by Compaq,
IBM, and Apple, and in inexpensive add-on systems, but this is a
very limited kind of speech-recognition.

True independent speech-recognition would let anyone sit down at a
computer and just speak commands - without any previous system or
user training. Continuous, independent speech-recognition, is even
more complex, involving not just the recognition of carefully
pronounced separate words, but normal human speech.

This latter is what Voice Processing Corporation is offering to
deliver to the Singapore-based Creative Technology.

Digital Equipment (DECVoice) and IBM (DirectTalk 6000) are two of
Voice Processing's speech-recognition customers.

(John McCormick/19940103/Public Contact: Counterpoint Publishing,
800-998-4515 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00006)

Team Concepts Chooses Hewlett-Packard For China 01/03/94
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG, 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- One of Hong Kong's
leading telecommunications and electronics manufacturers has
installed an integrated manufacturing resource planning (MRP) system
to manage expansion of its plant in Dongguan, China.

The Unix-based system, which was sold by local Hewlett-Packard (HP)
master reseller Graphics Technology International (GTI), consists of
two Hewlett-Packard HP 9000 Series 800 G30 servers and replaces an
ageing system running on two NEC configurations.

According to Michael Lam of HP Hong Kong, the HP solution preserves
Team's existing investment in PCs and leaves it free to choose
terminal equipment from any vendor as the business expands.

Bernard So, managing director of Team Concepts, pointed out that one
of the decision factors had been the multi-lingual capability of the
new system. "Once the system is fully operational the server in our
new Dongguan plant will be networked to the second HP machine in our
Hong Kong headquarters, enabling employees to exchange detailed
information in both English and Chinese," he said.

Team Concepts was established in Hong Kong in 1978 and manufactures
a wide range of telecommunications and electronic products in Hong
Kong, China and Malaysia under its own name and as an extensive OEM
supplier for major corporations around the world.

The Dongguan plant will more than double the company's existing
production facilities and will substantially assist Team to further
penetrate the massive market in the PRC.

(Keith Cameron/19940103/Press & Public Contact: Venus Chan (HP):
[phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00007)

US Japan Chip Wars Heat Up - Again! 01/03/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- The US Treasury
Department has called for emergency talks with Japanese import
officials over a drop in microchip imports to that country. The
import share of semiconductor sales into the Japanese domestic
market dropped to 18.1 percent in third quarter of 1993 after
hitting a high of 20 percent in 1992.

After waiting nearly seven years for the Japanese to live up to the
20 percent import market share agreement on microchips set back in
1986 and only seeing the Japanese meet or exceed that goal for brief
period, the US Treasury Department has determined that the
percentage of imports has dropped recently, going well below the 20
percent goal.

Although the Japanese economy has run on hard times, this drop in
imports is actually occurring despite an overall growth in the
Japanese market which has seen the dollar volume of US chip exports
to Japan actually increase despite the falling market share.

The percentage of semiconductors imported into Japan, compared to
the total purchases including those from domestic companies, has now
fallen for the third quarter in a row and US trade watchers are
concerned as much by the trend as by the actual numbers.

The slowdown in the Japanese economy can't be responsible in any
direct way for the lowered import percentage because overall
semiconductor use in Japan has continued to climb, it is just the
percentage share which goes to other countries' producers that is
declining.

US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor said on December 28 that the
situation is particularly troubling because it also casts doubts on
Japan's willingness to abide by recent rice import and other market
opening agreements made by Japan.

(John McCormick/19940103/Press Contact: Mickey Kantor, US Trade
Representative, 202-395-3204, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00008)

 ****MCI Has No Comment On Local Service Reports 01/03/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- MCI has declined to
comment on reports it will soon enter the local phone services
business, but it hasn't denied the intention of doing so for some
time.

MCI, which has a 17 percent share of the $60 billion US long
distance market, has an active group trying to into the Personal
Communications Services business through FCC auctions later this
year. The company has also expressed interest in the past in the
Competitive Access Provision business, taking the local portion of a
long distance call.

The company has said in the past it was in active discussions with
cable operators, and it recently announced a test of cable-driven
local phone service with Jones Intercable in Virginia.

Analysts have said they were told that MCI plans to install local
networks in 20 of the largest US cities, including Los Angeles,
Chicago, New York and Atlanta over the next two years. However, it's
more likely the company will continue to cooperate with cable
operators, most of whom have been building fiber rings or backbones
within their service territories for years, mainly so they can
increase the number of channels they carry.

When cable operators build such rings, however, they not only
increase the capabilities of the coaxial cable going to homes and
businesses, they also add new digital carrying capacity that could
be used for phone services. That extra capacity is behind the
purchase of pieces of cable operators by, among others, US West,
Southwestern Bell, BellSouth and it's behind Bell Atlantic's plan to
buy TCI, the nation's largest cable operator.

But many cable operators are still looking for partners who might
help them get into the local phone services business -- especially
with big business customers they don't presently offer cable
television services to.

A few, like Wometco in Atlanta, have already jumped into this area
of the market, with good results. Press reports have indicated MCI
has a $1.5 billion warchest to get into local service -- that would
be enough to buy small pieces of many cable operators, then offer
its expertise as they enter the new market. MCI also owns a small
company called Access Transmission services, which owns cable
rights-of-way in 200 cities, purchased from Western Union Co. in
1990,

MCI spokesman Kevin Inda confirmed to Newsbytes that the company has
made no secret of the fact that most phone charges are incurred on
the local end of a long distance call, and his company has long been
interested in recapturing some of that revenue. These "local access
charges" have long been a bone of contention among MCI, AT&T and the
regional Bells.

The regional Bells want large charges, MCI wants smaller charges,
and AT&T has said its charges should be lower than those of its
competitors since it co-locates its long distance switches inside
local switching centers.

In other news from MCI, the company announced it has sold its
interest in Infonet Services to its 10 partners. MCI had bought 25
percent of the company from Computer Sciences, but was forced to
divest after it agreed to take over British Telecom's US interests,
which includes BT Tymnet, a rival packet network.

The sale by MCI makes the Deutsche Bundespost and France Telecom's
Transpac the largest shareholders in Infonet, with a 21.6 percent
interest each. Other shareholders, each of whom has a 7.2 percent
interest, include PTTs in the Netherlands and Switzerland, Telstra
of Australia, Telefonica of Spain, and Telia of Sweden. KDD of Japan
holds a 6.8 percent interest in Infonet, which has links in a total
of 150 countries.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940103/Press Contact: Kevin Inda, MCI, 202-
887-3000; Mike Radice, Infonet Services, 310-335-2877)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00009)

 ****Apple Announces Video Production Bundle For Quadra 01/03/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Apple Computer has
announced a complete video authoring bundle of software and hardware
called the Professional Video Production Solution and aimed at
Quadra 800, 840 audio/visual (AV), and 950 series of Macs. The
company has included third-party products in the system and claims
the package price is lower than if the components were purchased
separately.

The Professional Video Production Solution includes: the Nubus video
card from Radius; the Videovision Studio, for video capture and
editing; an external 2 gigabyte (GB) Macinstor Speedarray disk array
from Storage Dimensions; the Digidesign Audiomedia II Nubus digital
stereo sound card with direct-to-disk recording and playback;
Appledesign Power Speakers for sound playback; Adobe Premiere Deluxe
compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) edition software for video
production and editing; and Videofusion special effects software.

The Videovision video card is the critical component in the bundle
and offers full-screen 640 by 480 resolution at the full- motion
video rate of 30 frames per second.

Apple's New Media Group manager, Paul Wollaston, said that the
bundle is aimed at corporate and high-end video users. The bundle is
available now for $10,749, Apple said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940103/Press Contact: Katy Boos, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)

Delta Connects With GTE's New Digital Airfone Service 01/03/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Delta has become the
first US airline to install GTE Airfone's new GenStar digital
service.

The first planes to get the new service are those used on the
company's Delta Shuttle run between Boston, New York and Washington,
D.C. By the end of 1994, Delta said, it will equip its entire
domestic fleet with the new equipment.

GenStar phones are installed in airline seat backs, and have screens
behind them. The screens direct users to a variety of services.
Airfone, which originated the air-ground phone business, said it
currently has contracts with 10 carriers on 2,100 aircraft.

It has been pressed heavily, recently, by McCaw's new Claircom unit,
and by In-Flight Phone, which is headed by Airfone founder Jack
Goeken. Recently, American Airlines defected to Claircom's Air One
service, while USAir committed to In-Flight.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940103/Press Contact: Delta Air Lines,
Frances Connor, 404/715-2554)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00011)

New Add-On To Lotus cc:Mail Lets Messages Be Spoken Aloud 01/03/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- E Ware, a division of
Visual Cybernetics, has announced eNote Messaging for cc:Mail, an
add-on package that is being billed as the first e-mail product with
text-to-speech capabilities.

A front-end to Lotus Development Corporations' cc:Mail, the new
software is designed to take advantage of cc:Mail's filtering
ability, said Joseph T. DiMauro, president of Visual Cybernetics.

Filter settings give the user control over which messages eNote
delivers to the screen and which are stored in the mailbox,
permitting messages to be screened by user name, priority, or
subject.

When both sender and recipient are eNote for cc:Mail users, eNote-
specific data, such as sound and voice files, can be attached to
the message. Through the new text-to-speech feature, recipients can
tell the software to read their eNote messages aloud, DiMauro said.

"Including text-to-speech capability in eNote for cc:Mail is our
first step toward making eNote a true multimedia messaging product,"
the company president said.

E Ware's eNote for cc:Mail also supplies many of the same features
as the company's previously released eNote Version 2.0, including
group messaging, drag-and-drop operations, folders, a spell checker,
context searching, and DDE support. Like eNote for cc:Mail, eNote
Version 2.0 allows sound files to be attached to written messages.

The eNote for cc:Mail product can be used without opening cc:Mail,
and without leaving the application currently in use, according to
DiMauro. The user creates messages in eNote's floating control
panel.

Messages can be sent to any individual or group in the cc:Mail
directory. Messages relayed to recipients who are equipped with
cc:Mail, but not eNote, will be stored like any others in the
cc:Mail mailbox.

Now in beta testing, eNote for cc:Mail is scheduled to ship February
1 at a suggested retail price of $49.00 for a single-user add-on.
Software for a second user will be included free of charge for a
limited time. E Ware plans to sell the software directly, as well as
through value-added resellers and distributors.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940103/Reader contact: E Ware, tel [phone];
Press contacts: Maggie Buerger, Buerger Media & Marketing
Incorporated for E Ware, tel [phone]; Rob Anderson, Buerger
Media & Marketing Incorporated for E Ware, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00012)

National Micro Upgrades 486 PCs 01/03/94
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- National
Microcomputers says it has beefed up its Universal Pro-System series
of 486 personal computers with a long list of improvements that
includes a powerful new graphics chipset that more than doubles the
graphic display speed of previous models.

The company says that the Universal Pro-system PCs will use a 2
megabyte (MB) super VGA video adapter that uses Tseng Lab's
ET4000/W32i chipset. The chip is downward compatible with previous
Tseng chips, and provides driver support for Windows NT, IBM's OS/2,
and Univel's Unixware.

All Pro-Systems ship with MS-DOS 6.2 and Microsoft's Workgroups for
Windows 3.11 installed. Eight megabytes (MB) of memory is standard,
and can be expanded to 64MB. Each system board ships with one
additional VL-Bus slot for a total of three, and support is provided
for AMD and Cyrix's 486-compatible CPU as well as any Intel 486 chip
or Intel's 32-bit Pentium microprocessor.

Pro-systems standard drive is a 340 MB hard disk with 13 millisecond
access time, 256 kilobytes of static RAM cache, a 1.2MB 5.25 inch
floppy drive and a 1.4MB 3.5 inch floppy drive. The BIOS (basic
input/output system) can autodetect the type of hard drive
installed.

Other features include a range of monitors and sound boards, CD-ROM
drives, and stereo speakers. National says prices start at $1,739
for a 486SX 25 megahertz model with a 14 inch super VGA display, and
top out at $2,115 for the top of the line system.

(Jim Mallory/19940103/Press contact: Debbie Labinger, S&S
Public Relations for National Micro, 708-291-1616; Reader
contact: National Micro, 801-265-3700/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00013)

 ****General DataComm Delivering V.Fast Modems 01/03/94
MIDDLEBURY, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- General DataComm
has begun deliveries of its V.Fast modems running at 28,800
bits/second.

In a press statement released directly on the Internet through PSI
Net, the company said the modems are available immediately in a
high-density rack-mount version and a desktop unit with its own
case. A standard rack-mount version will be available later this
month, the company said.

General DataComm has guaranteed that its new V.Fast products will
meet the new V.34 standard recommendations as soon as they're
ratified, and they can be upgraded, free, over the phone line, using
the modems' on-board flash memory chips.

The new modems run in both synchronous and asynchronous mode, on
dial-up and leased lines. They support a range of standards going
back even to the 300 bit/second Bell 103 modulation standard, and
with data compression they can push 128,000 bits/second of data
through a call, the company said.

The company is presently testing its modems through an independent
lab in hopes of having them confirmed the industry's fastest. The
modems are also equipped with a variety of high-speed interfaces for
both domestic and international use, and have been approved for use
in over 30 countries. The new modem has also been safety-approved by
the Underwriters' Labs.

Fast modems are especially important in only a limited number of
applications. Users who are sending large graphic files or databases
need the extra speed, as do bulletin boards who want to link with
other bulletin boards late at night to send user mail. However,
casual modem users will find that a super-fast modem is of limited
utility, since using menus and typing online doesn't require the
speed.

General DataComm also criticized some of the more recent products of
its competitors, nothing that many so-called "V.fast Class," "V.fast
technology" and "V.32terbo" products are using modified V.32big chip
sets which can't be upgraded to the final V.34 28,800 bit/second
modulation standard. Compliance testing with the new modulation
standard begins in January.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940103/Press Contact: General Datacom, 203-
792-0542; fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]; Customer
Contact: General DataComm, Inc. 1579 Straits Turnpike.,
Middlebury, CT 06762-1299)


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

FCC Finalizes Pioneer Preferences, Has Stern Crackdown 01/03/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Over the holidays, the
Federal Communications Commission finalized its decisions on
pioneers' preferences concerning microwave-based phone services
called Personal Communications Services (PCS).

Auctions for PCS spectrum will be held later this year, under rules
still under development, but the commission first followed through
on promises to award free spectrum to firms it says invested heavily
in proving the technology and bringing it to market. The winners
were American Personal Communications, which is part-owned by The
Washington Post Co., Cox Enterprises, and OmniPoint Corp. APC and
Cox both worked hard to prove that wireless PCS phones can be
connected to cable television services, which should dramatically
increase competition in the new market.

OmniPoint is reported to have worked hard on the basic technology,
and won 30 megahertz (MHz) of free spectrum in the coveted New York
Metropolitan market. OmniPoint sees PCS phones moving transparently
between wireless service on the street to connections with PBXs and
home-based units, which lowers calling costs and allows users to
retain a single phone number.

In other commission action, the held-up the purchase of FM radio
stations in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to Infinity
Broadcasting, complaining once again of the antics of its chief
asset, disc jockey Howard Stern.

Commissioner James Quello, a former interim FCC chairman who was in
the radio business before being appointed to the commission by
President Nixon in 1974, has long complained that Stern continually
violates the panel's "indecency" standard, with programming that is
"patently offensive" measured by community standard.

The stay on transferring the licenses will cost Infinity millions,
but firing Stern would likely cost it much more. New chairman Reed
Hundt disqualified himself in the Infinity action, noting that his
former law firm representing one of the companies selling a radio
station to Infinity.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940103/Press Contact: FCC Press Office, 202-
632-5050)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00015)

Federal Register Archives Now On CD-ROM 01/03/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Counterpoint Publishing
of Cambridge, Massachusetts has announced a $599 CD-ROM (compact
disc - read only memory) containing a full three years of the
Federal Register -- the essential business and legal reference to
the activities of the federal government.

Adding the full text of the Federal Register for 1991, 1992, and
1993 to its other electronic database offerings, which includes
state environmental data, and both daily and weekly publications of
the Federal Register, will be a very useful research tool for
journalists and many businesses.

Libraries, which are always seeking more storage space, will also
find that having a single CD-ROM which replaces bound volumes taking
up more than 30 feet of shelf space is a major space saver.

For those who actually use the data in the Federal Register, which
includes Federal agency rules, regulations, proposed rules, and
notices regulating the way US businesses can operate, having several
years of the Register available on a searchable disc will make life
much easier.

According to the company, the new disc will be available sometime in
January because it has to be updated with all the end-of-the- year
actions which took place in Washington.

(John McCormick/19940103/Public Contact: Counterpoint Publishing,
800-998-4515 or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00016)

IBM's Thomas Watson Jr. Dies At Age 79 01/03/94
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Thomas J. Watson
Jr., the president of IBM from 1952 to 1961 and chairman from 1961
to 1971, died after a stroke Dec. 30. He was 79.

Watson, who was also United States ambassador to the Soviet Union in
the final months of the Carter administration, died at Greenwich
Hospital in Connecticut. He was the son of Thomas J. Watson Sr., who
joined the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. as general manager in
1914 -- the year Watson Jr. was born in Dayton, Ohio -- and
transformed it into International Business Machines Corporation,
later to be known by the acronym IBM.

Watson Jr. came to work for IBM in 1937 at the age of 23, served in
the US Air Force from 1940 to 1946, then returned to IBM, where he
was promoted to president six years later. He became chief executive
in 1956, taking over the post from his father shortly before Watson
Sr.'s death.

After stepping down as chairman and chief executive in 1971, Watson
remained as chairman of IBM's executive committee until 1979, when
President Jimmy Carter named him ambassador to the Soviet Union. He
remained in that post until Ronald Reagan became president at the
beginning of 1981, then returned to IBM as a director and chairman
emeritus. He was a director of the company until 1984.

Though Watson Jr.'s rise at IBM clearly had a good deal to do with
his parentage, he made his own mark on the company by moving it
rapidly into the computer industry. Watson saw an opportunity for
IBM, which had built its business on office equipment, to use its
established sales force and reputation as a stepping stone into the
emerging computer market in the 1950s.

Watson Jr. was later quoted as saying IBM's established sales force
and its experience at installing and maintaining complex punched-
card accounting systems were "probably four times as important" as
knowing how to build computers.

Though said to be a less hard-driving boss than his father, Watson
Jr. preserved at IBM a formal, buttoned-down image that has only
begun to fade in the past few years. During his tenure as during his
father's, IBM employees were known for an almost universal uniform
of blue suit, white shirt, and tie.

It is said that Watson once said company employees wore such clothes
because "business has been so good since we started wearing them 40
years ago that we're afraid to take them off."

Business was indeed good during Watson Jr.'s tenure at IBM. Between
1956, when he became chief executive, and his resignation in 1971,
the company grew from 72,500 employees to about 270,000, and its
revenues grew to $8,000 million.

Watson also served as chairman of the General Advisory Committee on
Arms Control and Disarmament from 1970 to 1979, as a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations since 1961, and as a director of
several companies and other organizations. He is survived by his
wife Olive, six children, and 15 grandchildren.

(Grant Buckler/19940103/Press Contact: Roger Bolton, IBM,
914-765-6640, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00017)

Canadian Product Launch Update 01/03/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- This regular feature,
appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the
Canadian market on announcements by international companies that
Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Dell's OmniPlex 560 and
566 Pentium desktops and Interleaf 6.

Dell Computer (Canada), of Markham, Ontario, launched the OmniPlex
560 and 566 (Newsbytes, Dec. 14), desktop computers using Intel
Corp.'s Pentium processor. Dell said the new machines, making up its
second line of Pentium-based desktops, are available right away.
Canadian prices are C$5,119 for the 60-megahertz (MHz) OmniPlex 560
and C$5,799 for the 66-MHz OmniPlex 566.

Interleaf Canada of Mississauga, Ontario, said it is now shipping
the Unix version of Interleaf 6, the new release of its document
creation software (Newsbytes, Oct. 26).

Interleaf 6 will be available for Microsoft Windows and NT by the
end of the first quarter of this year, Interleaf Canada said. The
Unix version has a Canadian list price of C$2,995, with various
options available at added cost.

(Grant Buckler/19940103/Press Contact: Peter Bromley, Patrick
O'Neill & Associates for Dell Canada, 416-361-3331; Ralph
Massara, Interleaf Canada Inc., 905-670-5980, fax [phone];
Public Contact: Dell Canada, 905-764-4200, fax [phone];
Interleaf Canada, 905-670-5980)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00018)

 ****Hawaiian Wedding Bells Ring For Bill & Melissa 01/03/94
LANAI, HAWAII, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Hawaiian wedding bells
rang in the new year for Bill Gates and his 29-year old bride
Melissa French over the weekend.

The couple had tried to keep the Saturday wedding date and location
secret, swearing guests to secrecy and even leaking a false date to
mislead reporters and photographers. Once the information leaked
out, Gates reportedly hired helicopters to keep photographers from
buzzing the event, and is reported to have booked all the beds at
his hotel to prevent any unwanted guests.

The only comment available from a Microsoft spokesperson late last
week was "If and when there is a wedding they won't allow
photographers near it."

The wedding was performed on a spit of land overlooking the blue
waters of the Pacific Ocean at the Manele Bay Hotel golf resort on
Lanai, a small island about 10 miles west of Maui. The bride wore a
traditional white gown and Gates was attired in a white dinner
jacket and dark trousers.

The guest list included Warren Buffett, reputed to be the only
American richer than Gates; Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen; former
Washington Governor Dan Evans; Washington Post chairman Katherine
Graham; and country music star Willie Nelson. About 130 guests were
flown to the island by Gates.

French joined Microsoft as a marketing manager in 1987. She is
from the Dallas, Texas area, holds a master's degree in business
administration from Duke University, and is a hiker, as well as a
marathon runner.

When the couple returns from their honeymoon at an undisclosed
location, French can look forward to setting up housekeeping in the
multi-million dollar lakeside residence Gates is building not far
from Microsoft headquarters.

(Jim Mallory/19940103/Press contact: Microsoft Corporation, 206-
882-8080)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00019)

Claris Announces Imaginaria For Mac; Ships MacWrite Pro 1.5 01/03/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Screen-savers
and low-end word processing applications are increasing in
popularity. Now Claris Corporation, Apple Computer's software
operation, has announced that its Imaginaria Windows screen saver
will be available for the Macintosh platform "later this year." At
the same time, the company has also announced that version 1.5 of
its MacWrite Pro word processing software is shipping.

According to the company, Imaginaria is being published under the
Claris Clear Choice consumer brand label Claris, and offers original
art and music, and scenery in the form of 11 animated transition
screens and 15 story modules. Newsbytes notes that screen-savers are
becoming increasingly popular as a way of preventing screen burn-in
on systems left idle for any length of time.

Announcing the package, Bruce Chizen, vice president and general
manager of Claris Clear Choice, said: "Claris Clear Choice is
committed to identifying and publishing innovative consumer products
for both the Macintosh and Windows markets. The Claris Clear Choice
publishing model allows us to bring the skills, talents and
innovation of experienced DOS and Windows developers, like John
Socha, to the Macintosh market."

Imaginaria was developed by Kirkland, Washington-based Socha
Computing and was written by Scott Searle and Socha. Imaginaria
screens include a meadow hike through Yosemite National Park, a deep
sea dive to a coral reef, and a moonrise over Monterey Bay.

The company says that, currently, sample modules of Imaginaria for
Windows are bundled with select 10-pack boxes of 3M 3.5-inch, 1.44
megabyte (MB) high density IBM-formatted diskettes as well as
CompUSA's private label CompuDyne PC systems.

The product will require at least a Macintosh LC or above for sound,
System 7, a color monitor, and 4MB of memory. PC users require a 386
processor or greater, 4MB of memory, Windows version 3.1, acolor
monitor with at least VGA graphics, and a sound board with speakers.
Although Imaginaria will run in 16 colors, 256 colors are
recommended by the company.

Imaginaria for the Apple Mac will be available in the US in the
Spring/Summer of 1994, with the pricing to be announced later.
Imaginaria for Windows is already priced at $49.

Version 1.5 of MacWrite Pro now fully supports Apple's new Systems 7
Pro operating system, and includes support for AppleScript,
QuickTime, and PowerTalk -- the new collaboration software built
into System 7 Pro.

The company says that one new feature is the "Table of Contents,"
designed to allow for the creation of a customizable table of
contents for complex documents.

MacWrite Pro 1.5 is currently available for a promotional suggested
retail price of $99 (instead of $249) through May 31, 1994. Claris
says it will also be offering special "Bonus Bundle" coupons in the
box.

Apple's System 7 Pro allows users to exchange electronic mail and
documents. MacWrite Pro 1.5 supports AppleScript and features over
40 pre-defined Apple events, which lets end-users customize and
automate several time-consuming tasks.

The company says that Edit Graphic Object (EGO) support is another
new feature of version 1.5, which allows users to include and edit
graphic objects from EGO-supported server applications. "Command-
clicking" on the object in a MacWrite Pro 1.5 document brings up the
application used to create the object.

Dictionaries in Spanish, French, and German are included free in the
US educational version.

In-the-box coupons offer three choices after purchasing MacWrite Pro
1.5: Writer's Bundle, which features Correct Grammar from WordStar
and Dyno NotePad outliner from Portfolio Systems; Science Bundle,
which includes MicroExpressionist equation editor from Prescience
and Dyno NotePad; and Genius' Bundle which includes all three
products. All the bundles include "fully functional software and all
documentation, and are priced between $29 and $39.

Additionally, Claris says that pricing for the bonus bundles,
including the update to MacWrite Pro 1.5, range from $49 to $99 for
users upgrading from earlier versions of MacWrite or competitive
trade-ups.

MacWrite Pro requires 2.5MB of memory under System 7 (1MB
under System 6.05) and 3.5MB of disk space for all program files.

As reported by Newsbytes in December, Claris announced Clarisworks
2.1 for the Macintosh, which included such features as support for
System 7 Pro's Powertalk, hyphenation support for word processing
documents, and new file filters.

In October, the company reported record revenues for the fourth
quarter and fiscal year, ended September 24, 1993. Claris said net
revenues for the fourth quarter were $42.7 million, a 51 percent
increase over the same quarter of 1992. For fiscal 1993, net
revenues were $154.4 million, a 48 percent increase over the $104.3
million recorded in fiscal 1992.

(Ian Stokell/19940103/Press Contact: Greg Cornelison, 408-987-7542,
or Steve Ruddock, 408-987-7202, Claris Corp; or Natalie Lingo, 408-
987-7487, Claris Clear Choice)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00020)

Intuit Updates QuickPay 3.0 For DOS/Windows 01/03/94
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Intuit has
announced QuickPay 3.0 for DOS and Windows, payroll add-on software
to the company's Quicken and QuickBooks personal-finance and small-
business software programs. The company says that, according to the
PC Data market research firm, since its introduction in June 1991,
QuickPay now has an 80 percent share of the payroll-only market.

Announcing the new version, Scott Cook, president and co-founder of
Intuit, said: "QuickPay is the top-selling payroll program because
it's the easiest and quickest way for users to process their
payrolls. Before QuickPay, our users spent more than three hours
each month doing payroll."

"Now it takes them less than an hour. With QuickPay 3.0, we've taken
payroll automation a step further by helping users complete
complicated, time-intensive tasks such as printing W-2s," he added.

The company says that QuickPay combines with QuickBooks or Quicken
to form a complete bookkeeping system that can handle a small
business' payroll needs -- automatically calculating earnings,
federal, state, and local withholdings, social security and
Medicare, federal and state unemployment and state disability
insurance.

The company says that the user can define up to nine additional
deduction and earning categories, such as medical insurance co-
payments and 401(k) pre-tax retirement plan contributions. Payroll
checks can then print from within QuickBooks or Quicken.

QuickPay is claimed to manage all key employee information,
including name and address, pay rate, social security number, year-
to-date totals, sick and vacation hours. Payroll information is then
summarized in QuickPay's three new reports and printed at year's end
on standard W-2 forms.

The company is also offering a "QuickPay Tax Table Update Service"
that "guarantees" that subscribers will remain up-to-date with
federal and state taxes changes. For a 12-month subscription to the
service, costing $339.95, Intuit will automatically send the latest
tax tables.

QuickPay 3.0 for both DOS and Windows is now available at a
suggested retail price of $74.95. Both platforms are included in a
single package. Previous QuickPay users can get a $10 mail-in rebate
from Intuit when they buy QuickPay 3.0 from retail stores, or, the
upgrade may be purchased for $34.95 (plus $5 for shipping and
handling) directly from Intuit.

The company offers free unlimited technical support for QuickPay,
QuickBooks, and Quicken.

QuickPay 3.0 for DOS requires: QuickBooks 2.0 or Quicken 7.0 for
DOS; 640 kilobytes (KB) of RAM on the PC; DOS 3.3 or higher (DOS 5.0
or higher recommended); and a hard disk drive. QuickPay 3.0 for
Windows requires: QuickBooks 2.0 or Quicken 2.0 (or higher) for
Windows; 4MB of RAM; DOS 3.0 or higher; Windows 3.1; and a hard disk
drive.

The firm had a couple of Quicken promotions in December. As reported
by Newsbytes, the company began offering a  Trial Edition of Quicken
in the DOS, Windows, or Macintosh format for an $8 shipping and
handling fee.

At the time, the company said its market research showed that only
37 percent of PC-owning households also own personal finance
software. As a result, 8.5 million households with PCs do not have
personal finance software.

Also reported by Newsbytes, following the merger of Intuit and
Chipsoft, the companies began offering the Quicken/TurboTax
combination software package.

(Ian Stokell/19940103/Press Contact: Trina Williams or Sheryl
Ross, 415-329-2743 or 415-329-3569, Intuit Inc.)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00021)

 ****Double-, Triple-Speed MM Kits Aimed At Apple Market 01/03/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Procom
Technology says it plans to give Apple Computer a run for its money
by introducing competing double- and triple-speed compact disc read-
only memory (CD-ROM) drives in low-priced multimedia kits. The kits
are aimed at Apple Macintosh and Performa computers and are being
introduced at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

The MacCD Station 2B, a direct competitor with Apple's CD 300, is
priced at $449, and offers a double-speed CD-ROM drive. The second
kit, the MacCD Station 3, is aimed to compete with the Apple CD
Multimedia Kit, offers a triple-speed drive, and is priced at $699.

Both kits are aimed at the emerging multimedia market. Procom says
the 450 kilobyte per second (KBps) data transfer rate of the triple-
speed drive in the MacCD Station 3 kit is the fastest CD-ROM system
in the industry for search and retrieval of data. Users can expect
smoother and more life-like playback of video from CDs via the
triple-speed drive, the company said.

The double-speed CD-ROM offers a slower 300 KBps data transfer rate,
but is still suitable for access and playback of video from CD-ROM
discs via Apple's Quicktime video playback technology.

In addition, Procom said it will be shipping the Personal Array
fault-tolerant hard disk drive system, announced this fall. The
Personal Array uses data mirroring to protect data against loss of
critical information should one of the hard disk drives fail and
connects directly to the high-speed small computer systems interface
(SCSI) port of Macintosh Centris or Quadra computers without the
need for an additional SCSI card.

The Array can accept removeable drives (such as those from Syquest),
magneto optical droves, DAT (digital audio tape) drives, and Fast
small computer system interface (SCSI) II drives. List price for the
Personal Array is $1,595 to $4,995 depending on the capacity.

Procom Technology, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a
manufacturer of multimedia hardware and disk array sub-systems for
IBM compatible personal computers (PCs) and Apple Macintosh and
Performa computers. The company is claiming a 15 fold increase in
multimedia upgrade kit sales since 1991. The company is privately
held and boasts annual revenue of $50 million.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940103/Press Contact: Omar Barraza, Procom
Technology, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Len Fernandes, LF
Communications Group for Procom, 510-538-8916)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00022)

Radius Intros PrecisionColor Pro 24XK 24-bit Graphics Card 01/03/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- For Apple
Computer Macintosh users working mostly with graphics applications,
the addition of a special graphics add-in card can speed up system
processing a great deal. Now Radius has announced the 24-bit
PrecisionColor Pro 24XK card, which the company claims "offers the
fastest performance for large-screen displays in its class."

The PrecisionColor Pro 24XK carries a suggested retail price of
$999. However, the company claims that the product "significantly
increases productivity to users in the graphic design, color
publishing, and workplace productivity markets by delivering 1024 by
768 pixel resolution to 16-inch and larger displays." The company
expects shipments to begin in early January.

The PrecisionColor Pro 24XK includes an optimized application
specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed to deliver 32-bit
QuickDraw acceleration.

According to Dan Shaver, Radius vice president of marketing and
sales, "Although our 18-month-old PrecisionColor 24XK product
outperforms the newly announced RasterOps Paintboard Lightning, we
are discontinuing it because it was starting to fall short of our
customers' and our own high standards for price and performance."
However, he said that, "We back the PrecisionColor Pro 24XK and all
of our other accelerated graphics interfaces with a Lifetime
Warranty, which protects customers for as long as they own the
product."

Radius says it designed PrecisionColor Pro 24XK in a less-than-
seven-inch NuBus form factor, which, the company claims, gives users
"complete compatibility with NuBus-based Macintosh systems"

The company's Dynamic Desktop software is shipped as standard with
the PrecisionColor Pro 24XK. The software reportedly provides the
ability to instantly change display resolution and bit-depth without
having to reboot, or re-launch applications -- allowing users to
switch among a variety of resolutions on-the-fly, including 1024 by
768, 832 by 624 and 640 by 480. Bit-depth can also be switched
between monochrome, 8-bit (256-colors) and 24-bit (16.7 million
colors) modes.

(Ian Stokell/19940103/Press Contact: Dee Cravens, 408-434-1010,
Radius)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00023)

Clinton Health Security Plan On CD-ROM Disk For $14.95 01/03/94
FAIRFIELD, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- What is the new
Clinton Health Security Plan really all about, and what will the
program ultimately cost? Allegro New Media is attempting to answer
these complex questions in a fully searchable multimedia CD-ROM
title for Windows priced at $14.95.

To present a multi-faceted view of the issues involved, the newly
released disk includes White House commentary, along with
interpretations of the act by a variety of outside organizations,
in text and in over two hours of video.

Also incorporated are dozens of pictures, tables and charts, aimed
at illustrating the Health Security Act and its implications to
consumers and businesses.

The textual materials include all 1342 pages of the Health Security
Act, plus the President's Report to the American People, the
President's Transmittal Letter to Congress, and analysis of the
proposed legislation by the American Bar Association, the US
Chamber of Congress, the US House of Representatives Republican
Conference, Benefit Solutions, the Health Insurance Association of
America, and more.

The 60 interactive video clips range from President Clinton's
Address to Congress and Hilary Clinton's Address on Health Care to
interviews with external industry experts.

Officials noted that the White House was quite cooperative with the
CD-ROM project, providing extensive materials. But Gary Cupo,
president of Benefits Solutions, an organization that helped to
compile the materials, pointed out that the White House perspective
is only one side of the whole story.

"The videos and written commentary (included) on this disc provide
(a) balanced treatment of health care reform," Cupo said.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940103/Reader contact: Allegro New Media, tel
201-808-1992; Press contact: Barry Cinnamon, Allegro New Media,
tel [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00024)

 ****Mac PowerPC Upgrade Path, Developer Tools Announced 01/03/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Apple Computer
is preparing for the emergence of the PowerPC microprocessor by
detailing how current Apple Mac users can upgrade existing systems
to the PowerPC and announcing software developer kits (SDK) for the
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) chip platform.

The PowerPC, announced nearly two years ago as a joint development
effort between Apple, IBM, and Motorola, has been widely heralded as
a less expensive competitor to Intel's top-of-the-line Pentium chip
for IBM and compatible personal computers (PCs). PowerPC-based
Macintosh computers have been announced for debut in the first half
of 1994, but Apple is already detailing an upgrade program to
current Macintosh users.

Upgrades will consist of both logic board replacement or a processor
upgrade card. The logic board is the main circuit board in the
computer into which all the other components are connected, while
the processor upgrade card is an addition to the logic board already
in the Macintosh.

Logic board upgrades will be offered for the Quadra 840 audio visual
(AV), 800, 660AV, 650, and 610 models, the Centris 660AV, 650, and
610, and the Macintosh IIvx, vi and Performa 600 computers. Apple
Workgroup server 60, 80, and 95 owners will be able to obtain logic
board upgrades as well.

Dealer installation of the logic boards is required and a special
version of System 7.0 for the PowerPC will also be offered, Apple
officials said.

In addition, a low-cost processor upgrade card will be available for
the Quadra 950, 900,800,700, 650, and 610 models as well as for the
Centris 650 and 610 computers. The processor upgrade card will also
be an option users can install themselves in the Processor Direct
Slot (PDS) in Macintoshes equipped with the Motorola 68040 chip.

The trade-off appears to be one of speed. While the processor
upgrade card offers increased performance, it acts as a clock-
doubling chip increasing the clock speed of the Macintosh at the
processor level only.

For example, the addition of a PowerPC processor upgrade card to a
25 megahertz (MHz) 68040-based system, disabling the current
processor and increasing the clock speed of the processor to 50 MHz.
However, since the logic board was designed for the lower clock
speed, the benefit of the PowerPC's double clock speed might not be
felt in all applications.

Logic board upgrades get around that problem, providing increases of
2 to 4 times the overall performance of the Macintosh. But logic
board upgrades are sure to be more costly.

The upgrades are planned for release simultaneously with the new
PowerPC-based Macintosh models and will range in price from $700 to
$2,000, Apple added. Third-party developers are expected to offer
hardware upgrade options as well.

Apple announced an agreement with Daystar Digital in November of
1993 under which Daystar plans to develop a processor upgrade for
Quadra 650, 700, 800, 900, and 950 systems as well as an upgrade for
the Centris 650 model.

Apple also announced software developer products aimed at the new
PowerPC that run on existing Macintosh Motorola-based 68020, 68030,
or 68040 computers. The Macintosh on RISC Software Developers Kit
includes all tools and documentation for new applications or the
porting of existing applications to the PowerPC.

The Macintosh with PowerPC Starter Kit offers a self-paced training
course, the Programmer's Introduction to RISC and PowerPC, aimed at
getting new PowerPC developers up to speed. A bundle of the
Macintosh on RISC SDK and the PowerPC Starter Kit with the
Codewarrior PowerPC development environment from Metroworks is also
being offered.

The SDK's are being made available in pre-release form with free,
automatic upgrades to the final versions when available. Apple said
it is releasing these versions in order to offer software developers
a head start in preparing for the release of the PowerPC.

The SDK is $399, the Starter Kit is $39.95, and Programmer's
Introduction is $150, and the Codewarrior is $399. Bundled together
the products retail for $849, but Apple is offering a special price
during the coming Macworld Expo show, January 5 through 8, 1994 in
San Francisco of $749.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940103/Press Contact: Betty Taylor, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact for
Developers, APDA, US 800-282-2732, Canada 800-637-0029,
International 716-871-6555)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00025)

 ****Fujitsu To Increase Investment in ICL 01/03/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Fujitsu has decided to increase its
cash investment in International Computers Limited (ICL), the UK-
based computer company. According to Fujitsu, since ICL is a PC
company, it fits in well with the Japanese giant's plans to expand
its presence in the PC marketplace.

The investment could also have a lot to do with Mitsubishi's renewed
vigor in its Apricot PC operation in the UK, Newsbytes notes. The
last year has seen Apricot storm back in the PC markets in the UK on
the back of its Pentium-based high power machines. Clearly, Fujitsu
wants ICL to have a presence in the market alongside Apricot.

Fujitsu plans to invest a total of UKP 100 million into ICL over the
next 11 months. According to sources, Fujitsu has already laid out
around half of this money already, with the balance expected to be
invested by November of this year.

Assuming the extra UKP 100 million is invested, this will raise the
Japanese company's stake in ICL from 80 to 84.4 percent, seeing
Northern Telecom's stake in the company drop from 20 to 15.6
percent.

Fujitsu started investing in ICL in 1990 -- The firm purchased an 80
percent equity of ICL at a cost of 180,000 million yen ($1,800
million). Since 1990, Fujitsu and ICL have jointly coordinating
ICL's business in Europe, while Fujitsu has gained the rights to
sell ICL's handheld PCs in Japan.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940103/Press Contact: Fujitsu, 81-3-
3215-5236, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00026)

 ****Apple Announces eWorld Global Online Service 01/03/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Apple Computer has
announced eWorld, its new family of electronic information services.
The first taste of the new service is aimed at US Mac users in the
Spring of 1994, and global Mac users later in the new year.

Apple's Peter Friedman, director and general manager of Apple Online
Services said, "eWorld defines a new user interface and publishing
structure, providing a less complicated and more meaningful
experience for both publishers and subscribers."

According to Friedman, the new interface is a bird's eye view of a
colorful illustrated online community with a neighborhood of
buildings.

Each building is a specific area of the online service: such as the
Library for research, the Newsstand for current events and sports
publications, the Business and Professional Plaza for business
information and services, the Arts and Leisure Pavilion for after
hours entertainment and hobbies, the Computer Center for assistance
and software, the Marketplace for purchasing products, the eMail
Center for worldwide electronic mail, and the Community Center for
interactive communications like "chat" or discussion areas.

Apple claims the "real world" metaphor interface along with color-
coded organizational schemes will prevent users from getting lost or
disoriented. The service is also intended to be available for
Windows-based personal computers (PCs) and Apple Newton devices in
addition to Macintosh computers.

Online publications will have access to publishing tools similar to
those found on the Apple computer desktop, the company said. Apple
is hoping publishers will be attracted to publishing products under
the name "eWorld Press" and claims its tools can dramatically
simplify the creation and maintenance of online publications.

Subscriptions will cost $8.95 in the US and include two free hours
of evening or weekend usage. Each subsequent hour is $4.95, and an
additional $2.95 per hour surcharge brings the total hourly rate up
to $7.90 during business hours in the US. These rates represent
savings on Apple's Applelink online service, Newsbytes notes.

Newsbytes understands that no surcharges will be made for Internet
Mail gateway use or 9600 baud access. Apple plans to bundle the
software on the hard disk drives of new Macintosh computers, but the
company implied others will have to purchase a sign-up kit.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940103/Press Contact: Emma Bufton, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00027)

India: Microland To Sell Cisco's Range Of Products 01/03/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- India-based Microland has
partnered up with Cisco Systems for the sale and support of the US-
based company's complete range of routers, bridges, communication
servers and network management software. The Bangalore-based firm
has already bagged the first order for Cisco routers from Morgan
Stanley.

Despite the company's US origins, Cisco products are not unknown in
India. They were also being routed into the country through APT
Technologies which had no formal tie up with Cisco but has been
buying its products on a "case to case basis," according to William
Messer, director of Cisco's Asia Pacific operation.

Rather than go down the traditional route of forming its own Indian
subsidiary, Cisco decided it was more appropriate to forge an
alliance, since "we wanted to come here quickly and setting up a
subsidiary takes time," Messer said.

Cisco claims to have 51 per cent of the router market share
worldwide, and has grossed more than $1,000 million in 1992-93. The
Asia Pacific region contributes about 10 percent of its revenues,
while the US and Mexico combine accord approximately 54 percent,
the maximum.

A few weeks ago, Microland firmed up an alliance with Motorola. "All
our collaborations work synergistically and none overlap each
other," explained Pradeep Kar, Microland's chairman and managing
director.

The partnership with Motorola is for distributing Motorola's
multiplexers and switches in India. With this latest batch of tie
ups, Microland has a total of eight foreign collaborators, Newsbytes
notes. They are: Compaq, ComputerLand, Newport Systems, Novell,
SynOptics and Hewlett-Packard.

(C T Mahabharat/19940103)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00028)

Cisco Systems In Two Router Deals With IBM 01/03/94
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- The current
industry trend migrating away from mainframe computing environments
has given rise to many agreements between established hardware
vendors and providers of internetworking products. Now Cisco Systems
has entered into agreements with two divisions of IBM -- one of
which creates a cooperative program to provide direct attachment
between IBM mainframes and Cisco routers, while the other allows for
on-site servicing of Cisco products by IBM.

In an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) arrangement with IBM's
Large-Scale Computing Division, Cisco has created a program aimed at
integrating mainframe systems into the open, workstation-dominated,
client-server market.

According to the company, by mid-1994, the program will produce a
family of board-level interfaces that directly attaches the
mainframe I/O (input/output) channel with the Cisco 7000 high-end
router. Both IBM's mainframe bus-and-tag technology and its newer
17-megabyte-per-second ESCON (Enterprise Systems Connection)
architecture will be supported, says the company.

The Cisco/IBM channel interface deal calls for an OEM pact under
which Cisco will purchase IBM's ESCON chipset for use in an ESCON
router interface.

The deal also calls for an "exchange of information, technology and
engineering consulting services relating to the design of a bus-and-
tag router interface; the granting of a license to IBM by Cisco to
manufacture the interfaces being developed; an agreement allowing
Cisco to purchase from IBM the manufactured interfaces; and an
agreement calling for testing of the channel interfaces in a variety
of configurations at IBM's facility in Poughkeepsie."

Announcing the deal, Martin Thomas, Cisco channel-attach product
manager, said: "As customers migrate mainframes to client-server
environments, they are seeking more effective ways to connect their
mainframes to their router-based networks."

"The OEM arrangement will result in products that increase the
performance and flexibility of mainframe attachment and, at the same
time, reduce network complexity. We recognize that while ESCON is
today's state-of-the-art channel technology, a great majority of
installed mainframes still use bus-and-tag." he added.

Bryan Golnek, IBM's Large Scale Computing Division OEM director,
said: "Our OEM pact with Cisco is part of an ongoing program to
facilitate high-quality channel interface attachment capability to
our entire line of ES/9000 processors, as well as previous processor
generations."

The second agreement is with IBM's Field Service Support Group
(Atlanta) to offer on-site service for Cisco routers. According to
the companies, the new arrangements expand an existing relationship
between Cisco and IBM Networking Systems. Cisco is a licensee of the
group's Token Ring chipset and Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking
(APPN) technologies.

Newsbytes notes that, as with many providers of internetworking
products, both hardware and software, Cisco's financial reports
reflect the increased trend towards client-server and distributed
processing corporate computing environments.

In November, 1993, Newsbytes reported that, for the first quarter
ended October 24, 1993, net sales for Cisco were $248,457,000, and
net income was $63,485,000, or $0.48 per share. The company said
that the figures compared to net sales of $126,379,000 and net
income of $33,243,000, or $0.26 per share in the same period the
previous year, and represented increases of 97 percent, 91 percent,
and 85 percent, respectively.

In September, 1993, Newsbytes reported on Cisco's agreement to
acquire Crescendo Communications, a privately held networking
company. Under terms of the deal, Cisco agreed to acquire all of the
outstanding stock and assume all the outstanding employee stock
options and warrants of Crescendo in exchange for 2,000,000 shares
of Cisco common stock.

In August, 1993, Newsbytes reported that Cisco entered into a
"strategic partnership," in order to ensure compatibility between
routers from Cisco Novell's NetWare network operating system
products.

At the time, the companies said that the first phase calls for
Novell to certify that Cisco routers support all necessary
IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) router functionality. It will
also entail Cisco implementing Novell's NetWare Link Services
Protocol (NLSP) to improve internetwork performance and scalability.

(Ian Stokell/19940103/Press Contact: Jacqueline Brinker,
415-903-7598, Cisco Systems)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEL)(00029)

Fiserv To Open Offices In India 01/03/94
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Fiserv, the $23
million US-based financial services company, has announced plans to
open an office in India. According to a spokesman for the company,
plans call for the Indian office to market Fiserv's integrated,
real-time retail banking software into the Indian business
marketplace.

Fiserv ASPAC, the company's Asia-Pacific wing, recently signed an
agreement with IBM Southeast Asia to jointly address the financial
services market in Asia. Newsbytes notes that, under the agreement,
IBM and Fiserv will share resources.

It is not yet clear how the Fiserv/IBM alliance will work out in
India. Fiserv's banking package is on the IBM AS/400 series of
minicomputers and Big Blue has yet to break into this area of the
Indian market in a big way.

Newsbytes notes that Tata Information Systems Limited (TISL), the
Tata-IBM joint venture, which is marketing AS/400 in India is yet to
receive any communication from IBM on the Fiserv alliance.

Fiserv is one of the largest financial services company in the US.
Employing more than 5,600 professionals, it is a leading provider of
financial data processing systems and related information management
services to retail banks, building societies, credit unions ,
mortgage banking firms and savings institutions worldwide. It has
offices in Singapore, London and Orlando.

(C T Mahabharat/19940103)


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

CompUSA Second Quarter Sales Up Healthy 65 Percent 01/03/94
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 3 (NB) -- Computer retailer CompUSA
says its second quarter sales increased a healthy 65 percent over
the same period last year.

The company reported sales of $537 million for the period ending
December 25, 1993, compared to $325 million for the same period last
year. It also said sales for the 36 stores that were open during
both periods increased 13 percent.

The results apparently pleased investors, with CompUSA stock up
$1.50 to $20.75. The company is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE).

Same-store sales were up 11.5 percent, continuing a slight downward
trend in the percent of increase over the past three months. Same-
store sales were up 14.9 percent in October and 12.6 percent in
November.

CompUSA said that sales for the first six months of the fiscal year
were up 66 percent in the company's 70 stores, reporting $974
million compared to $588 million for the first half of last year.

A company spokesperson attributed the increases to CompUSA's
competitive pricing. Noelle Greene-Hunt told United Press
International Tandy Corporation is CompUSA's only significant
competition.

The company has already opened four of the six new stores it
promised for the current quarter, and plans to add an additional six
in the fourth quarter. "There are still large parts of the country,
such as the Midwest, that we have not covered yet," said Greene-
Hunt.

(Jim Mallory/19940103/Press contact: CompUSA, 214-406-4000)