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/nb011394

Text File | 1994-01-13 | 76.6 KB | 1,716 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00001)

Australia - PC Supplier Creates "Osborne Gold Club" 01/13/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Osborne Computer is
Australia's largest supplier of computers. It has now created the
Osborne Gold Club for users of other brands of PC.

A five-year membership costs AUS$200 (around US$138). It
entitles members to fixed-price maintenance on their machine,
plus low cost upgrades, hardware and software. There
is a fixed-price on-site service call of AUS$45 (US$30) for any
problem, regardless of how long it takes to fix, and parts are
provided at cost plus 10 percent. All new parts have a five-year
full warranty.

Members can also buy hardware and software at discount prices.
The hardware is also covered by the five-year on-site warranty.
There will be regular catalogs for members, plus monthly
newsletters and special offers, says the company.

Examples of pricing are: four megabytes (MB) of RAM for
AUS$285; a 486SX/33 motherboard for AUS$495; a multimedia
kit for AUS$695; a 270MB hard disk is priced at AUS$385; and
a 14-inch non-interlace monitor costs AUS$495.

Members are also given unlimited toll-free telephone support on
their computer system and printer, plus DOS and Windows. Selected
application software support is available at AUS$1 per minute
(US$0.69).

As an incentive to sign up, every fifth new membership (for a
limited period) will include a bundle of products at no extra cost.
This includes a multimedia kit, "Return To Zork" CD, Lotus 1-2-3
spreadsheet program and Ami Pro word processor, along with
Windows and DOS tutorials.

Osborne does not sell through dealers, but only direct.

(Paul Zucker/19940112/Contact: Osborne Gold Club,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00002)

AEA Gives Clinton Administration Report Card 01/13/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- The American
Electronics Association, a group representing 3,000 companies,
has issued its report card on the performance of the Clinton
Administration for the first year, with an emphasis on how
policies will effect the American electronics industry. The
new President has been given relatively high marks - so far.

One high point in the past year, as far as the AEA is concerned,
is the increased funding for what the association considers key
initiatives. This includes a 16 percent increase in funding for the
Commerce Department, which has several initiatives designed to
speed US high-tech products to the world market.

The AEA report also points out that President Clinton has
followed through on his promise to reduce export restrictions,
since the end of the cold war has reduced the number of
potential foreign adversaries.

AEA members also see the passage of NAFTA, the North American
Free Trade Agreement, as a big plus, For example, the former 20
percent Mexican tariff on US computer imports ended earlier
this month.

The Association's view of progress on opening up Japanese markets
is less complimentary. However, Dick Iverson, president and CEO of
the AEA said that the "jury is still out" on the subject.

As might be expected, the AEA rates Clinton's performance on new
taxes rather poorly.

The AEA's number-one priority for 1994 is to defeat the Financial
Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposal on stock options. This
proposed change in accounting standards would require companies
to record all stock options they issue as a charge against
earnings when issued. The government's rationale is that, since
they represent real obligations, the issuance of giant stock
option blocks to highly paid executives should be reflected in
the company's financial balance sheet.

This is a special problem for small high-tech companies which
routinely reward low-paid workers from the mail room on up with
options to buy company stock. This lets them gain loyal employees
who have a stake in their company's future, but if they are
forced to record these options as an expense then the small
companies would have more trouble getting loans from banks and
garnering investments from investment groups which specialize in
taking positions in small new companies.

The Clinton Administration has reportedly indicated that it will
support companies wishing to block this accounting change.

Other pluses in the administration's column, as far as the AEA is
concerned, include the clarification of anti-trust rules for
joint ventures (this allows companies to pool their efforts
without running afoul of legal problems) and the move spearheaded
by Vice President Gore to establish the national Information
Superhighway.

The administration got an incomplete on its health care
initiative, because no one knows how it will work or what new
costs it may impose on business.

(John McCormick/19940112/Press Contact: Ramona Gann,
202-682-4443, AEA)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

Japan - Memory Chip Demand To Increase 01/13/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Memory chip demand is
expected to increase in the world market this year. As a result,
many major Japanese memory chip manufacturers, such as Toshiba
and Mitsubishi Electric, are attempting to increase shipments --
particularly of four megabit and 16 megabit dynamic random
access memory.

Analysts expect four megabit DRAMs to continue to increase and
makers may not be able to meet the demand. According reports,
shipped units of four megabit DRAM chips will exceed one billion
this year, an increase of about 20 percent over 1993.

Due to the increasing popularity of the four megabit chip,
manufacturers are reportedly only able to meet 70 to 80 percent
of total demand.

Fujitsu is planning to invest five billion yen ($45 million) to
quadruple production of its four and 16 megabit DRAMs at its
UK plant. NEC and Hitachi have also been preparing to
increase production at their chip plants overseas, including the
UK and the US.

Mitsubishi Electric plans to put more effort in producing the 16-
megabit DRAM chips. Currently, the firm is shipping 600,000 units
per month. By the end of this April, the firm wants to raise that
level to one million units per month.

It is estimated that 25 million units of 16-megabit chips were
shipped in 1993. Some reports estimate that world demand will
reach 120 to 150 million units this year.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930111/Press Contact: Toshiba,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00004)

India - Coromandel To Use SCO's Dealer Network 01/13/94
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Coromandel Industries, the
New York-based US affiliate of Coromandel software is now looking
at new business opportunities.

All along the company "rode piggyback" on Microsoft and Borland
with add-on tools for Visual C++, Microsoft C++, and Borland C++.
Now, the company is considering promoting its Integra 4 SQL
(structured query language) engine through part of the dealer
network of its old ally Santa Cruz Operation (SCO).

"We are planning to capitalize on the existing user base of Integra,"
said P. Param Parameswaran, president of Coromandel Industries
on a recent visit to India. In the late eighties, a rudimentary version
of Integra SQL accompanied a bundle of software sold by SCO, which
featured a spreadsheet and a database among other programs. SCO
shipped over 8,000 of those packages.

Of late, SCO is reportedly shifting focus from that line of business,
as it is trying to push SCO Unix harder. But, to sell its various
bundles of software, SCO had set up a strong distribution channel.
Parameswaran has plans to approach the top 30 to 40 dealers of
SCO to promote Integra 4.

Coromandel, however, has no plans to enter the Unix/RDBMS
(relational data base management system) market. "It is true that
the Unix market is still big. But there is no need for us to go to a
marshy land and battle it out," said Parameswaran. It is the client-
server market that he is after. "The tools which we offer are the
kind considered by new projects. And most new projects are
client-server."

Coromandel is not looking so much at the back-end as it is at the
front-end in a client server environment. If the front-end is
Windows, Coromandel offers tools which have a ODBC-compliant
SQL. The back-end need not necessarily be Integra 4. It could be
Oracle, Sybase or any other RDBMS. All the three C++ products
offered by Coromandel in the US go with an SQL engine. Positioning
Integra 4 the way Co Soft is doing it in India would take more time.

At present, a bulk of Coromandel's sales are through Microsoft.
Microsoft sends mailers on behalf of Integra. In Scandinavian
countries, the database version of Microsoft Visual C++ goes with
Integra VDB. The major market for Coromandel today is Microsoft
C++'s installed base of 500,000. The other key market would be
Borland's installation of 900,000. Parameswaran expects a big
portion of business in that segment once Borland starts shipping
the latest version of its C++. Coromandel has licensed some
subsets of its product to Borland.

In its niche, Coromandel has little competition today. While ODBC
compliance gives its programming tools the open advantage, the
products score on the price front too. While Integra plus Visual
basic goes at $1,000 a copy, the competing offerings are priced at
$3,000 a copy and above. Coromandel shipped nearly 30,000
copies in the last nine months.

The company's operations have spread to Australia, France, Sweden,
Italy, and the UK in the last two years. It offers support to its users
in these countries through value-added partners. More recently, it
found its way into the Japanese marketplace too. Interestingly, it is
not the C++ products that are sold into Japan, but Objectrieve, a data
manager. "That is because the Japanese still like to do a lot of
programming, for the kind of flexibility it gives," observed
Parameswaran. The company has shipped 150 copies to Japan so far.

Coromandel is an active member of the ODBC initiative and even
announced the first ODBC-enabled front-end ahead of Microsoft.
"But we are also looking at IDAPI, though it is still at the
specification stage," disclosed Parameswaran. IDAPI is the API
(application programming interface) being promoted by Borland
and Novell in response to ODBC.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19940113)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00005)

EIA Predicts Strong Consumer Electronic Growth In 1994 01/13/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- The Electronic
Industries Association (EIA) has released figures showing that
electronics products sales are expected to grow 4.4 percent overall
in 1994. While this is a lower rate than 1993's 6.3 percent, the
EIA maintains it points to overall strength in the industry.

Also, the EIA claims the estimate is conservative, as last
January the predicted growth rate of 3.5 percent ballooned
into an actual figure of 6.3 percent. Gary Shapiro, group vice
president of the EIA's Consumer Electronics Group (EIA/CEG),
noted the 1994 projected increase is also in line with
predictions by some analysts that overall US economic growth
may slow in 1994.

Shapiro said: "Most video product categories are expected to post
new unit sales records. Within the audio category, sales of
aftermarket autosound products will continue to be strong, and
separate audio components look to register a second consecutive
annual gain on sales of home theater equipment. And both home
information equipment and blank media and accessories sales are
expected to grow this year."

Specifically, the Washington, DC-based group's report, entitled
"Consumer Electronics US Sales 1990-1994 est." claims factory
sales of home information equipment are expected to grow more
than seven percent to $10.4 billion and home computer sales will
jump 11 percent with sales of 8.7 million units.

Significant gains are expected in color television sets, camcorders,
video products, audio, blank media, and accessories. Some of the
largest individual revenues are expected in television/video cassette
recorder (TV/VCR) combos with a 26 percent leap expected and fax
machines to the home office will boom at 25 percent more unit
sales. Color television sets over 30-inches are predicted to
climb 16 percent, while, compact disc equipment for audio is
projected to grow 19 percent.

With all these positive indicators, why expect slower growth?
Shapiro maintains manufacturer caution about the possible effects
of tax changes has tempered 1994 estimates of growth in consumer
spending. But he went on to say: "Even in this cautious economy,
I would characterize our projected 4.4 percent increase as
conservative and still reflective of a very healthy, vital
consumer electronics industry."

(Linda Rohrbough/19940113/Press Contact: Cynthia Upson,
Electronic Industries Association, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00006)

Access Computer-Based Schedule Via Voice Phone Call 01/13/94
SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Computer
road warriors can now get their daily schedules from the office
computer by reaching for a telephone.

Campbell Services Inc., has announced its OnTime Interactive Voice
Response System, a program that interfaces with the OnTime for
Networks calendar and group scheduling system. It converts
calendar data into voice messages which the traveler can pick up
from any touch telephone.

The company says the system is faster than waiting until it is
convenient to download schedules from the network, although that
option is still available. Campbell says it may also add a feature to
the system that lets users request their updated calendar be faxed
to whatever location they choose.

The software can also convert MHS, Microsoft Mail, and cc: Mail
electronic mail messages into voice messages. After you listen to
your mail, you can use the telephone keypad to reply to, forward,
delete or save the messages. You can also create new messages.
Users can adjust speed and pitch of the computer-generated voice.

The system is driven by a VoxMail text-to-speech conversion card
and special software provided by Roswell, Georgia-based VoxLink.
VoxMail and the OnTime module reside on a dedicated network PC
that accesses the file server containing the OnTime data bases.
Campbell says the system works with all business telephone
systems, and requires access to a dedicated telephone extension
through a standard RJ-11 telephone cable.

Campbell Services says it will ship the OnTime Interactive Voice
System at the end of February. Pricing is $10,000 per site for an
unlimited number of users. Campbell will provide technical support
for the OnTime module, while VoxLink will be responsible for the
VoxMail hardware and software as well as providing any VoxMail
add-on modules and upgrades.

(Jim Mallory/19940113/Press Contact: Craig Settles, Successful
Marketing Strategies for Campbell Services, 510-644-3837; Reader
Contact: Campbell Services Inc., tel [phone] or 800-345-6747,
fax [phone]


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00007)

Wang Creates Image & Workflow Unit 01/13/94
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Wang
Laboratories Inc., which is depending largely on image processing
technology to revive its fortunes after its recent emergence from
Chapter 11 protection under US bankruptcy law, has created a
new business unit focused on imaging and workflow management.

The new Imaging/Workflow Business will handle business and
product strategy, product development, marketing, sales, support,
alliances, and training related to Wang's image systems, workflow
products, and document management software and services, company
officials said.

Wang said its Federal Systems Division and geographic divisions
will continue to be responsible for relations with customers and
for delivering its products and services. Those units will focus
on providing existing customers with older products, such as
upgrades to its VS minicomputers, while the Imaging/Workflow unit
will devote most of its efforts to seeking new customers, said
company spokesman Steve Casey.

The company said it plans to add a substantial number of sales
and technical support people to the staff of the new unit. The
company claimed it plans to have the largest sales and support
force in the industry dedicated to imaging and workflow. Wang
would not give specific numbers, but Casey said the new unit will
have several hundred employees.

Bruce Ryan, former senior vice-president and general manager of
Wang's Federal Systems Division, has been appointed senior
vice-president and general manager of the new unit.

Wang emerged from Chapter 11 in late September with about 6,000
employees. At its largest, in the late 1980s, Wang had more than
30,000 employees. Its reorganization plan calls for Wang to earn
about $53 million on revenues of about $955 million in the 12
months from October 1.

Image systems, software, and services account for $120 million to
$150 million of Wang's annual business, Casey said.

Wang recorded an operating loss of $57.1 million in the year
ended June 30, 1993, compared to an operating loss of $45.4
million the previous year. After restructuring and reorganization
charges, Wang had a 1993 net loss of $197.2 million, compared
with $356.6 million in 1992. Revenues were $1,247 million, down
from $1,896.2 million in fiscal 1992.

Once a successful maker of word processing equipment and
proprietary minicomputers, Wang is now pinning its hopes
primarily on open systems and software.

(Grant Buckler/19940112/Press Contact: Frank Ryan, Wang,
508-967-7038; Ed Pignone, Wang, 508-967-4912; Steve Casey,
Wang, 508-967-5331)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00008)

Vivid Group's Virtual Reality Hockey Goalie Game 01/13/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- The Vivid Group,
a Toronto virtual reality developer, is ready to ship VR Goalie, an
arcade game in which players pretend to be hockey goalies facing
shots from electronically simulated hockey players.

The company will show off the game at Grand Central Terminal in
New York City January 14-22 as part of the New York Skates
celebration.

Based on the Vivid Group's proprietary Mandala virtual reality
engine, the game unit will sell for $28,000. The company will
shortly begin selling them to theme parks, sports bars, arcades,
and other operators, a spokeswoman said.

To play the game, you step into the module, where a video camera
takes your picture and inserts it in a virtual hockey net on a
display screen. Live video images of professional hockey players
take shots at the goal, and your movements determine whether your
image on the screen stops those shots. The system also includes
three-dimensional audio, the company said.

Unlike some virtual reality games, Vivid's does not require the
player to wear a special helmet or any other equipment. The
company claimed this is an advantage for operators because it
means less wear-and-tear on the game unit.

The Vivid Group said it plans to release several other sports
games this spring, including soccer, volleyball, and golf, with
more planned in the fall.

The virtual reality developer's other activities include building
attractions for Paramount Pictures, the National Hockey League
Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Smithsonian Institution, and
creating a weekly television show on Nickelodeon.

(Grant Buckler/19940113/Press Contact: Vivid Group,
416-340-9290/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

New Tools To Port From Mac To Windows 01/13/94
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Altura
Software, developer of Mac2Win porting technology, has announced
two new products for cross-platform usage.

The first is QuickView, a multimedia viewer for the Macintosh.
Demonstrating QuickView at the Marriott Hotel during the recent
Macworld Expo, Lee Lorenzen, CEO, claimed, "We have the most
effective tool for multimedia publishers and authors who want
to create one CD that plays on both Macintosh and Windows systems."

QuickView is a Microsoft Multimedia Viewer-compatible player for
Macintosh that allows people to automatically re-author existing
Viewer titles for Macintosh by just recompiling. It features
pop-up definitions, full-text retrieval, graphics support, multimedia
support, sticky notes, and native Macintosh look-and-feel.

Altura will release QuickView on February 1, 1994. The
suggested retail price will be $495 for the development kit,
$995 per non-commercial title, and $2,500 per commercial title.

Win2Mac Porting Technology is Altura's second product
announcement. Scheduled for release on June 1, 1994, Win2Mac
is designed to provide Windows developers with a time-saving
software tool to port their applications to Macintosh.

Altura claims this new software will reduce the porting time
by 30 to 50 percent and provide application functionality, one set
of common source code and native Macintosh look-and-feel.

Altura is currently working on the port of several major Windows
applications to the Macintosh. Win2Mac will be released in June
of 1994. The company says that the suggested retail price has not
been determined at this time.

(Patrick McKenna/19940113/Public Contact: Altura Software,
408-655-8005; AppleLink: Altura)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00010)

Gryphon Dynamic Effects For Adobe Premier For Mac 01/13/94
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Amid numerous
QuickTime movie support programs, Gryphon Software Corp., has
released Gryphon Dynamic Effects. Designed especially for Adobe
Premiere, Volume I of this new product is a set of 20 plug-in
modules for creating animated special effects ranging from time
distortion filters to a complete package of old-time movie effects.

The key filters include: Tempus, a motion delay effect for specific
images; Vintage Movie, a combination of four filters for aging;
and additional filters that include zig-zag, brightness and
contrast, twirl, and smooth wipe.

Gryphon Dynamic Effects modules provide either single-track
filtering effects, or two-track transition effects. Bevey
Minarovich, director of marketing, told Newsbytes that,
"We have developed the most powerful and dramatic effects
possible to increase the creativity of Adobe Premiere users."
Demonstrating the "twirl" filter which varies an image over
time instead of frame by frame, Gryphon creates a corkscrew
effect to specific areas.

Later in 1994, Gryphon will release Volume II of Dynamic Effects,
and Volumes III and IV are also being developed. Gryphon Dynamic
Effects requires a Macintosh II, Quadra or Centris; four megabytes
(MB) RAM (6MB to 20MB are recommended), an 80MB hard drive; and
Apple System software version 6.07 or greater. The suggested
retail price is $119.

(Patrick McKenna/19940113)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00011)

A Small Blue Planet CD Goes To Windows 01/13/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Now What
Software has cross-platformed their highly successful multimedia
CD, Small Blue Planet -- The Real Picture Atlas, to the Windows
environment. Small Blue Planet views a Global Relief Map, a
World Political Map, the Chronosphere, a USA gray-scale relief
map, and The Satellite Gallery.

Using annotation, magnification, direction commands, latitude and
longitude finder and copy features, Now What Software claims to
have reproduced the Macintosh version in look and in feel.

The Global relief map was created from satellite data by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The World
Political Map (dated January 1, 1993) provides ecological and
landscape information, statistics and historical briefs for each
country. The Chronosphere registers time zone information and
shows day and night motion. The Satellite Gallery shows images
gathered by a type of remote sensor.

In announcing the product, Elessa Hagar, vice-president, said, "This
is our first venture into the Windows market and our baptism into
writing to the DOS platform. The outcome has been highly successful
in the reproduction of the quality and features of the Macintosh
version. Also, in keeping with our personal values, we have
chosen not to use shrink-wrap or plastic containers for our
CD distribution."

Small Blue Planet requires 256 colors, Microsoft Windows 3.1,
and a CD-ROM drive.

(Patrick McKenna/19940113)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00012)

New Video's Real-Time Compression Board For Mac 01/13/94
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB)  -- New Video
Corp., of Santa Monica, California, has announced EyeQ AV, a digital
video compression and processing board for the Macintosh AV group.

The new card produces full-screen video for any AV Apple display
up to 16 inches. EyeQ AV is designed to interface with the AV's
Digital Audio Video (DAV) connector and provides users with
16-bit graphics over video, 16-bit stereo audio with 48 kilohertz
(KHz) sampling rates, and support for NTSC (North American
Television Standards Committee), PAL and SECAM video standards.
EyeQ AV supports a variety of compression algorithms including
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), EyeQ Video, Indeo Video,
RTV (Real-Time Video), and PLV (Production-Level Video).

Speaking with Newsbytes, Woody Lewis, design engineer for EyeQ
AV, stated, "This is the only cross-platform, software-upgradable
digital board on the market for the AV series." EyeQ AV supports
algorithms requiring an average of only nine megabytes (MB)-per-
minute of storage on a hard disk and produces files with a data
rate slow enough to play from CD-ROM and local area networks
in real time.

New Video designed EyeQ AV for multimedia development, video
production, video database, and video network development.
The company recommends 200MB of hard drive and 8MB of RAM
running on System 7.1. New Video will begin shipping EyeQ AV
in the first quarter of 1994 with a suggested retail price of
$1,895.

(Patrick McKenna/19940113)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00013)

Chipcom, IBM In Network Agreement 01/13/94
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- In its
second linkup with a major computer vendor this month, Chipcom
Corp., has announced a deal under which it will resell enterprise
management products from IBM.

A deal between the two firms gives Chipcom the right to sell
IBM's NetView/6000 line of enterprise systems management
software along with its own OnDemand network control software.
The companies also said they have plans to make their software
work together better.

IBM and Chipcom were already working on closer integration of
their products, said Phil Fulchino, director of product marketing
for enterprise systems at Chipcom. For the past year, he said,
IBM has resold Chipcom hub management products integrated with
NetView/6000. The two firms have development agreements covering
hardware and software, he said, and "We're continuing to work on
integrating with some of the new (IBM) applications coming out."

The IBM agreement follows close on Chipcom's announcement that
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based Unisys Corp., will resell its Online
System Concentrator intelligent switching hubs, as reported
previously by Newsbytes.

The deal with IBM is largely about one-stop shopping, which
Chipcom said its customers are demanding. While systems and
network management tended to be separated and the products
bought by different parts of user organizations a few years ago,
Fulchino said, now that "unnatural split" is disappearing.

In addition to letting Chipcom and its value-added resellers
(VARs) sell IBM's NetView/6000, LAN Network Manager/6000,
Trouble Ticket/6000, and SNA Manager/6000 network management
software, it also gives Chipcom VARs the right to obtain IBM RISC
System/6000 workstations and servers from IBM distributors for
sale to their customers.

Chipcom said it will be able to supply the IBM products to its
customers by the end of the first quarter, and will announce
pricing then.

Chipcom also recently signed a development agreement with NetLabs
Inc., under which Chipcom will use the Los Altos, California-based
company's NetLabs/Vision Application Development Environment to
build graphical network management applications for its bridge
and switching hub products.

More such alliances are likely, Fulchino said, particularly if
they complement Chipcom's NetView/6000 strategy or provide
access to software that runs on multiple platforms.

Eleven-year-old Chipcom makes intelligent switching systems for
large network installations. It has operations in 40 countries
and reported 1993 revenue of $105.8 million.

(Grant Buckler/19940112/Press Contact: John Ricciardone,
Chipcom, 508-624-6840)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00014)

Ray Dream Designer 3.0 For 1st-Time 3-D Mac Artists 01/13/94
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Ray Dream
says it is shipping the latest version of its three-dimensional
(3-D) illustration tool, Ray Dream Designer 3.0 for the Apple
Macintosh. The new version offers a new user interface specially
geared toward artists moving to 3-D for the first-time, and an open
architecture, the company said.

Aimed at graphic artists, Ray Dream Designer allows the
manipulation of 3-D objects in terms of position, arrangement, and
shading using drag-and-drop techniques, the company asserts. Over
30 color or texture "shaders" can be brushed directly onto the
object's surface and surface properties can move with the object
so changes in lighting are reflected.

For those accustomed to working in two-dimensions (2-D), the
Modeling Wizard picture-based 3-D modeling feature, walks the user
through describing objects starting with simple shapes. Then,
based on user input, it builds 3-D objects. Users can also use
basic shapes or complex objects from a library containing more
than 20 clip objects, the company said.

Familiar Macintosh drawing tools are available for creation of
more complex shapes in the updated Bezier-based Modeler. Users
push, prod and twist familiar Bezier handles, points and curves
to reshape objects and the software updates the fully shaded
modules in real time.

The new G-buffer stores geometric data (information on lighting
and distance) in a separate channel accompanying the rendered
image. This 3-D information can be used by other applications to
add realistic post production effects that recognize geometric
objects and their positions, rather than merely the color of the
pixels. For example, a Ray Dream Designer image can be exported
to a paint application, where artists can add painterly effects
that will reflect 3-D lighting and geometry.

As for the new, open architecture, the company says Ray Dream
Designer 3.0 allows expansion to address vertical markets and the
company is encouraging developers to write applications such as
special effects, file import and export, and color management
systems additions. In addition, complete modules such as
animation or alternative modelers or renderers can be added.
Developers interested in receiving the Extensions Developers'
Toolkit can contact Developer Support at Ray Dream's corporate
headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Ray Dream Designer 3.0 will work with any color-capable Macintosh
(including the Macintosh II family, Centris, Macintosh Quadra
family and most new Macintosh systems) and requires System 6.0.7,
but will also run under System 7. Users will need a minimum of eight
megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), but the product
does not require a math coprocessor.

Suggested retail price of the product is $349. However, those who
purchased Ray Dream Designer version 2.0 before July 15, 1993 can
upgrade for $99 and those who purchased the product after July
15, 1993, may upgrade for $10.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940112/Press Contact: Teri Chadbourne, Ray
Dream, tel [phone] ext 121, fax [phone]; Public
Contact, Ray Dream, 800-846-0111/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00015)

Report Proposes Strategy For Ontario Computing Industry 01/13/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- The Advisory
Committee on Computing in Ontario, a group set up last year to
study ways of building up the computer industry in Canada's most
heavily industrialized province, has brought back, what it says is
not a traditional report, but a call to action.

The report calls for creation of an office to help small
technology companies grow, appointment of consultants to help
them expand exports, efforts to improve the skills of the work
force, and an overhaul of government technology use.

The committee tried to focus on immediate, practical action, said
its chairman, Jim Hayward, a Toronto-based vice-president with
the Montreal consulting firm CGI Group Inc. "We're hoping to get
some action out of this quickly."

The provincial government, through its Ontario Sector Partnership
Fund, paid something less than a third of the cost of the study,
with the rest coming from the private sector. The advisory
committee was launched last June by the province's Ministry of
Economic Development and Trade and several industry
organizations.

Its report says Ontario's computing industry directly employs
41,600 people in about 6,000 firms which together produce more
than C$6.6 billion a year in revenue. It adds that employment in
the sector has grown at 7.6 percent per year since 1985.

Meanwhile the province's manufacturing sector is stagnant,
the report says. So it argues that, even if high-technology
industries are not yet replacing the lost manufacturing jobs --
unemployment in Ontario is above 10 percent -- the hope for
future growth lies in information technology and not
manufacturing companies. At the same time, the report says,
new technology can help keep some manufacturers competitive.

More than 90 percent of the industry's 6,170 firms are small,
with fewer than 10 employees, the report said, so the advisory
committee has suggested a focus on helping those small companies
grow.

The report concludes with 14 recommendations built around four
strategic directions: stimulate growth by exploiting innovation and
accelerating the growth of small and mid-sized enterprises;
increase support for intelligent applications of technology that
promise to improve quality of life and help other Ontario industries
become more competitive; make the province's image more
attractive to business; and improve the supply of workers for
high-tech companies with new training programs and attempts to
match supply and demand for staff.

Implementing the recommendations will cost C$40.2 million, the
report says, with C$21.4 million coming from the private sector and
C$18.8 million from the government. The report claims this
investment will pay off in more jobs, increased tax revenue for the
province, bigger revenues and exports for the industry itself,
and assorted other benefits that are hard to quantify.

A central recommendation calls for a Computing Sector Resource
Facility that would provide resources to smaller companies and
help them develop expertise. The committee describes this as a
"virtual network of people, companies, associations, government
agencies and other interested organizations with the skills and
resources to act as service  providers, mentors and product
deliverers."

This group would work with industry associations. Under its
auspices, the report also suggests hiring consultants in key
foreign locations -- probably two in the United States and one in
Europe initially, Hayward said -- to help Ontario companies
develop export markets.

The committee wants Ontario to spend C$500,000 to set up these
"beachheads," and suggests companies that use them pay a "success
fee" back to the Computing Sector Resource Facility if they make
a predetermined level of international sales.

To help high-tech companies obtain funding, the report calls for
creation of Expert Investment Corporations (EICs) -- a concept
already brought forward in the provincial government's Ontario
Investment Fund program -- in this sector. The government would
put money into these organizations, which would be run by people
experienced at investing in the industry and would finance
promising companies. The EICs would also seek investment from
pension funds and banks.

For larger companies, the report suggests an expansion of the
province's over-the-counter stock trading market would make it
easier to obtain funds.

The report also calls for creation of a provincial organization
to promote electronic data interchange (EDI). It notes that every
Canadian province except Ontario has such a group. The national
EDI Council of Canada is based in Toronto, but does not have time
or resources to pay special attention to provincial EDI issues,
Hayward said. The report describes EDI -- electronic exchange of
key business documents -- as a "gateway to global
competitiveness." It also calls on the government to set a
deadline for implementing EDI in its own operations.

Further, the committee advocates changes to the provincial
government's technology procurement practices, notably suggesting
that government requests for proposal (RFPs) should describe the
problem to be solved rather than technical details of a
preconceived solution. This would make it easier for small firms
to sell new ideas to the government, says the report. The
government should also talk to the industry more and encourage
companies to submit unsolicited proposals for innovative ideas.

Efforts to use information technology to improve health care in
the province, already under way, could serve as a model for
technology use in other areas of government, the report suggests.

Another recommendation is that the government, universities, and
the industry create a system for matching the demand for skilled
people with the supply. This "skills-requirement reporting and
management system" would provide information and help match
skilled people with employers who need them. It also calls for a
review of college programs to determine why graduates of two-year
programs have a harder time finding jobs than those coming out of
three-year programs, to be followed by corrective action.

There are other recommendations:

Set aside C$500,000 per year for the next three years for
further research into the "enabling effect" of information
technology on other business sectors.

Form a Learnware Industry Group of Ontario, at a start-up cost
of C$115,000, to promote the province's educational software
sector.

Support international standards, including the ISO 9000 quality
standards, for which the province might establish a low-cost
certification program to help small firms qualify.

Recognize the importance of the multimedia market and at least
research its potential.

Work with educators to promote programs that prepare students
to meet the needs of the computing industry. The report mentions
cooperative education programs as one promising area.

Support the private-sector Science Network of Ontario (SNO),
whose goal is to encourage interest in science and technology
among young people, as a way to get more people to train for
high-technology jobs.

The provincial government must take the lead in fighting the
perception that Ontario is not an attractive place to do business
because of taxation and other factors.

The committee says implementing its recommendations will require
a governing council of representatives from government and
industry associations. It suggests expanding an existing council
concerned with the telecommunications industry to cover computing
as well, noting that the two industries are converging.

(Grant Buckler/19940113/Press Contact: Jim Hayward, CGI Group,
416-862-0430; Paul Howard, Ontario Ministry of Economic
Development and Trade, 416-325-6900; Peter Vanderlee, for
Advisory Committee on the Computing Sector, 416-699-6444)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00016)

Wordperfect Bundles Legal Software 01/13/94
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Calling it the first major
software upgrade bundle directed at the legal market, Wordperfect
Corp., has announced a software package for Windows and
DOS-based PCs, that includes word processing, redlining software,
document assembly templates, and LEXIS/NEXIS research software.

The software suite combines upgrades to Wordperfect 6.0 word
processing, Jurisoft Comparerite, Capsoft HotDocs 1.0 for
Windows or CAPS Personal 1.0 for DOS, and Jurisoft
Directconnect 2.0.

Jurisoft Comparerite performs the redlining -- comparing two
different versions of a document and preparing a comprehensive
redline draft and a list of revisions. Redlining prints both the old
and new versions, lining out the superseded text. HotDocs 1.0 for
Windows and CAPS Personal 1.0 for DOS are assembly tools that
build master templates from Wordperfect documents. The
assembled documents can then be edited, printed or stored using
Wordperfect.

Jurisoft Directconnect 2.0 provides a Jurisoft button bar in
Wordperfect which launches any of the products in Jurisoft's Legal
Toolbox including the LEXIS/NEXIS research software used to
access the massive library of legal decisions, statutes, regulations
and other legal material attorneys use to find legal precedent. The
database also contains millions of articles that have appeared in
numerous magazines, newspapers and other periodicals.

Current users can upgrade from a previous version of Wordperfect
for $199, or switch from a competitive word processing package for
$229. Windows users receive a bonus disk that contains legal
templates and the LEXIS Access macros. The software is only an
upgrade, not a full package, Wordperfect spokesperson Ken
Merritt told Newsbytes. "It's geared to giving people the
opportunity to upgrade. There are so many (Wordperfect) 5.1 users
out there we want to let them know some of their favorite products
are fully compatible with (Wordperfect) 6.0," said Merritt.

(Jim Mallory/19940113/Press Contact: Ken Merritt, Wordperfect
Corp., 801-228-5059; Reader Contact: Wordperfect Corp.,
tel [phone] or 800-321-4566, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00017)

Identity Launches 486 Notebook Line 01/13/94
RICHARDSON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Identity
Systems Technology has unveiled its line of 486-based notebook
computers, giving attendees at the recent Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, the first look at the new PCs.

Called the Select line, the new systems include PCMCIA (Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association)-capability,
2.5-inch hard drives, docking stations with CD-ROM drives and
stereo speakers, up to 20 megabytes (MB) of system memory,
color and monochrome displays, and nearly half a gigabyte of hard
disk storage capacity. Other features include a trackball integrated
into the keyboard, video memory, nickel cadmium battery power.
Pricing starts at $1,799.

Identity spokesperson Ron Mendel told Newsbytes that the Identity
notebooks currently ship with DOS, Windows, and either MS-Works
or pfs:WindowsWorks. A wider variety of software selections will
be available in the future.

Identity says it will offer four versions of the Select notebook
systems, with the customer selecting the configuration that best
suits his or her needs. To that end, Identity also introduced its
Select&Ship program at CES. Designated Select&Ship merchants
will have on display a sample computer for shoppers to inspect
and get some hands-on experience with. Purchasers then order the
system configured to their wishes, pay for the unit, and Identity
direct-ships it to the customer. Identity president, CEO and
chairman, Tony Sachdeva says the system is built, tested, and
shipped within 72 hours of the purchase.

(Jim Mallory/19940113/Press Contact: Alan Weinkrantz for
Identity Systems Technology, 210-820-3070; Reader
Contact: Identity Systems Technology, tel [phone],
fax [phone]/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00018)

Japan - NTT Unveils Major Multimedia Project 01/13/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Japan's major
telecommunications firm, NTT, has announced that it plans to set
up a nationwide telecom network, which will support multimedia
communications.

Through these telecommunication lines, NTT will be able to provide
various services, including telephone calls, cable TV broadcasting,
and video-on-demand.

NTT's project is an improved version of the one that was announced
in 1990. NTT plans to install fiber optic cables to about 100
households within a year. The firm will then begin experimenting
with the broadcasting of TV programs in cooperation with cable TV
firms.

Also, the firm hopes to find ways to increase data transmission
amounts and speeds, by as much as 60 times more than the current
method.

NTT will spend an estimated 45 trillion yen ($410 billion) on the
project, which it hopes to make commercially available before the
year 2,010.

Currently, Japan's Posts and Telecommunication Ministry is also
preparing to start testing multimedia telecommunication services,
which are similar to that of NTT. However, a major difference is
that the Ministry's experiments are to use analog transmission
methods, while NTT's network will be digital.

According to NTT's president, Hitoshi Kojima, the company
wants to cooperate with the Ministry concerning multimedia
telecommunications sometime in the future.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930113/Press Contact: NTT,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00019)

 ****IBM Considering Sale Of Headquarters 01/13/93
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- IBM will look at
offers to buy its headquarters building in Armonk, New york,
although the company is not actively seeking a buyer at the
moment, a company spokesman said.

Commenting on a report in this morning's New York Times,
spokesman Jon Iwata said IBM has reduced its staff at the head-
office building, and is "very flexible on the issue" of selling it.

"We've said for quite a few months that Armonk is for sale in
that if someone wanted to approach us with an offer we would
consider it," he said. But he added that there are no new
developments on a possible sale, and the building will not
necessarily be sold in the foreseeable future.

The Times report quoted IBM Senior Vice-President Gerald
Czarnecki as saying there are "no sacred cows" in IBM any more,
and "that includes Armonk."

IBM has numerous other offices in the area. The Armonk building
was built in 1963 and about 700 people work there today.

If it did sell the building, IBM would not be the first of the
troubled old-guard computer vendors to give up its headquarters.
Last April, Digital Equipment Corp., announced it would move out
of the historic woolen mill in Maynard, Massachusetts, where Ken
Olsen founded the company in 1957. DEC has not said if it will
sell the mill.

(Grant Buckler/19940113/Press Contact: Jon Iwata, IBM,
914-765-6630)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00020)

Healthy Dec Book-To-Bill, 33% 1993 Growth 01/13/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Last month
the Semiconductor Industry Association reported the book-to-bill
ratio -- the ratio of North American semiconductor orders
(bookings) to shipments (billings) -- for November 1993 was
below 1.0. This month the group is saying the ratio is in the
healthy position of being back up above the 1.0 mark. In addition,
the SIA reported a 33.8 percent growth rate for 1993 compared
to 1992 figures.

Any book-to-bill above 1.0 is good, according to SIA
representatives, and December's preliminary book-to-bill is 1.04
compared to 0.99 in November. In numbers, bookings in the North
American market in December were $2.276 billion, up three percent
from the $2.21 billion in November, and up 20 percent from 1992
figures.

Billings were $2.184 billion, a 2.1 percent decrease from
November, but up 28.4 percent compared to the year ago figures.

For 1993, preliminary figures are billings were $24.63 billion,
up 33.8 percent and the highest growth since 1988 when billings
were up 30.8 percent.

Until the last few months, book-to-bill ratios were very high,
reaching 1.20 in January, 1993. The gains have been credited to
the swelling personal computer (PC) market, which analysts are
predicting will continue to see strong growth in 1994.

The SIA compiles its figures from key semiconductor
manufacturers participating in the World Semiconductor Trade
Statistics Program.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940113/Press Contact: Doug Andrey,
Semiconductor Industry Association, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00021)

Philips In CD-I Game Deals With MGM, Virgin 01/13/94
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Philips has
decided it is entertainment that drives the acceptance of
interactive, multimedia players. As a consequence it is adding
Virgin Games and MGM to the ranks of those who will produce
entertainment titles for its Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I)
format and will continue to cut prices for the CD-I players.

The CD-I player connects to a television set and, via a remote
control, allows the user to select what to view or play games.
The company says it is a shame, but great educational software
for both children and adults are not enough to move the players
into strong market acceptance. What people are looking for is a
great game and entertainment platform that also has some good
educational titles, Philips representatives said.

In the MGM deal, Philips said another 30 movie titles will be
added its catalog of movie titles from Paramount for the CD-I
player. In addition, since only 74 minutes of movie will fit on a
CD-I disc and movies tend to be 90 to 120 minutes in length, the
company has announced development of a carousel player for the
CD-I unit so users can enjoy full-length movies. To play full-
length movies now, users must get up and change the disc. To play
movies at all, a Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) cartridge,
retailing for $249, must be added to the player.

While game developers have released CD-I titles, they have done so
almost as an afterthought, six to nine months after the release
of a new game for other platforms. However, Virgin, known for its
game titles for platforms such as Nintendo, said it will release
titles in CD-I format along with other formats when it launches
three new titles this year. One of the new titles will be "Creature
Shock," created by Argonaut Software of London. The other two
are yet to be announced.

The company is also planning music video titles and recently
announced a deal with singer Peter Gabriel.

Getting good games on CD-I has required a few changes, company
officials told Newsbytes. One of the changes has been the
addition of the MPEG cartridge which not only adds video
decompression capability for game viewing, but also inserts
another 1.5 megabytes (MB) of memory game developers can
use to make the games play better on the CD-I platform.

Prices for CD-I players are also falling and will continue to
fall in 1994, according to Philips representative Chris Dudas.
Current prices have dropped from the original $700 at the
introduction of CD-I and are now in the $399 to $499 range with
further decreases expected. Dudas also said Philips has crossed
the 300,000 mark in unit sales. "We're getting our second wind,"
he added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940113/Press Contact: Chris Dudas, Philips,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact: Philips,
800-835-3506, 615-475-8869)


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

CompuServe Cuts Prices, Makes Move Into Mexico 01/13/94
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- CompuServe has moved
to differentiate itself from rivals by cutting its hourly rates and
moving into the Mexican market. CompuServe has about 1.5 million
members and is considered by many the largest of the consumer
on-line services, with Prodigy second, and America OnLine third.

The price cuts are dramatic. The hourly charge for using
CompuServe goes down to $4.80 from $8, day and night. Or, as
spokesman Debra Young put it, "No prime time -- it's all the
time." The charge is $9.60 per hour for 9,600 bits-per-second
(bps) and 14,400 bps service, but that is down from $16 per hour
previously. The lower charges are effective January 13.

The move into Mexico helps distinguish CompuServe further from
its main rivals in the US market, Prodigy and America Online,
both of which only serve the US.

A joint venture in Mexico, called Infoacces S.A., will handle data
networking and customer support functions, while CompuServe
will begin working on a Spanish-language version of its
CompuServe Information Manager, which could be available in
about two years.

Meanwhile, English-language service could begin in Mexico by
this spring, as will a Spanish-language support line. "The partners
are in communications," Young noted. "There's a CompuServe
network node coming this spring in Mexico City, in conjunction
with local support." Border city residents can type "go phones" for
a list of nearby US nodes on the CompuServe network.

The agreement with Infoacces is similar to deals CompuServe has
elsewhere in the world. Among them are CompuServe Pacific,
which serves New Zealand and Australia, Nifty-Serve, which serves
the Japanese market, and agreements in Korea and Israel. Only
Nifty-Serve offers both a local language and English language
version of the service, noted Young.

Young also noted that there is already foreign-language content
on the service. "There are parts of CompuServe that are in French
and German -- support forums for Microsoft, for instance. There
are also German magazines with text on-line. Typing "go Europe"
will help a user find these things."

(Dana Blankenhorn/01113994/Press Contact: Debra Young,
614-538-4553, CompuServe; electronic-mail, CompuServe,
70003,2154)


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

Telecom Executives Switch Companies 01/13/94
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 13 (NB) -- They say
politics makes strange bedfellow. So does business.

In a surprise move, AT&T hired away the chief US official of
its arch-rival Northern Telecom. Gerald Butters, 50, will become
a vice president of business development at AT&T's Network
Systems unit, which has in recent quarters been gaining market
share, in part at NorTel's expense.

Butters' job is essentially a staff position. AT&T spokesman
Blanchard Hiatt told Newsbytes, "The idea here would be to focus
at the highest level of the company some oversight over the
several businesses and make sure we have the most creative and
responsive offerings." He will report to Rich McGinn, president of
the unit, "but I have to feel he'll be assigned authority to work
with the senior people in the business," said Hiatt. Butters will
start work at AT&T next week.

Mobile Telecommunications, meanwhile, took IBM's former head of
corporate strategy, Bernard Puckett, as its new president.
Puckett was eased out at the top of Big Blue under new head Louis
Gerstner, and had been there for 26 years.

An MTel spokesman emphasized to Newsbytes that Puckett is not
replacing anyone. "The position of president has been vacant since
December, 1989," said the spokesperson. Chairman "John Palmer
had been acting as CEO and COO since that period. What's occurred
is the company has grown to a point where it was too much for one
person to handle."

In a press statement, the company noted that Palmer and Puckett
are both graduates of the University of Mississippi. They first
worked together 10 years ago in planning a telecommunications
program for the university.

Palmer added in a press statement that Puckett spearheaded IBM
efforts in Latin America for both PCs and mobile radios. MTel is
very interested in exploiting the Latin market. Puckett also
becomes a director of the company and will relocate to the
company's headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi. He last lived in
the South on his first tour of IBM duty, as a marketing
representative in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1967.

At various times with IBM, he was also in charge of its System/390
mainframes and was general manager of Application Solutions,
developing specialized hardware, software and services, and
working on IBM's efforts in multimedia and consulting. He was
head of planning for the company for less than six months.

MTel said it had 346,200 units in service worldwide at the end
of 1993, up 42 percent over a year earlier. But the company is
under growing price pressure, recently announcing it would cut
its base monthly rate from $69 to $39. That news sent the
company's stock price crashing by more than one-third, although
it has since made something of a recovery.

(Dana Blankenhorn/01113994/Press Contact: David Allan, for
MTel, 212-614-5163; AT&T Network Systems, Blanchard Hiatt,
201-606-3467)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

Bell Atlantic Sets StarGazer Vendors 01/13/94
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic
formally chose Oracle Systems to handle database services for
its video dial-tone operations in the Washington DC suburbs,
and chose three groups of vendors to supply set-top converters
for the plan, dubbed StarGazer.

With StarGazer, Bell Atlantic customers will be offered special
video dial-tone equipment under the Asynchronous Digital
Subscriber Line, or ADSL standard, which can deliver compressed
video on a pay-per-view basis. Bell Atlantic hopes to eventually
install faster ADSL equipment and, in time, a higher-capacity
system to customer homes so it can compete directly with local
cable companies.

Bell Atlantic won the right to move ahead into video services last
year when a judge said forbidding it from the market violated its
First Amendment rights. Shortly thereafter, it announced its
intention to buy Tele-Communications Inc., the nation's largest
cable operator.

Under the Oracle deal, Oracle will supply software, systems and
services as a basic platform for Stargazer services, including
interactive shopping. Bell Atlantic will proceed to a market test,
pending regulatory approval, then full commercial deployment.

The deal is non-exclusive -- both will offer their software and
services to other telecommunications and cable companies. The
companies will form an alliance management committee to pursue
joint marketing opportunities in the area. It is hoped their experience
in the Washington suburbs will help them sell the system to other
phone and cable operators.

Spokesman Larry Plumb described to Newsbytes the broad outlines
of the user interface. "The concept of Stargazer is like a mouse.
You look at icons, images on the screen, and you make your choice
from that. A final design" for the user interface "might be three
years away, assuming a fiber optic network, high speed ATM
(asynchronous transfer mode) switching, and another iteration in
terms of set-top boxes." He added it is important that whatever
the technology that emerges, that it be affordable. "We want to do
a commercially viable system from the get-go, so even if it doesn't
look pretty, it has a price-point as well as technical capability."

Bell Atlantic said in a press statement that Oracle has rewritten
and expanded its software to accommodate video, audio and text
data. The new software, including an authoring environment will
be officially unveiled by Oracle in a news conference on January 18.

In the second announcement, Bell Atlantic announced three groups
have been chosen to make set-top converters for Stargazer, based
on a "request for quotes," or RFQ, issued by the company last year.
The vendors are IBM, a partnership between Philips of Holland and
Compression Labs, and a consortium among DiviCom of Milpitas,
California, Adaptive MicroWare of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and
Eurodec of France.

Plumb noted that the agreements are in the form of a commitment,
not a signed contract. "Details like that are still being finalized,"
he said. All three will work along the same time frames. "Spring
is the target -- we're looking for sooner than that to do the
marketing tests."

(Dana Blankenhorn/01113994/Press Contact: Larry Plumb,
703-974-2814, Bell Atlantic)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00025)

 ****LA Times & Pac Tel In Electronic Info Venture  01/13/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Southern
California consumers can look forward to electronic business
listings, advertising, product and service information, and
editorial and promotional material that combine high-tech and
low-tech via an "electronic marketplace" being formed by the Los
Angles Times and a division of Pacific Telesis.

The deal was announced by Times Mirror and Pacific Telesis. Times
Mirror is not only the owner of the second largest metropolitan
daily newspaper -- the L.A. Times -- but also is the eleventh largest
cable multiple system operator. Pacific Telesis controls Pacific
Telesis Electronic Publishing Services (PTEPS), the division
involved in the joint venture.

Lee Camp, PTEPS president, and vice president of Pacific Bell
said the two companies are, "Ideally positioned to form this
alliance because of our combined vast advertising base, extensive
consumer and advertising relationships, and broad promotional
capabilities. These strengths, along with Telesis' technical
expertise and The Times' extensive editorial information base,
uniquely qualify us to create this exciting home-shopping lane on
the communications superhighway."

The marketplace will provide opportunities for transactions
between buyers and sellers in addition to shopping information,
according to both companies. While Southern Californians will be
the first to see the new services, plans have been announced for
the joint venture to seek partnerships with other information
providers to offer its services throughout the state.

Under the plan, consumers will place phone calls to shopping
assistants who will help them find businesses and products. Topics
covered will include: home repair and maintenance; real estate
rental and sales; and auto, travel, or entertainment services. The
assistants will search through a database to locate all the
information on businesses offering those services in a particular
region and then offer to read, fax, or mail the details. Business
listings, hours, directions to the business, and other information
will be included.

Home computer users will also be able to access the services, and
audiotext automated technology is also planned. The service is
expected to begin operation in late 1994.

In the more distant future the services might also be offered
through emerging technologies such as personal digital assistants
(PDAs), screen telephones, and interactive television.

What the electronic marketplace will cost has not been
determined, but the companies say the goal is to make the service
inexpensive enough that large numbers of people will use it
repeatedly. The companies are claiming that jobs will be created
by the venture, through the hiring of shopping assistants, sales,
management, and systems-support positions.

Just this week, Vice President Al Gore announced specific details
concerning the National Information Infrastructure (NII), which
is proposed legislation aimed at national telecommunications
reform. The announcement was made at the Superhighway Summit
held at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In
his speech, Gore expressed concern about local telephone companies
acquiring local cable companies and said the administration
will continue to bar acquisition of existing cable companies by
telephone companies within their local service areas in order to
prevent monopolies.

Times Mirror also publishes Newsday and New York Newsday, the
Baltimore Sun, The Hartford Courant, The Morning Call, and The
(Stamford) Advocate, as well as being the nation's eleventh-
largest cable multiple system operator.

Pacific Telesis is based in San Francisco and recently formed
PTEPS for developing and marketing interactive shopping and
information services for consumers, and new marketing
communications services for advertisers.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940113/Press Contact: Martha Goldstein,
Times Mirror, 213-237-3727; Linda Healey, Pacific Telesis,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00026)

Object World - Winners Of Best New OT Products Awards 01/13/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 13 (NB) --  At a press
conference at Object World, Computerworld announced the winners
of the First Annual Object World Boston Best New Object Technology
Awards Program.

Expersoft's XShell ORB 3.0 was named Industry Judges' Choice.
OpenObjects Corp.'s OpenObject Look! took the honors for Attendees'
Choice.  A pair of other OT products -- ProtoSoft Inc.'s Paradigm
Plus v2.0 and Rational's Rational Rose/C++ -- got the nod as
runners-up in the Industry Judges' Choice component of the program.

In presenting the awards, Steven F. Woit, Computerworld's senior
vice president of marketing, explained that, on the Industry
Judges' side, winners were selected by a panel of five industry
experts.

The Attendees' Choice award was determined by balloting on the
show floor, Woit added. William R. Hoffman, president of Object
World Corp., also presided at the press conference, which was
attended by Newsbytes.

The contest winners were chosen from a field of 14 competitors.
Entrance requirements called for having a product that was
demonstrable in the show floor booth, as well as a product shipping
date that fell within 90 days of the final day of Object World
Boston '94.

Evaluation criteria included: product uniqueness, "content and
uniqueness in regard to the use of OT;" support for industry
standards; price/performance compared to other relevant products;
the contribution the product makes to the industry and users; and
widespread applicability.

XShell ORB 3.0, the winner of the Industry Judges' Choice award,
adheres to OMG (Object Management Group) specifications for object
request brokers (ORBs), but also features a new "distributed
daemon" architecture for scalability, interoperability and
performance in enterprise applications. Versions for Unix and
Microsoft Windows are both slated to ship in February.

As reported previously by Newsbytes, OpenObject Look! is a tool
aimed at bringing C++ programs to life by creating "object centric"
dynamic animations of the programs while the code executes.
Look! is available for both Unix and Windows.

Rational Rose/C++, one of the two runners-up named by the industry
judges, is a graphical OT tool for representing, verifying, and
communicating C++ application models. The tool supports Booch 93
notation and operates on Sun Sparc workstations, OS/2, and Windows.

Paradigm Plus 2.0, the other runner-up, is a new revision of
object-oriented CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tool
that supports Booch 93 as well as other methods. The product runs
on Sun OS, HP 9000 - 700/800 series, IBM RS/6000, and Windows.

The five members of the Industry Judges panel were as follows:
Melinda Carol Ballou, senior writer, Computerworld; Adrian Bowles,
president, Atelier Research; Nina Lytton, editor, Open Systems
Advisor; Steve McClure, object technology manager, International
Data Corp; and Richard M. Soley, Ph.D., vice president and
technical director for the OMG.

Object World Boston is a series of worldwide Object World events
that includes shows in San Francisco, London, Sydney, and Tokyo,
as well as Boston. The show is a joint venture of the Object
Management Group and IDG World Expo.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940113/Press Contacts: Cheryl Saylor, IDG
World Expo, 508-820-8617; Bill Hoffman, Object Management
Group, 508-820-4300)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00027)

Object World - XShell 3.0 Aims For Distributed Management 01/13/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 13 (NB) -- At Object
World, Expersoft Corp., previewed XShell 3.0, a new distributed object
management environment (DOME) that is designed to solve many of the
problems that still remain in building and managing distributed
systems in large-scale enterprise environments.

XShell 3.0 consists of a distributed object request broker (ORB),
along with a suite of tools that includes the XShell Object Naming
Service, the XShell Class Processor, XShell Administration Tools,
and additional tools for managing transactions and security and
developing expert object systems, said Richard Bassin, vice
president of sales and marketing, at a press conference attended by
Newsbytes.

XShell ORB 3.0, explained Bassin, conforms to OMG (Object
Management Group) CORBA (Common Object Request Broker
Architecture) specifications, but also features a "distributed daemon"
architecture for scalability, interoperability, and performance in
enterprise applications. "We refer to (these characteristics) as
SIP," he noted.

The XShell distributed ORB offers a unique combination of
transparent object distribution, asynchronous messaging,
encapsulation of legacy code, and platform independence,
according to Bassin.

Unlike current object-oriented environments and compilers, which
create program objects that "live" in a single address space,
XShell Distributed ORB allows objects to migrate freely between
address spaces, said Thomas N. Clancy, director of strategic
development, in a meeting with Newsbytes after the press
conference.

Developers can create local "surrogates" of remote object modules,
making the objects in the address space of a remote machine
appear to the end user as if though they were located in the
address space of the local machine.

The modules are classes with method interfaces that are accessible
from remote machines. What the end user actually sees on the local
workstation is the method interface, not the module itself.
"Expersoft calls this 'the illusion of locality,'" Clancy told
Newsbytes.

Asynchronous messaging is another key factor that sets XShell
apart from other ORBs, according to Expersoft. CORBA supports a
"deferred synchronous" use of its underlying messaging facility
that is close to, but not actually "true," asynchronous messaging,
the company maintains.

In asynchronous messaging, an object can continue processing while
it waits for the result of a request to another object. Under
synchronous messaging, the alternative model, an object suspends
processing while waiting for the response from another object.

XShell attains asynchronous messaging by maintaining an XShell
"future" as a place-holder or identifier for a value in an expected
response from an object. An object making a request of another
objects receives a "future" first and the result of the requested
operation later.

XShell also supports "future" callbacks, which are installed on a
"future" object and invoked when the "future" value is returned.
"Future" callback events allow programs to implement event-driven
distributed systems.

Slated for formal announcement on January 17, XShell 3.0 is
expected to ship in February for Unix as well as Microsoft Windows.

The new release will be the latest incarnation of an ORB that dates
back to 1991, said Bassin, also at the press conference. The first
implementation of XShell took place in that year at Raytheon, at
about the same time as the OMG's release of the initial CORBA
specification.

Expersoft was formed in 1989, by a group of defense engineers with
extensive experience in distributed and object computing, as well
as artificial intelligence, he added.

About 25 to 30 other organizations are now using XShell, including
IBM and US West, according to Bassin. Expersoft has also recently
formed the Distributed Object Access Alliance, a group organized to
provide support to developers and resellers.

The company is working in three directions to assure continuing
compliance to CORBA, Clancy told Newsbytes. First, the new IDL
compiler in XShell complies with the OMG's IDL compiler
specification. Second, Expersoft will participate with other
CORBA-compliant vendors in an interoperability demo at the
upcoming Object World San Francisco. Third, Expersoft plans to
submit input to the OMG on the forthcoming CORBA 2.0 specification.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940113/Reader Contact: Expersoft, 619-546-
4100; Press Contacts: Pamela McArdle, Expersoft, 619-546-4100;
Sabrina Horn, The Horn Group for Expersoft, 415-579-6620)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00028)

Survey Says Workstation Market To Surge 01/13/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Despite the often-
reported death of the workstation due to improvements in the
price/performance ratio of personal computers, Mountain View,
California-based Frost & Sullivan/Market Intelligence has
released a study predicting that the world market for
workstations will grow by 10 times in the next six years.

Workstations are high-performance desktop computers which, until
recently, were generally based on microprocessors other than the
Intel 80XXX or Motorola 680XX families used in MS-DOS and
Macintosh PCs.

As indicated by the title of the new report, "World Workstation
Markets: Proven Applications With New Pentium/Power PC Chips
Attract New Users," this is changing in the wake of the
introduction of the powerful Intel Pentium microprocessor and
other chips which will likely become popular in both PCs and
workstations.

The Frost & Sullivan research group predicts that the market for
these computers, which fall in between the traditional
minicomputer and personal computer categories, will surge by ten
fold by the end of the decade, resulting in a revenue increase of
only four-times because of lowered prices.

Workstations accounted for $10.6 billion in sales in 1992 and the
study predicts that this will grow by a 24 percent compounded
rate reaching nearly $50 billion in 1999.

Enterprise workstations, those which are used to connect to
corporate-wide networks, will form the largest sector of the
business by 1999, reaching 51 percent of the total market.

Unit (as opposed to dollar value) sales will grow from about
700,000 in 1992 to 7.5 million by 1999, but the average price per
unit will drop from about $15,000 to below $7,000 both because of
the lowered cost of similar powered systems, and a trend toward
using less powerful workstations.

Part of the reason for the increasing volume of sales and also
the lower power systems being bought, is the move to use
workstations for more traditional office tasks, replacing
mainframes and minicomputers. The traditional use for these
powerful computers has been in single-user scientific and
engineering computation and graphics work.

On a cost basis, Frost & Sullivan sees Latin America and the
Pacific Rim as major growth areas for workstation sales, while
Europe will buy a lower amount than currently and the US will
increase its purchases slightly.

(John McCormick/19940113/Press Contact: Amy Arnell, Frost &
Sullivan/Market Intelligence, 415-961-9000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00029)

UK - Cristie Intros High-Speed Parallel Port PC DAT Drive 01/13/94
STONEHOUSE, GLOS, ENGLAND, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Cristie, the
UK data recording specialist, has unveiled the TS5000 Series II
digital audio tape (DAT) drive. A key feature of the drive is its
very high speed -- 22 megabytes (MB) a minute, running through
the PC's parallel port.

According to Robin Burton, Cristie's marketing director, the unit
also offers a small computer system interface (SCSI) port to support
connections via conventional adapter cards. This doubles the normal
backup speed to 44MB per minute, he said.

The drive can store up to four gigabytes (GB) of data on a single DAT
tape. Using data compression techniques, this data storage capacity
can be increased to 8GB,

Burton said that the 22MB per minute data transfer rate over the
PC's parallel port is achieved without data compression and without
the need for the PC to be equipped with the rare EPP port. "This
makes the TS5000 Series II an extremely fast way to backup
standalone PCs. This means that the system is ideal for both shared
backup and high capacity applications," he said.

According to Burton, a wide range of software options is available
from the TS5000 Series II, including port "solutions" for Novell,
OS/2, LAN (local area network) Server and SCO Unix.

As supplied, the TS5000 Series II comes with a compact metal case,
and costs UKP2,199 including Novell-compatible software, interface,
cable, and media.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940113/Press & Public Contact: Cristie
Electronics, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00030)

Protek Intros Qualtrak Defect Tracker To UK 01/13/94
MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 JAN 13 (NB) -- Protek has
announced the availability of Distributed Defect Tracting system
(DDTs), a Unix software utility that allows programs to be
evaluated by software houses prior to shipment.

DDTs was originally developed by Qualtrak Corp., of California.
The version being introduced to the UK is version 3.0, which has a
new graphical interface, plus better electronic-mail handling.

According to Protek, this version is fully compatible with Unix
configuration management (CM) systems, such as Atria Software's
Clearcase (also available from Protek) and supports Clearcase,
Aide-de-Camp from SMDS, SCCS, RCS, CVS, Softbench Encapsulated
SCCS or RCS.

Protek argues that such sophisticated integration lays the proper
foundation for managing the software development process. The
company claims that engineers can easily find and fix bugs in
multiple versions of code thorough the project.

A key feature of DDTs is its ability to communicate information
with other copies of the package using electronic mail, with any
revisions to the tabulations being produced being automatically
distributed over various electronic-mail networks. This feature,
according to Paul Fitzgibbon, the company's marketing director,
means that scattered organizations can keep track of what is
happening with a project.

"The problem of bug tracking and measuring the quality of new
software escalates when developers work on different processors
at different locations and even in different countries. With growing
market demand for software quality tools, QualTrak's DDTs has
rapidly established itself as the leading bug tracking product in
the US and is now an important addition to Protek's growing range of
software development tools for Unix workstations," he said.

Pricing on the package starts at around the UKP6,000 mark, with
version 3.0 supporting software development relating to DOD, IEEE,
ISO 9000, and SEI Levels 1-5 standards for defect tracking.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940113/Press & Public Contact: Protek,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; e-mail on the
Internet:[e-mail])