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(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00001)

Object World - Cooperative Frameworks From NCR 01/14/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- At Object World,
AT&T's NCR Corp., unveiled Cooperative Frameworks 3.0, a distributed
object foundation for developing Object Request Brokers (ORBs),
other object services, industry- and business-specific frameworks,
and distributed applications.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Randy Volters, business development
manager for Cooperative Frameworks, said that the new product is
based on technology previously available only in a layer of object-
oriented middleware bundled into NCR's Cooperation groupware
product.

In spinning off Frameworks as a separate offering, NCR has
increased the open systems orientation of the technology as well as
added more development capabilities, noted Volters. "At one time,
NCR viewed software mainly as a vehicle for selling boxes. But not
any more," he said.

NCR/AT&T began to move from a proprietary perspective toward
production of open systems software about five years ago, Newsbytes
was told. NCR/AT&T was one of the final five submitters in the
drafting of the Object Management Group (OMG) CORBA (Common Object
Request Broker) 1.1 Interface Specification, according to Volters.

NCR/AT&T was also a sponsor of the JOSS (Joint Object Services
Submission) proposal to the OMG. Three out of the four proposed
services were approved, and are now collectively known as COSS
(Common Object Services Specification).

Cooperative Frameworks 3.0 complies with CORBA 1.1, but also adds
some capabilities that have not yet been incorporated in the OMG
specification, according to NCR. These capabilities range from C++
language binding to flexible parameter passing.

The new product is available now for HP9000 workstations running
HP-UX, NCR System 3000 running Unix SVR4, and x86-based PCs running
DOS/Windows. An upcoming version for Sun's Sparcserver running
Solaris is now entering alpha.

Cooperative Frameworks 3.0 consists of four basic parts: an
enterprise architecture, runtimes, a pair of development toolkits,
and a set containing 300 reusable/extensible components and over
300 methods that can also be used in building applications.

One of the toolkits is oriented toward C++, and the other toward
the OMG's IDL (Interface Definition Language) specification. The
reusable/extensible components are organized into five Foundation
Services: Common, Directory, Security, Logging, and Distributed
Processing. The Distributed Processing Foundation Service uses
NCR's Remote Method Invocation (RMI), a technique aimed at
providing dynamic, automatic parameter passing.

Cooperative Frameworks 3.0 also supplies other services and
utilities for implementing distributed systems, including a naming
service, network configuration tools, persistence, dynamic service
location, dynamic service activation, and "fine-grain data
management," a capability that designs class libraries around
fine-grained objects so developers can build distributed
objects as large or small as needed.

At Object World, NCR showed the product running on HP and NCR
workstations as well as on IBM-compatible PCs. The ports to HP and
Sun are another indication of NCR's growing open systems
orientation, according to Volters. "We entered beta with the HP
version even before we started beta testing the version for our own
computers," Newsbytes was told.

Cooperative Frameworks 3.0 supports the HP Softbench compiler for
HP 9000, CFront and C++ Workbench for NCR 3000, and Borland IDE
for DOS/Windows. The forthcoming edition for Sun's Sparcserver
will support Sparcworks for Sun Solaris.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940113/Reader contact: Randy Volters, NCR, tel
803-939-7774; Press contact: Patricia Allen, NCR, tel 513-445-
2033)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00002)

UK - Lotus Smartsuite For OS/2 01/14/94
PORTSMOUTH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- IBM United
Kingdom has announced the availability of Lotus Smartsuite for OS/2.
The package consists of four business applications including 32-bit
versions of 1-2-3, Ami Pro, Freelance Graphics and cc-Mail, all
under one integrated umbrella package.

All four applications operate in the object oriented OS/2 Workplace
Shell, supporting multitasking and multithreading. The retail price
of the package has been set at UKP 465.

According to IBM, Lotus will expand its current development efforts
for products running in IBM's Personal Software Products operating
environments and will deliver desktop and workgroup products that
exploit OS.2 2.x and other IBM workgroup technologies.

Dave Pulin, IBM UK's software director, said that, with the arrival
of Smartsuite for OS/2, users of OS/2 now have access to the
expanded capabilities of the first integrated suite of desktop and
communications products available for OS/2.

"In addition, Lotus' commitment to fully exploit the power of our
technologies will provide continuing competitive advantage to our
customers," he said.

(Steve Gold/19940114/Press & Public Contact: IBM UK - Tel: +44-705-
561000; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00003)

UK - Coopers & Lybrand Buys Into Lotus Suite, Notes En-Masse 01/14/94
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND , 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Lotus Development
UK has announced that Coopers & Lybrand has signed a major contract
to equip 28,000 PCs worldwide with Lotus Windows desktop suite and
Lotus Notes.

According to Lotus, the initial order will be distributed to 15
Coopers & Lybrand (International) firms and is likely to increase to
40,000 PCs in due course. Terms of the multi-million pound deal have
not been announced.

"We're thrilled that a company with the worldwide scope and prestige
of Coopers & Lybrand is combining our award-winning desktop
applications with our powerful communications technology," commented
Jim Manzi, Lotus' president.

What's most exciting is that not only will Coopers use Lotus
products to enhance communication with clients, suppliers and other
business partners. This form of electronic keiretsu is what is
enabling Coopers and firms like it to manage more effectively their
important business relationships," he said.

Eugene Freedman, Coopers & Lybrand's chairman, said that the
agreement enhances the firm's ability to provide a high technology,
high knowledge, high value-added approach to client service.

"As a firm with clients worldwide we need to be able to communicate
instantaneously to address and solve client needs. One of the great
strengths of our firm is the knowledge and know-how of our people
around the globe. This agreement better enables us to access these
resources in the furtherment of client service," he said.

According to Coopers & Lybrand, the agreement calls for more than
11,000 firms in the company's US and 14 other country office
networks to be supplied with the Lotus desktop suite. The company is
already using Lotus Notes in many of its branches.

(Steve Gold/19940114/Press & Public Contact: Lotus Development
Corporation - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SYD)(00004)

Telecom Australia Standardizes On Unix 01/14/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Australia's major
telecommunications carrier Telecom has moved to standardize
its distributed information technology environment with the
adoption of a Standard Operating Environment (SOE) agreement for
Unix-based midrange systems.

Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems have been selected as
preferred suppliers of hardware and services while Ingres and
Oracle will vie to supply relational database management systems.
Telecom claims to be leading the world in centralizing control of
a large distributed environment. It presently has more than 900
Unix-based systems, approximately 46,000 terminals (including
32,000 PCs) and 600 major local area networks (LANs) throughout
the organization in Australia.

The SOE replaces an agreement with HP as preferred systems supplier.
Telecom used this period to carry out exhaustive benchmarks and
reviews of a wide range of products and vendors. Under the SOE,
two or three vendors are selected as the suppliers of certain
products. People within Telecom go to these vendors first to make
purchases. For specialized products that fall outside the SOEs
they can go to other vendors, but must provide a supportable
business case for the decision.

Telecom said it has adopted the SOE concept partly to stop the
proliferation of non-compatible systems and promote open systems
development within the organization, but also to reduce IT costs
and increase efficiency. It said that prior to the SOE individual
departments would often undergo parallel and redundant
investigations, regardless of the needs or experience of other
departments. The old Telecom purchasing culture in which employees
investigated every product on the market stemmed from the
carrier being a "highly technically skilled organization."

Telecom's John Villiani said "The situation had got so out of hand
that there were five different word processing packages, six
different mail systems, and thirteen different networks within
the organization. People were developing systems in isolation
for their own benefit without considering whether they could
interface with other systems."

Under the SOEs, delivery time for products has fallen from
an average of four to six weeks to within five working days. There
are plans to further streamline this by using electronic data
interchange (EDI) for order processing, delivery and payment.

The Midrange SOE joins other major SOEs already established in
Telecom Australia: Enterprise Processor; Desktop; Networking, and
soon, the IT Contracting Services.

(Paul Zucker and Martin Guldberg/19940113/Contact: Mark Wolffe at
Telecom on phone [phone] or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00005)

IBM To Put PowerPC Chips In Set-Top Boxes 01/14/94
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Your first PowerPC
system might just be on top of your TV set.

IBM has announced it will use a version of the high-powered
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor that it
developed with Motorola and Apple Computer in set-top
boxes meant to handle the increasing flow of information coming
into homes through the television cable.

Bell Atlantic named IBM as one of three companies to develop
set-top devices for market trials the regional Bell operating
company is planning. By 1995, said IBM Microelectronics spokesman
Jim Smith, IBM expects to be building a version of the PowerPC
processor into the devices.

IBM will use the PowerPC 4xx line of processors in set-top boxes.
The 4xx line, announced last August, will be a variant of the
PowerPC chip meant for embedded-controller applications such as
video games, personal communicators, and set-top boxes. Specific
chips in the 4xx line are due to be announced early this year.

The PowerPC computers announced so far use a different variant of
the chip, the PowerPC 601. A power-saving version of that chip,
the 603, is to go into volume production this year.

While IBM will not begin building set-top boxes uses the PowerPC
4xx chips until 1995, Smith said, the company expects to build
boxes for the Bell Atlantic trials using Motorola's 68000
processor in the meantime.

Set-top boxes will be a way for consumers to control a
bewildering array of television channels, movies on demand, and
other services expected to come into many homes by cable or
satellite within a few years.

(Grant Buckler/19940114/Press Contact: Jim Smith, IBM
Microelectronics, 914-892-5389; David Harrah, IBM, 914-765-6666)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00006)

Japan - Seiko-Epson Offers DOS/V-compatible PCs 01/14/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Seiko-Epson has entered the IBM-
compatible PC market with the launching of a mail order firm to
sell DOS/V-compatible PCs. Currently, Seiko-Epson is selling
the NEC-compatible PC, and will continue to sell it through
normal retail channels.

Seiko-Epson used to sell DOS/V-compatible PCs used as network
servers for Digital Equipment Japan. However, few were sold.
This time, Seiko-Epson will make an all-out effort to sell the
DOS/V-compatible PCs through the new mail-order firm.

Epson Direct, the name of the firm, is located in Shiojiri,
near Seiko-Epson headquarters. The new firm will also provide
maintenance and user support.

Seiko-Epson has developed a DOS/V-compatible PC, priced at
only 98,000 yen ($890), called the "Endeavor." This is the
lowest-price DOS/V PC in Japan. The unit has an
80486 processor, a super-fast local bus and Windows 3.1.
Some of the models are also equipped with MS-DOS 6.2V and the
best-selling Japanese word processor Ichitaro.

In order to reduce the production costs, Seiko-Epson has
been producing this PC in Korea and exports it back to
Japan. Seiko-Epson is taking the advantage of the
duty-free system for computers in Japan. Several years ago,
the Japanese government abolished the duty for computers in
order to open the market to foreign firms.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930112/Press Contact: Seiko-Epson,
 [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00007)

Matsushita To Release 3DO Player In Japan 01/14/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric has
announced a release date for its 3DO-standard multimedia video
game device in Japan. The "Real," as it is called in Japan,
will be released in Japan on March 20. The retail price
is 79,800 yen ($725).

This same unit hit the US market in October and Matsushita
claims it has already shipped 60,000 units in the US.
Matsushita is planning to release the same device in Europe
and Southeast Asia in May.

Matsushita's game player is based on a 32-bit RISC (reduced
instruction set computing) chip and is an interactive multi-
player that can be used for a variety of purposes including
three-dimensional games, music CDs, video CDs and Karaoke
graphics CDs. It can also be used in education. The device
connects to a regular television set and supports
high-quality sound and pictures.

Six titles of game software are available at present.
Matsushita Electric expects an additional 20 titles to be
on the market by this summer. The price will be between
6,800 yen ($60) and 12,800 yen ($115) per game.

Matsushita Electric is creating an association to
support software development and the distribution. On
February 1 the Panasonic Software Developers' Society will
officially be formed with 10 charter members including
book publishers and broadcasting firms. They will
exchange ideas on the development and distribution of
software.

Meanwhile, Japan's Sanyo Electric is also preparing to release
a 3DO-standard video game machine in Japan and the US this
summer.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930112/Press Contact: Matsushita
Electric, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00008)

Australia - Merisel Enhances Compaq Retail Sales 01/14/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Computer products
distributor Merisel has entered an agreement with Compaq
Computer Australia which will see Merisel provide full
merchandising support services for Compaq's Presario range of
computers which are sold in retail stores across Australia.

The Merisel merchandising team will regularly visit over 250 retail
outlets throughout Australia which carry the range. The team will
provide in-store training and merchandising, and collect market
feedback and sales reporting. The Presario range of computers are
designed for small office/home office (SOHO) use. They were
released in Australia in October. Compaq does not sell directly
in Australia.

"This agreement is just one more step in our efforts to ensure
that purchasing Compaq computers is as easy for customers as
using them," said Compaq Australia MD Ian Penman. "We have
expanded our retail outlets to include Brashs, Harvey Norman,
and Dick Smith stores across Australia so that the award-winning
Presario is available where customers want to buy them. Merisel's
retail sector expertise will assist further promotional activities
for the Presario which has proved to be the fastest selling
computer in Compaq's history."

Merisel's MD Verilyn Smith said, "We will be providing the feet
on the street, so to speak. Our people will act as representatives
for the Presario range, building on existing relationships with
store managers and staff and providing valuable, up-to-date
feedback to Compaq to support the 'computers don't come any
easier' message."

US-based Merisel has a large proportion of the Australian PC
software and hardware distribution business in Australia,
rivalled only by the other large distributor, Tech Pacific.

(Paul Zucker/19940112)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEL)(00009)

India - Paperless Office Software 01/14/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1993 JAN 14 (NB) -- Newgen Software
Technologies Pvt. Ltd., has delivered its first software package
-- the Newgen Office -- a document image management system that
promises to provide the 'paperless office."

The system comes into play in a networked work environment.
All paper-based information can be scanned by the system
and recorded on magnetic or optical disc, to be manipulated
by the user. Files and information can be posted to other
users on the network, doing away with the physical transport of
documents.

A hand scanner will do for scanning text, graphic and photographic
material. Different document images can be stored in a folder
comprising different sub-folders in a digitized form. Access time
takes a few seconds and document images can be manipulated and passed
to colleagues electronically. New and existing documents can be
printed by a laser printer. The system provides for advanced backup
and recovery to provide more security for the system.

Customized applications are also available under the Newgen Workstyle
series which can be used as dedicated front-end systems for share
transfer, newspaper clippings, and maintaining accounts payable
and receivable.

The stand-alone version of Newgen Office costs approximately Rs 60,000
($2,000) and for a five-user group in the LAN environment about Rs 1.8
lakh ($6,000). The company director, Diwakar Nigam, maintains that
the product is meant for the international market and will be launched
abroad early next year. Diwakar Nigam created Newgen after he left
Softek India Ltd, of which he was the founder-director.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19940114)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00010)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 01/14/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

InfoWorld for December 27/January 3 says that Microsoft has plans
to beef up its ODBC (open database connectivity) server software
to meet the need to handle more demanding query loads. If The
InfoWorld Direct supplement is correct, Intel had better ramp up
production of Pentium chips because the editors quote insiders
who see the powerful chip taking up 10 to 12 percent of the
desktop space by the end of 1994. But cheer up because they also
see prices dropping drastically.

Communicationsweek's tenth anniversary issue, dated January 3,
looks at the rise of enterprise networking since the breakup of
AT&T. Referring to how many people look at the Information
Superhighway and say "so what," Vice President Al Gore points out
that London stock brokers couldn't see any reason for installing
telephones, saying, "Who needs so many telephones? We have
messenger boys." Other highlights include a look at enterprise
networking by 10 top industry players.

Computer Reseller News for January 3 says that software vendors
such as Microsoft are quietly cutting margins offered to
resellers in an attempt to keep some sort of profit structure in
the wake of the popularity of application suites - software
bundling which effectively reduces profits by making one program
do the work of several. ShadowRAM named the top 10 mistakes of
the year and guess who got the No. 1 spot? Apple Computer.
To see what whopping mistakes Apple was able to score
see the issue, but as a hint, Michael Jackson's PR problem
only rated the No. 3 spot.

Computerworld for January 10 says that the price of Intel
Pentium-based systems will drop to or below $2,500 by the end of
1994 - possibly blocking the move to faster, but more costly RISC
or reduced instruction set code microprocessor-based systems.

Federal Computer Week dated January 10 says that PCMCIA (a
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association slot for
adding memory cards or peripherals, especially to laptop or
notebook computers) is a hot technology, but one which federal
users may be locked out of by existing contracts for laptops
which lack the port.

Communicationsweek has a front page report on Novell's
Netware Management System version 2.0 that the magazine tested
and found wanting in management tools. The reviewer says that
"another year and a lot more work" is needed to "make NMS ready
for most networking mortals."

IEEE Spectrum (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers)
focuses on the important developments of 1993 and looks toward
1994. Among the highlights: In telecommunications, Asian countries
are adopting mobile wireless systems and Motorola's Iridium
satellite system is capturing interest in many countries.
In data communications, this was the year "Internet" became a
household word. In consumer electronics, "Personal Digital
Assistants need more work." In large computers, massively
parallel computers were validated by Cray and IBM introductions
in this area. And in solid state devices, this is the year when
very fast silicon-germanium devices will hit the commercial
marketplace.

(John McCormick/19940114/)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00011)

NEC Seeks To Supply LCDs To IBM, Compaq, Dell 01/14/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- NEC is talking with IBM,
Compaq and Dell Computer concerning a supply of its color liquid
crystal displays (LCDs). NEC has already reached a basic agreement
with Apple Computer concerning LCD supplies.

NEC wants to supply mostly color LCDs for notebook-type
personal computers to these major PC makers. The LCDs are
the VGA-standard TFT (thin film transistor) variety and
include a 9.4-inch version. The Nikkan Kogyo newspaper has
suggested that NEC has already reached a basic agreement
with these three firms. However, NEC refuses to comment on
the report. The newspaper said NEC will supply
50,000 to 60,000 LCDs monthly to the three firms as
early as this spring.

Currently, IBM Japan is preparing to beef up production of
LCDs at a joint venture firm called Display Technology, which
was created with Toshiba. The joint venture firm is
presently producing LCDs at full swing and shipping
30,000 units per month. The firm will not be ready to increase
production until June when a new production line will be
added. Consequently, speculation has it that IBM has requested
NEC to supply LCDs until the production line goes into
operation.

Compaq is currently getting most of its LCD supplies from
Sharp, which has the largest LCD production in Japan,
but may now be seeking them from NEC as well. Dell Computer
will get notebook-type PCs from Sony and LCDs from NEC.

NEC already created new LCD production lines in its
Kagoshima plant in Kyushu in December 1993. The firm has a
monthly output capacity of 100,000 units.

Fueled by multimedia and brisk sales of notebook-type
personal computers, LCD demand has rapidly increased.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930114/Press Contact: NEC, +81-3-
3451-2974, Fax, [phone])


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

Advanced Gravis Offers Personal Piano 01/14/94
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Bundling
together its own UltraSound board, a pair of speakers, a Musical
Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard, and Musicware Piano
software, Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd., has announced
a package it calls the Gravis Personal Piano System.

Shown at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the
Personal Piano is to ship in February, company officials said.

It incorporates a four-octave MIDI keyboard from Italian keyboard
maker Fatar, which can be used as part of the piano system or
with other music software that supports the MIDI interface.

Gravis' own Ultrasound board, which uses wave-table synthesis to
produce 192 MIDI instrument sounds, is also part of the package,
and a pair of powered speakers is included.

Musicware Piano is a self-pacing instructional piano teaching
program for all ages. Other music programs can also be used with
the piano system, Gravis said.

The Personal Piano system will work with any IBM or compatible PC
able to run Microsoft Windows, said company spokesman Bryan Del
Rizzo. A 386 processor or better is recommended. Loading the
complete software for the Ultrasound board will take 12 to 13
megabytes of hard disk space, he added, but users can choose to
load only parts of it.

The package has a list price of US$495.

Advanced Gravis also announced the opening of new offices in
London and in Belgium to work with European developers.

(Grant Buckler/19940114/Press Contact: Bryan Del Rizzo, Advanced
Gravis, 604-431-5020, fax [phone]; Public Contact: Advanced
Gravis, 800-663-8558/PHOTO)


(EDITORIAL)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00013)

The Enabled Computer 01/14/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- By John McCormick.
The Enabled Computer, which serves the disabled computer
user community, is a regular feature carried in Newsbytes.

Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab has
confirmed that we will be having another National
Search for Computing technology to Assist Persons with
Disabilities. But please don't contact them, no one is ready to
send out any information and sponsors haven't been lined up yet.

Elsewhere, in the first employment suit brought by the US
Justice department under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the
State of Illinois and town of Aurora (Wayne's World) are
discriminating against a diabetic policeman who is working a full
load, but can't join the pension plan because of his illness.

He isn't on disability, or on restricted duty - he is working a
full load every day, but because of his illness he is being
denied financial protection.

Both the town and the state are named in the action brought late
in December and we will be keeping track of what happens. This
could be a major test case that will show us how serious the
government is about forcing employers and state agencies to
comply with the ADA.

On yet another topic, Microsystems Software has announced the
release of HandiKEY DOS 3.0, the on-screen keyboard emulator for
users with motor impairments. The new release increases software
and hardware compatibility and adds new features for severely
disabled users such as those who have cerebral palsy,
neurofibromatosis, or spinal cord injuries.

The predictive dictionary has been expanded by four times and can
now be stored in EMS memory. New drivers have been added to allow
direct matrix selection using cursor keys or game-port device
input.

The new release lists for $395, $495 for the deluxe version which
includes support for speech output. A Windows version also lists
for $395 and users can buy both Windows and DOS versions for a
combined price of $495.

Upgrades from previous versions are available at very reasonable
prices, $25 if HandiKEY was purchased after September 1, 1993 and
$75 if purchased before that date.

Contact Microsystems Software at 600 Worcester Road, Framingham,
MA 01701 or phone [phone] or fax [phone].

(John McCormick/19940114/Press Contact: John A. McCormick,
MCImail 321-7108, [e-mail], 814-277-6476, daytime fax
814-277-6337)


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

GTE Cuts 17,000 Job 01/14/94
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- GTE, the
nation's largest local phone company and second largest cellular
systems operator, said it would cut 17,000 jobs over three years
and take a charge against fourth quarter earnings of $1.8 billion
to cover restructuring. At one point the company had 100,000
workers in its telephone operations -- it now has about 73,000.

GTE leapfrogged over the seven regional Bells as a network
operator a few years ago when it bought Contel. It now has
about 17 million access lines. Unlike the Bells, however, GTE's
local operations are scattered across the country, making
restructuring more difficult. The cuts, mostly layoffs, are
expected to hit one in every four GTE employee in its telephone
operations, and $410 million was set aside to handle those layoffs

GTE employs 130,000 people, but the phone operations
represent 75 percent of its $20 billion in annual revenues. They
cover 7,500 communities in 31 states, as well as Canada and the
Dominican Republic.

The major cuts will come in consolidating operator, customer
service, and network operations centers. The number of customer
contact centers drop from 171 to 11, revenue collection centers
from 5 to 1, and 19 network operations centers will also be cut
to 1. GTE expects to save about $1 billion a year through the
changes, which are similar to those announced earlier by AT&T and
the regional Bells.

In this case, as in others, the cuts are made possible by
automation. Computerized exchanges and fiber-cable based networks
don't need the maintenance or operator service required by
older systems. Yet they can bring in lots of new revenue through
new services. The phone companies say they want to invest the
savings, and more, in improving their local networks. But, again
because of technology, they've mainly been buying cable
operations, which are easier to upgrade. GTE has previously
announced it would create fiber "rings" in its 50 major markets,
creating a backbone network much like those of the cable
operators.

As part of the announcement, GTE also consolidated its GTE
Spacenet satellite subsidiary with its Government Systems
business. In the process, it cut the value of Spacenet's assets.
That unit, however, has been working to diversify its sources of
income, and recently announced it would build a new teleport for
AmericaTel, a joint venture part-owned by Entel Chile and based
in Miami. That contract, however, is worth just $5 million.

While GTE told Newsbytes News Network that all types of employees
worked on planning for the job cuts, the company's unions, including
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, claimed
they were not consulted. Over the last decade, over 130,000 phone
industry jobs have been cut, and 50,000 more losses were
announced in just the last year.

(Dana Blankenhorn/01113994/Press Contact: Dick Jones, GTE
Telephone Operations, 214-718-6924)


(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

Correction - CompuServe Cuts Prices 01/14/94
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Newsbytes wishes to
make a correction to a story of this title which appeared on our
wire 1/13/94. The report said that Compuserve's new rate cuts,
which will drop per-hour prices to $4.80 from $8, day and night,
would be effective January 13. In fact, the new charges are not
in effect until February 6.

(Wendy Woods/19940114)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00016)

Polaroid Licenses New Optical Technology 01/14/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Yet another storage
standard may be on the horizon, according to an announcement by
Polaroid and Troy, Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices, the
developer of Ovonic phase change optical storage technologies.
Storage costs per megabyte for this removable media could be as
low as 10-cents per megabyte according to ECD spokesperson David
Strand, optical recording media development manager.

The new technology will offer a PCMCIA (Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association)-compatible
drive to store about 100 megabytes (MB) of data on a single
2-inch disc.

Mr. Strand told Newsbytes that the very low media cost (he
estimated retail costs of about $10 per 100 MB disk) is due to a
combination of ECD's technology and Polaroid's manufacturing
expertise, in particular Polaroid's proprietary flexible
continuous web embossed manufacturing process.

He also pointed out that, although the low-power optical drives
could obviously be very attractive as storage media for digital
cameras, they are also cost-effective. A 3.5-inch 128 MB magneto-
optical disc costs about $28, more than twice as much per
megabyte. He envisions this price point to encourage personal
computer makers to use them in their machines.

Mr. Strand told Newsbytes that prototype drives have already been
developed but that he expects more development in this area.
Media production is already at the large-scale laboratory test
stage.

While Mr. Strand said that any announcement regarding commercial
availability of the product would have to come from both
companies, he indicated that this was not a product which we
should expect to see made available in 1994.

By way of comparison, with the estimated 10-cents per megabyte
storage costs for this new technology, floppy diskette media
costs about 45-cents per megabyte, 128 MB MO optical drives cost
about 22 cents/megabyte, and large hard drives in the gigabyte
range have costs in the $1 per megabyte range.

Of course the prices for removable media do not include the cost
of the drives themselves while the hard drive includes both media
and drive. The bottom line is that you have to buy a lot of discs
or diskettes before total storage costs actually approach the
quoted media costs.

(John McCormick/19940114/Press Contact: David Strand, Energy
Conversion Devices, 313-280-1900)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00017)

Software Rental Out In Canada Following NAFTA 01/14/94
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Renting software is
now illegal in Canada except with the express permission of the
software publisher. The change in Canadian copyright law is a
result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), under
which Canada agreed to bring its law on this point in line with
that of the United States.

In the past, renting software was legal in Canada. Allan
Reynolds, secretary of the Canadian Alliance Against Software
Theft (CAAST) in Toronto, told Newsbytes the practice has led to
a significant amount of software piracy. People were renting
software, taking it home and making copies for their own use, and
then returning it.

The change in Canadian copyright law will "help to alleviate the
problem (of software piracy) significantly," Reynolds said.
"Although rental does not comprise the majority of piracy
instances, it's significant enough to be noticed."

NAFTA's coming into force hastened a change in the law that quite
likely would have happened anyway, Reynolds added. The Canadian
government, partly in response to pressure from CAAST, had been
considering the possibility of changing the law to outlaw
software rentals, and probably would have done so some time this
year had NAFTA not forced its hand.

(Grant Buckler/19940114/Press Contact: Allan Reynolds, CAAST,
416-598-8988)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00018)

Device Said To Allow Faster Optical Transmission 01/14/94
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Bell-Northern
Research has developed an optical modulator that researchers said
will allow data to be sent four times as fast over optical fiber.

The research firm, which is jointly owned by Northern Telecom
Ltd. and Bell Canada, said the advanced semiconductor device
deals with a problem that causes light pulses to blend together
as they travel through fiber. This will mean data can travel
farther without regeneration and conventional fiber will work
where more costly, specialized fiber would have been required
before, BNR said.

The problem is called chirp. Claude Rolland, developer of BNR's
new optoelectronic device, explained that as a laser is turned
on, the light it emits is slightly more blue than normal, and as
the laser is turned off, its light turns slightly redder. Because
its frequency is different, blue light travels through a fiber
faster than red light does. So the bluer light that starts out at
the beginning of a light pulse widens its lead as the pulse
travels through the fiber, while the red light at the end of the
pulse drops farther behind. By the time it travels 40 to 60
kilometers, the pulse (which represents a binary one while the
absence of a pulse represents a binary zero) spreads out so much
that ones and zeroes become indistinguishable.

The solution is to shift the frequency of the light at the
beginning and end of the pulses. To do this, BNR uses what is
called a Mach-Zehnder device, which is a kind of electronic
shutter made of semiconductor materials. BNR says it has the
first semiconductor Mach-Zehnder device that, as it turns the
laser light on and off, shifts the frequency of the pulse
slightly into the red at the beginning of the pulse and slightly
into the blue at the end.

The result is like giving the slow-moving red light a head start
and the fast-moving blue light a handicap. As the light travels,
the red light drops back into the main body of the pulse and the
blue light gains. But it is only when the blue light works its
way to the front of the pulse and the red light to the back that
the pulse starts to spread, so pulses can travel more than 100
kilometers before they begin to blur too much to be
distinguishable, BNR said.

Mach-Zehnder devices are named for two 19th-century Austrian
physicists who developed the technique to measure the density of
light. Until now, Mach-Zehnder devices have been bulky and
expensive because they were made with single-crystal oxides.
Bell-Northern said its device, which uses common semiconductor
materials, will be economical to mass-produce. The device could
be integrated onto a single semiconductor wafer along with a
laser, BNR said.

(Grant Buckler/19940114/Press Contact: Jacques Guerette,
Bell-Northern Research, 613-765-4236)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00019)

Object World - Next's PDO Upgrade, NextStep Price Promos 01/14/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- At Object World
Boston '94, Next introduced Release 2.0 of PDO (Portable
Distributed Objects), along with a port of PDO to the Sun OS 4.1.3
operating system.

The company also announced two new product pricing promotions for
NextStep and NextStep Developer. The promotions, NextStep Project
Starter Pack and NextStep Developer Bundle, will be available
through March 31.

PDO, a product initially rolled out last June, is designed to allow
NextStep to be used on hardware platforms other than Intel 486- and
Pentium-based PCs.

The newly unveiled Release 2.0 will integrate a C++ compiler into
the Objective C compiler already existing in PDO, permitting
developers to merge Objective C, C++, and ANSI C code into one
application.

Release 2.0 will also bring a GNU make program that is compatible
with the make program bundled with NextStep Developer, allowing
developers to have one set of makefiles for their software
regardless of which NextStep or PDO architecture is used.

Officials said that the planned enhancements will appear in PDO for
HP-UX, a version that is already shipping in Release 1.0, as well
as in the upcoming product for Sun OS and all future versions of
PDO.

The company added that the availability of a version for Sun will
make it possible for users to begin developing and deploying
OpenStep-compatible objects on Sun servers while Sun works to
integrate OpenStep into Solaris. OpenStep supports the distributed
object framework available in PDO and NextStep.

PDO Release 1.0 for HP-UX 9.0 is priced at $2,500 for department
servers, $5,000 for branch servers, and $10,000 for corporate
servers. Pricing and availability for PDO Release 2.0 will be
announced at a later time.

In the NextStep Project Starter Pack promotion, five copies of
NextStep, three copies of NextStep Developer, and one registration
to Next's Developer Camp can be purchased for $7,995, instead of
the $11,760 these offerings would otherwise cost. Next's Developer
Camp is a training program aimed at helping developers transition
from procedural programming to NextStep. Being offered in the US
only, the Project Starter Pack can be obtained by contacting a Next
sales representative or through Next's telesales organization.

The NextStep Developer Bundle includes one copy each of NextStep
Release 3.2 for Intel Processors and NextStep Developer Release
3.2, for only $995. Ordinarily, the prices of these two products
would add up to $2,790. The Developer Bundle is available in
North America through Next Telesales, and to customers in Europe
through indirect channels.

Also at Object World, Next announced the addition to 20 new
companies to Object Channel, a program designed to help systems
integrators and value-added resellers gain expertise with NextStep.

The new members of Object Channel include SHL Systemhouse, Ottawa,
Ontario, and Information Technology Solutions, Chicago, Illinois.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940114/Reader contact: Next Computer Inc., tel
415-366-0900; Press contact: Karen Logsdon, Next, tel 415-780-
3786)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00020)

Object World - Bull's Kit For Interactive Graphical Apps 01/14/93
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Bull has rolled
out GoPath, a C++ object-oriented toolkit for creating interactive
graphical applications and presentations in Microsoft Windows or
any of six Unix environments.

During a demonstration at Object World Boston, where the software
was released this week, Yuan Song of Bull headquarters in Paris,
France told Newsbytes that GoPath consists of Go Library, an area
for manipulating predefined graphical objects and creating new ones
from scratch, along with Go Companions, a toolset that includes
object editors and resource editors. The product is shipping now.

Go Library extends the capabilities of standard toolkits for
environments like OSF/Motif and Windows, displaying the objects to
be drawn or modified in a window, or "pixmap," said Song.

Graphical objects that are predefined and ready to use include
geometric forms, formatted text, images, graphs, and grids.
Users can cut/copy/paste graphical objects between applications,
write object files in PostScript format, and export/import
graphics.

Go Library works with Microsoft Windows as well as the following
Unix environments: Bull, Sun, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, MIPS, and
SCO (Santa Cruz Operation).

The utilities in Go Companions are designed to help the developer
create the graphical objects and define their behavior, noted Song.
The resource editors include Gobrush, Gocolor, Gopen, and Godash.
The graphical object editors are called Godraw, Gopaint, Gohyper,
and Gowrite.

In an interview after the demo, Diane Riemer of Bull's offices in
Billerica, Massachusetts said that GoPath is the second in a new
series of open systems software products from Bull.

The first product in the series, Integrated System Management
(ISM), is a network management tool, bundled with Bull's DPX/20
hardware systems, that is designed to work with virtually any
network operating system. As previously reported in Newsbytes, a
new release of the tool, ISM Version 2, adds a series of new
application modules, along with an integrated monitor, help desk
facility, and backup/restore capability.

Bull plans to demonstrate other new software products at upcoming
trade shows such as UniForum and New Media Expo, according to
Riemer. The new offerings include multimedia and document
application development toolkits.

Some of Bull's latest software offerings are being marketed to OEMs
(original equipment manufacturers) and ISVs (independent software
vendors) only. Others, like GoPath, are to be commercially
available through Bull's US Software Sales Division. For
information on becoming a reseller or distributor for the US
Software Sales Division, call Diane Riemer at 508-294-4366.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940114/Reader contacts: Bull HN Information
Systems, tel [phone]; Diane Riemer, Bull, tel [phone];
Press contact: Bruce MacDonald, Bull, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00021)

Microsoft Intros Multimedia Titles For Mac 01/14/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation says it will bring three of its most popular multimedia
titles to Apple Computer's Macintosh platform.

According to Microsoft Mac users will be able to get Microsoft
Encarta multimedia encyclopedia 1994 edition, Microsoft
Cinemania 1994 interactive movie guide, and Microsoft Bookshelf
1994 in March of this year.

Encarta contains not only the text found in printed encyclopedias,
but also thousands of color photos, more than 100 video and
animation clips, and audio. It contains 26,000 articles organized
both alphabetically and thematically in 93 categories. The audio
clips are in more than 60 spoken languages and include music,
literature readings, and historic quotes.

Cinemania is a guide to the movies and the people who make
them, and includes over 23,000 reviews. It contains the complete
text of "Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide, 1994l;" "Roger
Ebert's Video Companion;" and Pauline Kael's "5001 Nights at the
Movies."

Cinemania users can view motion video excerpts from 20 all-time
best films, audio excerpts from over 250 classic movies, and
portraits of 2,000 movie stars. There are 900 movie stills, 2,700
biographies, complete listings of Academy Award nominees and
winners, and numerous articles about the world of film.

Cinemania entries can be located by searching on the film genre,
actor or director's name, star rating, release date, or even the
MPAA rating. Listings include whether the film is available on
videotape or laser disc.

Microsoft Bookshelf includes seven reference books found in
most homes. You can look up information in the Concise
Columbia Encyclopedia; a newly updated American Heritage
Dictionary, Third Edition; The Original Roget's Thesaurus; The
Columbia Dictionary of Quotations; the Hammond Atlas; The
World Almanac & Book of Facts 1994; and The People's
Chronology.

Bookshelf offers more than 75,000 spoken pronunciations, video
clips of important events in history, animations, and 40 audio
clips that include quotations by John F. Kennedy, Robert Frost
Dylan Thomas and other well-known people. Once you find the
desired reference in Bookshelf you can cut and paste the
information into your document, including pictures and video. If
you aren't sure where in Bookshelf to search, the software will
search all volumes for the desired entry.

To run Bookshelf, Encarta, or Cinemania you need a color
Macintosh or Powerbook with System 7 operating system or
better. Cinemania requires a 13-inch 640 by 480, 256 color or
higher resolution monitor. Other requirements are at least four
megabytes (MB) of memory, although Microsoft recommends
8MB; at least 3MB of hard disk space, and a CD-ROM drive.

Encarta carries a $139 price tag, while Cinemania is priced at
$79.95. Microsoft hasn't released the pricing for Bookshelf for the
Mac yet but the Windows version has a suggested retail price of
$195. All three products are scheduled to ship in March 1994.

(Jim Mallory/19940114/Press contact: Karen Meredith, Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(BOS)(00022)

Connecticut Aims For $4.5 Billion Info Superhighway 01/14/93
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- SNET (Southern
New England Telephone) has announced plans to invest $4.5 billion
over the next 15 years in building a statewide information
superhighway to be known as I-SNET.

"We are calling our information superhighway I-SNET to because it
will as vital a part of our state's infrastructure as the
interstate highway system that links us to the rest of the nation.
I-SNET will be an interactive multimedia communication network
which holds the promise of attracting businesses and jobs,
improving education, enhancing health care and fostering economic
growth throughout the entire state," said Daniel J. Miglio, SNET
chairman and CEO.

SNET intends to use a mix of hybrid fiber/coaxial cable to create
a seamless information highway connecting all its customers,
officials said. The network architecture will be based around a
fiber optic line running from a host digital terminal in SNET
central offices to nodes throughout Connecticut.

Each node will serve up to 500 homes and businesses. A coaxial
cable will connect the node to a network interface unit attached to
either a telephone pole or directly to a home or business.
Information on the network switching to be used was unavailable at
press time.

SNET is employing the same hybrid mix of fiber and coax to conduct
a trial of video-on-demand in West Hartford, CT. The telco expects
to expand the trial to several other towns this year.

SNET is also negotiating with many information and entertainment
providers and pursuing partnerships with other companies to bring
the benefits of the information highway to customers in
Connecticut.

Aside from home entertainment, applications envisioned by SNET
include videoconferencing, telecommuting, electronic shopping, home
education via interactive video, and transmission of medical images
from hospitals to specialists in distant locations.

SNET is an independent telco serving the state of Connecticut.
Through its subsidiaries, the company offers network and
information management services and communications systems, long
distance service, directly publishing and advertising services, and
cellular mobile phone and paging services.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940114/Press contact: Bill Seekamp, SNET, tel
203-771-2136)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00023)

LA Times, Pac Tel In Electronic Info Venture 01/14/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- In
Thursday's announcement of a new "electronic marketplace" being
formed by the Los Angles Times and a division of Pacific Telesis
(Pac Tel), Newsbytes has learned the Times plans to offer the
home computer version of the marketplace via Prodigy.

The graphical electronic bulletin board service (BBS) Prodigy,
formed from a partnership between Sears and IBM, has updated its
interface, which will allow the entire LA Times to be published
on Prodigy sometime this year. The electronic marketplace will be
a part of the Times' on Prodigy for which Prodigy subscribers can
pay an additional $4.95. Non-Prodigy subscribers can also access
the service for $6.95, but will be limited to only the Times'
section of the BBS. A yet-to-be-determined length of time on the
service will be offered and additional charges will be made to
those who exceed the prescribed limits.

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. Consumers without personal computers will place
phone calls to shopping assistants who will help them find
businesses and product information which can then be read to the
consumer, mailed, or faxed.

The parent company of the LA Times, Times Mirror is not only
the owner of several large newspapers, but also is the eleventh
largest cable multiple system operator. The Pacific Telesis
division, Pacific Telesis Electronic Publishing Services (PTEPS),
is also directly involved in the venture.

When asked if this venture would potentially violate the terms of
the National Information Infrastructure (NII) legislation
announced Tuesday by Vice President Al Gore due to Times Mirror
ownership of Southern California cable companies, Times spokesman
Chip Parry said the service is currently separate from the cable
operations. The broad band network planned by Pac Tel is
ubiquitously available and anyone can use it, just as the
telephone networks are now, Parry said.

In his speech at the Superhighway Summit held at the University
of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Gore expressed concern about
local telephone companies acquiring local cable companies said
the current administration will continue to bar acquisition of
existing cable companies by telephone companies within their
local service areas in order to prevent monopolies.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940114/Press Contact: Martha Goldstein, Times
Mirror, tel [phone]; Linda Healey, Pacific Telesis, tel 415-
542-4719, fax [phone]; PHOTO)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00024)

Californians To See Energy Use, Billing On TV Sets 01/14/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) --
Californians are going to get the ability to monitor their home
energy use via cable television. A pilot program between Pacific
Gas and Electric (PG&E), Tele-Communications Incorporated (TCI),
and Microsoft will test market the service to up to 2,000 homes
beginning this year in a suburb east of San Francisco, California
and other undetermined California sites.

The tests begin in Walnut Creek in two months and will expand
from there. The companies say the benefit of the service to
customers is the ability to get real-time, two-way communications
about energy use and services. For example, a customer could get
up-to-the-minute energy use and costs, obtain electronic energy
management programs to facilitate greater control over appliances
and energy bills, and pay energy bills via the system.

Energy cost analysis can amount to real savings. In fact, there are
businesses and consultants that make a living by examining
utility bills and recommending practices to save money or correct
errors.

PG&E is even talking about "real-time pricing" based on currently
available time-of-use-rates. This means customers could get
information to help them adjust gas and electricity use to
coincide with the times of day when the demand, and therefore the
price, is lower.

And PG&E says it would have the ability to know immediately about
outages of power at specific residential locations, because the
set-top box connection depends on electrical power.

Testing is expected to extend over a two-year period at a cost of
$6.2 million to PG&E, which the utility says it will have its
shareholders bear. TCI plans to connect homes via modified set-
top boxes connected to the television and to cable services and
Microsoft will provide the operating system software for the
project.

Microsoft officials say the company is developing a different
operating system for the project than has been released before,
and that operating system will not be Modular Windows. Modular
Windows was announced in 1992 and released on the Tandy VIS
player as a user interface for the television-connected device.
While the new operating system will probably also have larger
buttons and colorful icons necessary to be seen from the
viewpoint of a user five to 10 feet away, Microsoft will not
commit to any similarities between the two operating systems.

John Malone, TCI's president and chief executive officer said:
"Consumers will have a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use energy
management system. They will be able to save money on energy and
they ultimately will have access to other information highway
services as well." Other services could and probably would
include home shopping services, electronic banking, multiplayer
games, and the other plethora of services proposed for the
information superhighway.

This announcement comes on the heels of Vice President Al Gore's
assertion Tuesday the Clinton administration's proposed National
Information Infrastructure (NII) legislation would be aimed at
stopping monopolies. Concurrent with the PG&E, TCI, Microsoft
announcement, The Los Angeles Times and Pacific Telesis
Electronic Publishing Services (PTEPS) also made an announcement
concerning an electronic marketplace service for Southern
California residents to start in 1994.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940114/Press Contact: Leonard Anderson, PG&E,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Lela Cocoros, TCI, 303-267-
5273; Alison O'Brien, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-
0905)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00025)

Motorola Reports Record 4Q and Year 01/14/94
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Motorola
says it had record sales and earnings for the fourth quarter of
1993 and for the full year.

Fourth quarter corporate sales were reported at $4.99 billion, up
35 percent from the previous year, with earnings of $340 million
compared to $181 million last year. Net margin for the quarter was
6.8 percent versus the 4.9 percent margin for last year.

For all of 1993 Motorola says sales were up 28 percent to $17
billion, and earnings were $1.02 billion compared to $576 million
in 1992. Motorola, along with many other companies, changed
their accounting procedures to meet new regulations that require
reporting post-retirement benefits rather than pensions. Net
margin on sales for 1993 was 6.0 percent, up from 4.3 percent in
1992.

With earnings now being reported on a fully diluted basis,
shareholders earned $1.15 per common and common equivalent
share for the quarter and $3.55 for the year.

Gary Tooker, Motorola vice chairman and chief executive officer,
says industry's investment in products and systems for greater
productivity was a major factor in the company's success, as well
as increasing demand in emerging markets such as China. "The
broader Asia-Pacific region has been the dominant area of growth
for Motorola for many years, and we expect that to continue,"
says Tooker.

Tooker is also optimistic about growth in North America.
"Economic expansion in this region should enhance Motorola's
success in communications, automotive, and consumer markets,
among others," he said.

Motorola's General Systems Sector turned in the best
performance company wide in 93, reporting sales up 43 percent.
This division is responsible for sales of Motorola cellular phones,
and introduced its mobile cellular digital packet data radio
modem during the period. Motorola also obtained several major
contracts in Europe, the US, and the Philippines. Motorola
spokesperson George Grimsrud told Newsbytes an estimated 32
million cellular phones were in use worldwide at the end of 1993
compared to 23 million at the end of 92. Motorola does not
disclose its estimated market share.

The company's Information Systems Group turned in the poorest
performance, reporting a decline in sales of two percent. "That's
just a continuation of what's happening in the modem industry,"
said Grimsrud. He told Newsbytes the modem market is eroding,
and Motorola hasn't introduced its new networking products yet.
"It's a market in transition," says Grimsrud.

International Data Corporation communications industry analyst
Linda Fitzpatrick told Newsbytes modem list prices have been
dropping for the past two years and while the final figures aren't
in yet, modem revenues were estimated to grow less than one
percent in 1993. However Fitzpatrick says many modem makers
are making money. "Shipments are increasing, and a lot of
vendors are making a lot of money in this market."

The Semiconductor Products group sales increased 28 percent to
$5.7 billion. Motorola said all major market regions posted
double-digit order growth, led by Asia-Pacific. Motorola began
sampling the PowerPC 603 microprocessor for use in notebook
computers and other battery powered products. Several
companies, including Microsoft, IBM, Apple, and Sun
Microsystems, say they will port operating systems to the
PowerPC architecture. PowerPC is being developed and
promoted by a consortium of hardware and software companies.

Automotive, Energy and Control Group, formerly known as the
Automotive and Industrial Electronics Group, reported sales up
39 percent as well as higher operating profits. This group includes
sales of crystal, filters, and battery products to other business
segments as well as component and energy products for the
automotive market.

The Government and Systems Technology Group reported sales
up 32 percent to $858 million, while the Communications
segment, which includes mobile radio, paging, and wireless data
products, said its sales rose 24 percent to $4.8 billion. It also
received an order for communications products from the
Republic of China that the company says is the largest
international order in the sector's history. The sector also
introduced the Visar portable two-way radio, the industry's
smallest FM portable.

(Jim Mallory/19940114/Press contact: George Grimsrud, Motorola
Corporate Communications, 708-576-2346)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MSP)(00026)

Vice-President Talks To 900 Via Computer 01/14/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- US Vice-President
Albert Gore entered cyberspace Thursday, and got high marks
for his performance. Gore used a computer network Thursday
to field questions from people all over the world who, like
him, were signed on to the commercial CompuServe Information
Service, based in Ohio but accessible in more than 100 countries.

Gore signed on from his West Wing office and answered questions
from people as far away as Paris, France. Some 900 people
monitored the conference from computers as far away as Israel.

The event was also televised on C-SPAN, the congressional
television network.

While CompuServe has had top computer industry officials in
conferences, and occasionally artists and scientists, Gore
is the most senior political official ever to participate
in such a conference.

Only 300, however, had the ability to ask questions, and the
pace of questions was controlled by the moderator, William
Allman, a science writer for US News and World Report.

The magazine has a forum on CompuServe and organized Gore's
appearance there. Computer conferencing proved to be a relatively
slow way to communicate, partly because the participants type their
questions and answers at computer keyboards. In just over half
an hour Gore, who proved to be an excellent typist, managed to
answer 11 questions.

Even as the Vice-President was preparing to begin, dozens of
users, unfamiliar with conferencing, were typing "Hello?"
or "Does this work?" and asking for instructions. Without
their spell-checkers or opportunity to review a question
before sending it into the electronic conference area, many
users made typing errors which made it even more difficult
to figure out what they were saying.

Gore came on the conference at 5:15 Eastern Standard Time,
15 minutes late.

To the first question, about the "virtual communities"
created by computer networks, Gore said a "virtual community"
exists inside the White house, but does not yet have the
links with the outside world that it would like. To a
question about the dangers of spending too much time
with a computer instead of people, Gore said it was better
than spending the time in front of a "non-interactive screen,"
such as broadcast television.

Asked where he thought the so-called information superhighway
would have the greatest impact, Gore replied: "Schools.
Classrooms. At-home learning." A handicapped user asked
whether people could hold down jobs at home and work via
networks. Gore noted that the sysop (manager) of the White
House's forum on Compuserve is deaf and blind.

"There will be many opportunities for the disabled to use
their minds productively on networks," Gore said.

The American debate on the health care system may seem remote
from the information superHighway, but Gore said high-speed
computer links could make it possible long-distance diagnosis,
matching patients with the appropriate specialist, and
transferring financial information faster and cheaper. Patients
may be able to diagnose some problems themselves although, he
quipped, "we may have to add a little for extra eyestrain
treatments."

Asked how poor school districts might be able to connect to the
network, Gore said the administration is challenging technology
and telecommunications companies to provide free access to
every classroom in their service area. By the year 2000,
he said, every classroom and library in America should have
network access.

Said Gore as he signed off: "I loved it. I'm just sorry that
it is impossible to answer everyone. Let's do it again sometime
soon."

(Paul de Groot/19940114)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00027)

Learning Company 2Q Up, Competition To Slow Future Earns 01/14/94
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- The Learning
Company, makers of educational software, said second quarter
revenues are up 43 percent and net income is up 33 percent. While
the future still looks bright, company officials said investors
shouldn't expect as large a growth rate in the next two quarters
due to "challenges" in the educational software market.

Revenues were up to $11.3 million from the $7.9 million figure in
the same period last year and net income increased to $1.5
million from $1.1 million. The company also increased its number
of average common and common equivalent shares outstanding from
last quarter 1,200,000 shares for a total of 7,761,000 shares. As
a result of the increase in the outstanding number of shares,
earnings per share were 19 cents per share in 1993 compared to 17
cents in 1992.

Bill Dinsmore, president and chief executive officer (CEO) said:
"In the December quarter, our revenue growth resulted from strong
demand for our product line, the continuing expansion of the
installed base of personal computers in homes and schools, the
release of eight new products, and our recent acquisition of the
Hyperglot foreign language software company."

However, Dinsmore outlined problems that could effect the
company's earnings growth in the next two quarters. "The industry
is becoming more competitive. It is undergoing a transition from
a heavily DOS-dominated environment in the home market to a
market characterized by a broad spectrum of competing and
incompatible floppy-disk and compact-disc (CD)-based platforms.
Although the overall demand for educational software continues to
increase, growth in the number of educational software retail
outlets is slowing and changes are continuing to occur within the
school distribution channel."

The Learning Company (NASDAQ: LRNG) is probably best known for
its Reader Rabbit software family of titles. This quarter the
Fremont, California-based company introduced three compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM) titles, four Windows products, and two
new titles: Student Writing Center for Windows and Super Solvers
Gizmos & Gadgets.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940114/Press Contact: Sharon Fitzpatrick, The
Learning Company, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact: The Learning Company 800-852-2255, 510-792-2101)


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

Borland To Buy Client/Server Report Tool Reportsmith 01/14/94
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- Borland
announced plans to purchase reporting and query tool developer
Reportsmith of San Mateo, California for about $18 million.
Reportsmith markets a product of the same name for database
report generation in client/server computing environments under
Microsoft Windows.

The deal will be a stock swap, with Borland exchanging 1.2
million shares of common stock for Reportsmith's stock.

Borland says it is attracted to the company because of the "live"
data client server reporting capability. This allows interactive
formatting and editing of the data itself, rather than the
"place-holder" data employed by most tools.

A whopping 70 percent of corporate management information systems
(MIS) backlog consists of reporting tasks required by end users,
according to the Norwell, Massachusetts-based research firm BIS
Strategic Decisions. This is because only 15 percent of users who
require database reports are familiar enough with using a
database programming language produce the types of reports they
need, Borland estimated.

Reportsmith was founded in 1992 as Indigo Software Corporation.
The 28-employee company boasts installations of its product in
over 500 companies worldwide and is shipping this month version
2.0 of the product. The Reportsmith software also won Byte
Magazine's Best of Comdex, Fall 1992 and was honored by Windows
Sources magazine in the July 1993 edition.

Borland won't say if it plans to incorporate Reportsmith into
dBASE for Windows, which the company is no longer even talking
about release dates for since it has been nearly three years
since it was announced. Reportsmith does work with both with both
dBASE and Paradox file formats. Officials for Borland said until
the acquisition meets the required governmental approvals, it
will not announce plans for the product.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940114/Press Contact: Sandra Hawker, Borland,
tel [phone]; Lori Evans, Evans Communications for
Reportsmith, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00029)

UK - VNU Acquires Learned Information 01/14/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- VNU, the Dutch publishing
house, has acquired a majority interest in Learned Information, the
conference and exhibitions company that specializes in new media
information.

Learned Information is best known for its International Online
Information Meeting, which is held in London every December. Last
year's meeting attracted a record 9,849 visitors to see 256
exhibitors. Learned claims that this made the event the largest of
its type anywhere in the world.

Publications produced by Learned Information include World Review,
the monthly newspaper, and Online plus CD-ROM Review. The company,
which was formed in 1973, currently employs around 35 staff in
Oxford and London.

Under the acquisition announced by VNU today, the company's founder,
Dr Roger Bilboul, remains as chairman of Learned, but will be based
in the US as president of Disclosure, a 100 percent subsidiary of
VNU. Disclosure is an online information provider that employs 600
staff around the world.

(Steve Gold/19940114/Press & Public Contact: VNU Business
Publications - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00030)

Retix To Acquire Calios 01/14/93
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 14 (NB) -- As local
area networks (LANs) become more complex, there is increasing
demand for sophisticated switching capabilities. Open network
vendor Retix is quick to admit it, and as a result, has announced an
agreement "in principle" to acquire LAN switching vendor Calios
Inc.

Ron Rudolph, financial officer for Retix, told Newsbytes that, "The
whole Ethernet switch business is a hot market for '94. We were
primarily drawn to Calios because of the stackable Ethernet
switch and the stackability feature itself, although we pick up
some other products that are complimentary to Retix products
and can be pushed through our sales products. We have a switch,
but the stackability feature (is the important element)."

Calios (formerly known as Raycom Systems Inc.) will be acquired
in exchange for about 800,000 shares of Retix common stock,
although the company says that the exact amount will be
"determined prior to closing." As usual with such acquisitions, it
is subject to "a number of conditions, including approval by
Calios shareholders and state securities agencies," said Retix.

In reply to a question from Newsbytes concerning any discontinued
products, Rudolph said that, "Over time there will be. Our original
intention is to market their existing OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) Token Ring bridges and extenders, and their fiber
multiplexors. Over time, some of that will be de-emphasized,
because we are going to put most of our attention on enhancements
to the switch stack product and to integrating some of that
technology with our router products."

He continued: "Going forward, there are commitments and contracts
in place, and there are some products we will be able to use in
our channels." He added that he would not identify the ones likely
to go.

Calios is a privately held company based in Simi Valley, California,
and a supplier of stackable Ethernet switching products, Token Ring
bridges and fiber optic multiplexers.

Retix is supplier of open networking products to the end user and
OEM (original equipment manufacturing) markets.

In terms of restructuring and layoffs planned, Rudolph told
Newsbytes that, "You would expect some of that. We are certainly
acquiring the company primarily for its engineering and development
expertise, and not to acquire it to run as an autonomous subsidiary.
So we will integrate the marketing, sales and administration into
Retix. So we would expect some reductions. They currently have
45 employees."

In November Newsbytes reported the Retix was claiming that
surveys indicated that it was the fastest growing router vendor
in Western Europe. At the time, the company claimed that it had
increased its share of the UK router market to 13.5 percent. The
company said that the results make it second only to Cisco in
the UK, with its 22.7 percent market share.

According to an International Data Corp. (IDC) report, Retix
is the leader in the remote bridge market in Western Europe with
29.1 percent share of the market, putting Retix ahead of IBM
which has a 15.95 percent market share.

(Ian Stokell/19940114/Press Contact: Lynda Kern,
310-828-3400, Retix)