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/nb012194

Text File | 1994-02-20 | 83KB | 1,852 lines

(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00001)

KDD Plans Global High-Speed Network 01/21/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Japan's international telephone
and telecommunication firm KDD has unveiled a one-trillion
yen ($9 billion) multimedia project designed to create a worldwide
network of undersea optical fiber cables. AT&T is expected to
be involved in the plan.

According to KDD President Hiroshi Ichihara, KDD will lay cables
under the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic
Ocean. These cables will be able to carry 10 times more data
than today's undersea cables. When combined with more
space satellites, the network would be the largest
telecommunications network worldwide.

KDD's multimedia telecommunication services will include the
transmission of fax and data, as well as overseas news
with simultaneous language translation in Japanese.

By the year 2010, KDD is planning to spend one trillion yen
($9 billion). For optical fiber cables, the firm will spend 500
billion yen ($4.50 billion) and 50 billion yen ($450 million)
will be allocated for space satellites; 250 billion yen ($2.30
billion) will go for telephone switching devices and 200
billion yen ($1.8 billion) for research and development of next
generation telecommunication systems.

KDD is working with AT&T to develop next generation telephone
switching devices which make use of asynchronous transmission
mode. It is expected that KDD will link with more overseas firms
to create its ambitious new project.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930121/Press Contact: KDD, +81-3-
3347-6934, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00002)

NEC Promises 256Mb DRAM Samples In 1995 01/21/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- NEC plans to release
engineering samples of 256-megabit dynamic random access memory
(DRAM) chips in April, 1995. If it meets its target date,
NEC could be the first to release samples of this high
capacity memory device.

NEC has changed its scheduled release date for the
sample 256M chip, moving it up six months earlier than
was initially planned. By doing this, NEC will be able
to provide customers with longer evaluation periods, it
claims.

Most Japanese chip makers developed a prototype version
of the 256Mb DRAM chip in spring of 1993. Toshiba, Mitsubishi,
Fujitsu and NEC are expected to release engineering sample
versions as early as 1996.

NEC's 64-megabit DRAM chip is being prepared for commercial
release this summer, also earlier than previously forecast.
Other Japanese chip makers are planning to ship commercial
sample versions of the 64M DRAM this fall.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930121/Press Contact: NEC, +81-3-
3451-2974, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00003)

Japan Trade Talks Heat Up 01/21/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Although US
Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentson had only been scheduled to
discuss trade with Chinese officials, he has made a last minute
change of plan and will visit Tokyo.

US trade negotiators have been working for years to pry open
access to the Japanese market and earlier this week Tokyo
apparently agreed (not for the first time) to open up its multi-
billion dollar construction market to competitive international
bidding.

US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor announced that
the Japanese government has agreed that as of April 1 (April
Fool's day in the US) it will open 20 percent of its government
construction projects to international bidders. Mr. Kantor had
earlier given Japan until today to act on opening up this market
or face US-imposed trade sanctions.

Whether Mr. Bentsen's change of plans is due to some new and as
yet unknown strain in US-Japanese trade relations, or to
highlight the new construction agreement is not yet known, but
the Secretary appeared on the CNN Larry King Live program to
criticize Japanese complaints about so-called US "managed
trade" while Japan has, in his words, "the largest export surplus
in the world and one of the most restricted markets."

In advance of February 11's scheduled trade summit between
Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and President Clinton
here in Washington, there have been some inklings of an opening
in japanese markets, but tough trade talks regarding access to
Japanese medical equipment and telecommunications equipment
markets are still going on and, according to Sec. Bentson, "there
has been very little headway made in the talks."

Earlier this month it was learned that Japanese purchases of
imported semiconductors had fallen below the 20 percent target
level.

As he was leaving Bejing, Secretary Bentson reported that Chinese
government officials had agreed to inspections of several prisons
where the US contends that prisoners have illegally been making
goods for export to the US. Mr. Bentson said that he hopes
China's human rights situation involving Tibet, emigration, and
dissidents improves enough so that the annual MFN (most favored
nation) trade status debates will not continue to be necessary.

(John McCormick/19940120)


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00004)

Review of - Novell Certification Handbook 01/21/94

From: Windcrest/McGraw-Hill, Blue Ridge Summit,
PA 17294-0850.

Price: $24.95

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (4 being highest; 1 being lowest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by Ian Stokell

Summary: Invaluable reading for prospective Novell certified
professionals.

======

REVIEW

======

The Novell Certification Handbook is designed for those brave souls
who have either committed to studying for, or are considering
studying for, a Novell NetWare certification. As far as I'm concerned,
anyone considering working towards such a goal needs all the
help they can get! As a result, this book comes highly recommended
by yours truly.

The book is billed as intended for those also considering taking the
exams, but you have to be pretty dedicated to read through the
whole thing if you're not committed to it, because it can get very
dry to the outsider. This is because sections of the book deal with
the mechanics and administrative tasks involved in keeping track
of the large amounts of paperwork required to complete the various
certification processes, especially with the Certified NetWare
Engineer (CNE) examinations.

I would therefore be inclined to say that the book is really set up
for those who have already decided to throw caution to the wind
and embark on the quest, and need a helping hand.

I like the way the book is written and presented, with many
useful pointers and tips, and a number of charts designed to track
things such as individual check-lists and a Goals Worksheet. There
is also a section of sample tests, and an appendix with important
telephone numbers, sources of additional information, individual
course descriptions, and a glossary.

There are four different Novell certifications: CNA (Certified
NetWare Administrator); CNE; ECNA (Enterprise Certified NetWare
Engineer); and CNI (Certified NetWare Instructor). The book gives
a good breakdown of the differences between the various
certifications (with CNA being the "easiest" to obtain, as it
requires the least amount of exams) and the requirements for
each. For example, CNE requires passing multiple specialized
exams, with each being worth so many credits (e.g. three). You
need to obtain a designated number of credits to become a CNE,
much like the way a college is set up.

However, the book goes deeper than just listing the requirements
for each exam and how to keep track of the mounting paperwork.
It also offers insights into such areas as financing the certification
process (it is not cheap, but presumably worth the cash outlay),
training and studying for the tests, how to take good notes, an
examination of study-time required, and developing good study
habits. It also has a section on (gulp!) what to do if you fail an
exam. Additionally, it offers advice on how to market yourself
once the certification has been obtained.

Chapters include: Getting started; Understanding the certification
process; Learning the trade; Taking the tests; Getting the
paperwork finished; Using your certification to your advantage;
Planning for continuing education requirements; and The
Consulting approach.

So how do I rate the Novell Certification Handbook? Very highly.
While some of it gets to be heavy going, with the details about
keeping track of the paperwork, it is that very information that
will prove to be extremely valuable to those studying for the
certifications. As I said already, anyone studying for a Novell
certification needs all the help they can get.

I would even go as far as to say that this book is indispensable
reading for potential Novell NetWare administrators, engineers,
or instructors. As a result, I give it top marks.

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

PUMA RATING

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

PERFORMANCE: 4.0 Well written and full of useful information.

USEFULNESS: 4.0. Extremely valuable reading.

AVAILABILITY: 4.0. As a Windcrest/McGraw-Hill book, it is
available, or can be ordered, from nearly everywhere.

(Ian Stokell/19931220)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(WAS)(00005)

Review of - Golden Retriever For Windows 01/21/94

Runs on: Windows 3.1-compatible system with 2 megabytes (MB) of
memory and 1 MB of free hard disk space. Novell Netware 2.2, 3.X,
and 4.x compatible (but not required).

From: Above Software, 2698 White Road #200, Irvine, CA 92714.
Phone [phone] or 714-851-2283, fax [phone], BBS 714-
851-5102, CompuServe 7133,2125.

Price: $99 (single-user), $359 (five-workstation), $699 (10-
workstation).

PUMA Rating: 4 on a scale 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick

Summary: A powerful document manager that stores, tracks, and
locates files for almost any program and supports 256-character
file names.

======

REVIEW

======

There are two closely related golden rules of computing - your
hard disk is never large enough and no matter how well you plan
ahead you won't be able to find that critical document when you
need it - at least not without a long search.

Golden Retriever won't do anything to increase your hard disk's
capacity, this isn't a file compression utility, but if you have
a lot of files ranging from word processor creations to
spreadsheets, then this may be just the software you need.

There are ways to use long (meaningful) file names in some
operating systems, but this usually involves a complete
reformatting of your system so it will accept the long file
names. Golden lets you enter a file name like "Third-quarter-
financial-results.txt," or one about ten times longer, whatever
you need to make the file name meaningful.

Windows installation is simple and fast, but it really isn't
ready to run until you have defined one or more file folders in
one of the six file drawers which make up the organizational
paradigm used to manage the files.

To proceed you name the folder, then select the program or
programs whose files will be included in the particular folder
(you can place every related document, image, or data file in the
same folder).

The software then searches for the appropriate files and places
them in the folder where they will remain until you delete or
move them.

At this point you have a file list screen for that particular
folder and the various icons provide all the usual print, view,
file management, and edit options, along with the important
"fetch" which is a search tool with a number of options to help
narrow or speed the search.

Fetch lets you specify creation date and update ranges, the file
name, program compatibility, subject, author, recipient, status,
comments, and/or a text screen to look for.

Golden Retriever then displays the file names and offers a number
of options including a quick "view" of the document, copying,
moving, printing options, and a one-step launching of the
appropriate program with the selected file(s) loaded for use.

I found that the program was easy to configure and, after some
work arranging and labeling files, it provided an excellent way
to locate just the right file from those thousands of items in my
archives.

What it doesn't do is help manage files on removable media so if
you have as many files as I do it may not be all that useful.

If all your files are on permanently mounted hard drives then
Golden Retriever is very useful and if you use very large optical
drives or keep only related files on smaller drives like my 128
MB magneto-optical removable discs, then it will also work with
removable media providing you remember to load the correct disc
before you begin a search.

The software claims that "fetch," the search feature (nearly
everything echoes the golden retriever dog metaphor, including
the use of bones in icons), is extremely fast and will deal with
200 files per second. This, of course, depends somewhat on the
speed of your computer

For example, it took Golden Retriever a full 8 seconds running
on a 16 MHz 80386SX to determine that "now is the time" was not
located in the only four text files which had been stored in any
of the file folders. Surprisingly, it actually took a bit
longer when I specified that only a single draw be searched,
eliminating any possibility that the search was taking extra time
to go through the empty file drawers.

Overall this is a useful and well-designed program that has a
place in many office work environments, but don't get too carried
away believing the speed claims unless you have a very fast
computer and hard disk.

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

PUMA RATING

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

PERFORMANCE: 3 Well designed, but not as fast as claimed.

USEFULNESS: 4 Combining the file folder metaphor with automatic
application launching and a powerful search tool makes this
highly useful.

MANUAL: 4 Nothing special, but sufficient for novice or
experienced user to install and use the program.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Well-established company.

(John McCormick/19931203/Press Contact: Steven J. Leon,
Technopolis Communications, 310-670-5606, fax [phone]
CompuServe 72050,700, MCI Mail 450-4326)


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00006)

Review of - Mailing List Services On Your Home-Based PC 01/21/94

From: By Linda Rohrbough, ISBN 0-8306-4474-1, Windcrest/McGraw-Hill,
Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0850

Price: $14.95 (paperback)

PUMA Rating: 4 on a scale 1=lowest to 4=highest

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: John McCormick, 01/21/04

Summary: An excellent introduction to a legitimate home-based
business which doesn't require a big investment or exceptional
computer skills.

======

REVIEW

======

It is important to understand from the start that Ms. Rohrbough's
book describes a legitimate business, one which, with hard work
by someone serious about starting their own home business, can
become a very profitable operation, without any major investment
in computer hardware or software.

We have all seen the advertisements offering to show people "how
to make big money at home" stuffing envelopes and already know
that those are just scams, but the business outlined in this book
is definitely NOT more of the same.

While you won't become a millionaire sitting in your easy chair
just from reading it, this book does show you everything you need
to know about setting up a profitable home-based mailing list
business.

The major difference between selling mailing lists or mailing
services and those envelope stuffing scams is that generating and
maintaining mailing lists for businesses is a legitimate service
which companies will pay you to do, while the back-of-magazine
offers are actually disguising commission sales operations where
you only get paid if your mailings bring in orders.

That said, just what does this book offer?

Mailing list services, the business of producing and maintaining
clean (good addresses with few duplicates) lists of names and
addresses for direct mail advertising, is a big business and one
for which many local businesses near you probably need help.
While it isn't a difficult business, it is a specialized
one which requires you to constantly keep up with changes in
postal regulations and new technology.

This book explains who needs mailing lists, how to get started in
the business, what hardware and software you will need, how to
build and maintain a database of addresses, how to sell your
service, and how to deal with the post office.

Complete with advice from people who are already making money in
this business, "Mailing List Services on your Home-Based PC" is
packed with just the information a serious home business operator
would spend weeks searching out on their own.

Just one example of the information to be found in this book
should show you how helpful it is.

As anyone starting a new business knows, learning to price your
product correctly is one of the biggest challenges, but Ms.
Rohrbough provides the name and address of a company which
publishes a standard pricing guide for mailing services and small
printers.

Since many mailing list producers will want to expand their
services to offer some desktop publishing or other services to
the same clients, the Small Press Catalog from Franklin
Estimating is just the sort of tool you need to help you present
a professional image to potential clients.

Other useful information includes advice on protecting your
mailing lists from theft and information about related services
you can offer.

Linda Rohrbough is the Los Angeles bureau chief for Newsbytes
News Network.

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

PUMA RATING

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

PERFORMANCE: 4 Well-arranged and easy-to-read.

USEFULNESS: 4 Packed with the sort of difficult-to-find
information which really helps the person starting a business.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Windcrest/McGraw-Hill markets its books widely
through book clubs and stores.

(John McCormick/19940121/Press Contact: Kim Martin, 717-794-2191
or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00007)

Unisys To Market Retix Products In Europe And US 01/21/94
GUILDFORD, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Retix, the worldwide
supplier of Open Networking products, has announced that Unisys,
operating via its Connect Service, will be marketing its boundary
networking, multiport router, and bridge products. Newsbytes
understands that the marketing deal applies to the UK and Europe, as
well as in the US.

Under the agreement, Unisys Connect will provide and install the
hardware, as well as supply support and services for Retix routers
and bridges. Retix claims that its products can offer powerful
central routing, economical regional or remote site connectivity, as
well as cost-saving features.

"The combination of Retix's innovative boundary networking products
with Unisys' systems integration skills will extend the range of
solutions we can provide to our customers, helping them to achieve a
greater competitive edge and improved differentiation," commented
Graham Eales, marketing manager for Connect Services at Unisys.

The Unisys Connect Service claims to offer customers a single point
of contact for networking gear by providing a mixture of Unisys
products with support, service functions and other vendors
equipment.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940120/Press & Public Contact: Retix UK - Tel: +44-
483-300-600; Unisys UK Connect Services - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00008)

Medicare Super Network To Speed Billing, Payment 01/21/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- GTE Government
Systems has been tapped by Health and Human Services to build a
new Medicare billing super system designed to speed electronic
billing and payment of the more one billion bills handled by the
government each year.

The new system, scheduled to be fully operational by the end of
the decade, should greatly ease the paperwork burden now
experienced by many doctors' offices - a burden so great that
some doctors routinely refuse to treat Medicare patients.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala and Health
Care Financing Administrator Bruce Vladeck announced
the $19 million six-year contract under which GTE will start
construction of the new billing system in 1996.

Secretary Shalala said that there are now 14 different computer
systems and 79 different companies which process Medicare bills
for the 36 million Americans qualified for the federal health
insurance plan. A major complaint about the present system is
that the separate companies, under contract to provide billing
services, often have different rules as to just what should be
paid and what should be disallowed - thus a nationwide
federal insurance plan pays different amounts for the same
treatments in varying regions.

The new Medicare Transaction System is expected to eliminate many
of these billing problems as well as make it easier for doctors
and nursing homes to bill for services rendered. The contract
processors now get more than $1.6 billion each year just to
process the bills, so a consolidated, centralized system should
also save money.

(John McCormick/19940120/)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00009)

Computers - Tips For Coping With The Cold 01/21/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Since computers use
such a small amount of power compared to many office machines
such as copiers or almost any industrial machinery, businesses
and offices relying primarily on computer technology may be
remaining open despite power-conservation attempts. Also, many
essential activities involve computers, so it is important to
understand how users can both conserve power and keep their
equipment operating during these extreme conditions.

Perhaps the biggest dangers to computer equipment are the
brownouts which have hit some areas. These power reductions
as they have occurred in the mid-Atlantic states, are on
the order of 5 percent and may not be noticeable in some
offices, depending on the lighting, but they will place an
extra load on computer power supplies, especially those in
less expensive personal computers.

Even if the computer seems to be operating properly during a
brownout, any slight additional power problem can easily cause
loss of data or a system crash. Just operating for extended
periods at less than standard voltages can cause damage to some
computer components.

This sort of problem is not ameliorated by power filters or
strips which are designed to block power spikes or surges. The
only thing that will help in a brownout is a large capacity power
conditioner which can automatically boost or lower line voltage
as needed.

In more extreme cases only a full UPS or uninterruptible power
supply will provide enough reserve power to smooth out brownouts
and instantaneous interruptions, ensuring both that systems will
continue to operate without crashes due to power interruptions
and that the hardware will be protected from physical damage.

If your installation lacks such brownout protection then non-
essential computers should definitely be kept turned off during
periods when brownouts may occur - this conserves power and helps
protect both computer hardware and data.

A reasonable degree of cold won't in itself cause any problem for
an operating computer, except possibly in the floppy drives where
cold lubricants may cause drag, thus slower than standard disk
rotation in seldom-used drives. Hard and CD-ROM drives won't
normally be affected by cold down to about zero, provided they
are already running. This is because computers and moving
components will generate enough internal heat to prevent most
troubles.

In cases where offices have lost power and workers are coming
into a very cold environment and need to start up cold computers
it is important to not try and start systems until they have been
warmed to at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This may
mean an hour or even longer in 50 degree or higher room
temperatures if the machines were quite cold.

If they were actually below zero then they should be warmed for a
minimum of several hours.

Attempting to start a hard drive computer when it is very cold
can cause damage to the hard drive or it may simply fail to boot
properly because of the cold.

There will also be condensation problems caused when very cold
equipment is moved from a building or office where power has
failed to a normal temperature office. In this sort of situation
computer equipment shouldn't be plugged in for several hours
after the move. This isn't as likely where the entire office was
cold and the air is warmed along with the equipment.

Battery-operated computers won't work well if they are too cold,
both because cold batteries have lowered power capacity and
because many screens are adversely affected by cold.

To conserve power in an office it is important to turn off any
equipment not being used. Copiers and laser printers are normally
kept running all day long because they require some initial heat
up time, but when attempting to conserve power the print and copy
tasks should be bundled and equipment only turned on occasionally
during the day.

To conserve power, computer monitors should be turned off during
lunch and any other period when they will not be used for more
than about ten minutes. The usual screen blankers are NOT a
substitute for actually turning off the monitors.

Computers and monitors are not normally turned off when they
aren't being used for brief periods because of the extra wear and
tear on components from being turned on and off, but during power
emergencies you must consider different priorities.

Computers should probably still not be turned off for such brief
periods of non-use because it may actually take more power to
restart them than to keep them operating.

This might also be an excellent time to turn off overhead lights
and perhaps discover that computer workstations really need local
lighting instead of eye-straining general office lighting which
was appropriate for the days of eye shades, adding machines, and
typewriters.

This advice and information is offered by the Washington Bureau
Chief of Newsbytes. He has been working with computers since 1964
and has had extensive experience in cold-temperature and other
adverse condition computer operation.

(John McCormick/19940120/)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00010)

HK Telecom In Satellite Ag't With Television New Zealand 01/21/94
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Hongkong Telecom is
supplying Television New Zealand with a full-time uplink to its
Pacific satellite transponder to help it complete its worldwide
satellite network.

The uplink will also provide the company with a gateway into Asia
at a time when it is actively promoting itself in the region.

The five-year deal provides TVNZ with access to a satellite footprint
which stretches from Thailand to the West Coast of the United
States, and from New Zealand in the Southern Hemisphere to Alaska
in the Northern.

The service expands the already sophisticated TVNZ satellite network
by joining the Hong Kong uplink to other gateways in London,
Vancouver, Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland.

"The key thing for TVNZ is that the uplink gives us a gateway into
Asia where there is a high growth rate and where we already have
a great deal of commercial interest," said Jon Blomfield, general
manager of International Operations with TVNZ.

TVNZ is a major partner in the recently launched Asian Business News,
an 18 hour per day business channel which covers Hong Kong,
Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines. An uplink
from Singapore to Hong Kong's TVB was commissioned in November.

Hongkong Telecom is among the few satellite providers in the region
to offer its customers broadcast quality digital compression techniques
rather than analogue. It is also the only international
telecommunications provider in the region capable of handling
television broadcasting.

"What turned the decision in our favor over other regional satellite
companies was the fact that the programming which TVNZ is
interested in can only be sourced in Hong Kong," said Gilbert Pun,
manager of International TV with Hongkong Telecom.

Hong Kong is the largest teleport, or television transit point, in
Asia. Hongkong Telecom currently feeds TVB programs by satellite
to Taipei, Vancouver and Los Angeles; Beijing's CCTV to the United
States; and American networks ESPN and CNN throughout the Asia
Pacific region.

TVNZ and Hongkong Telecom have worked together successfully for a
number of years, said Blomfield, with Hongkong Telecom providing
TVNZ with temporary uplinks for special occasions, usually sports
or news related.

"I would say unreservedly that we have always had a good working
relationship with Hongkong Telecom," said Blomfield. "The company
has a very businesslike approach which augers well for our future
relationship."

The agreement includes a future provision for a two-way circuit
so that TVNZ can both receive and transmit programs. Hongkong
Telecom is also interested in the possibility of providing an
uplink to TVNZ to enable it to cover the Indian Ocean region.

(Keith Cameron 19940114 Press Contact: Judy Inn, HK Telecom,
852 - 888 6374)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00011)

Sybase Takes Over HK Distributor In China 01/21/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Sybase Inc., specialists in
enterprise client-server software, has made a significant China market
investment with the acquisition of its Hong Kong and PRC distributor and the
purchase of a major stake in Pacific Technology (Holdings) Ltd.

Sybase will now run wholly-owned subsidiary offices in Hong Kong,
Beijing and Shanghai while supporting Pacific Technology's role of
providing complementary client-server products and services.

The buy-out by Sybase comes three years after it granted exclusive
distribution rights in Hong Kong and PRC to HCL Leung & Associates.

In the PRC, Sybase installations include the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications, the Ministry of Water Resources, China Bureau
of Environmental Protection, Bank of Communications, Bank of
Agriculture, China State Bureau of Foreign Currency Control, the
Ministry of Railways and China Nansham Development Company Ltd.,
(Chiwan Port).

"With the support of Sybase we will be expanding Pacific Technology
Group's operations into the PRC and developing new complementary
business areas," said Gary Leung, chairman of Pacific Technology.

"Information Technology usage in China is growing rapidly in sectors
such as banking, transportation, natural resources and government
agencies. Since in many cases there are no legacy, host-based computer
systems to contend with, Chinese companies have the opportunity to
adopt the latest client-server technology. To do so, however, they
require the kind of tools and expertise that we can provide
through Pacific Technology."

Hong Kong-based Pacific Technology is a holding company for a number of
client-server oriented product distribution and service companies.
Members of the Pacific Technology Group include The Client-Server
Institute, Hong Kong's first training center dedicated to the
client-server computing model; NextStep Solutions Ltd., an IT
consulting business; Citibank; Chase Manhattan Bank; Bank of China;
and the Yien Yieh Bank.

Mr Kenneth Lau has been appointed general manager of Sybase
Hong Kong. He has held a series of technical, sales and managerial
position in the Hong Kong information technology industry since
joining IBM in 1976. Most recently he was general manager of
SAP China/Hong Kong having been sales manager for Hitachi Data
Systems in the territory.

Sybase's three new executives also worked together at Oracle
Systems in the late 1980s. Together they helped establish the
market for relational database technology in Hong Kong and the
PRC, creating a broad base of experienced resellers to develop
industry specific applications tailored to local requirements.

(Keith Cameron 19940114 Press Contact: Gary Leung, Sybase,
852 - 576 2878)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00012)

New ISYS Text Retrieval Handles Extra Formats 01/21/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Often called the world's
leading PC text retrieval package, an upgrade of ISYS has
been released that handles new versions of some popular PC
applications. It is available in DOS, Windows and Pen
Windows versions.

Mark Reiss, managing director of Odyssey Development of Sydney,
Australia, which manufactures ISYS, told Newsbytes, "Text
retrieval is still an emerging technology for most users and
we rely on user feedback for ideas on the direction ISYS takes
in its development. This is certainly the case in the latest
release where deficiencies identified by users in ISYS 3.0
warranted an interim release of the software. There are a
number of enhancements - some with general appeal."

The new product has a WordPerfect 6.0 file format, a macro for
calling ISYS from WordPerfect, a dBase IV format interface, the
ability for dBase and Foxpro interfaces to optionally index the
fielded information in records, PKZip 2.0 file support plus added
support for SGML format files. What is missing is compatibility
with Word for Windows 6.0.

"We had hoped to ship ISYS 3.1 with the new Word 6.0 interface but
unfortunately the Word file format specification was not available
from Microsoft in time for our development phase. We will be
releasing a special maintenance release for Word users later this
year," said Reiss.

The upgrade price for ISYS 3.1 varies from country to country. It
is AUS$25 in Australia for single packs or AUS$10 per network
permit. The full package is AUS$525 for the single pack and
AUS$995 for the network starter pack.

(Paul Zucker/19940120/Contact: Odyssey Development in the US on
tel. ++1-303-394 0091, fax. [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00013)

Indian Satellite Launch Marred By Software Snag 01/21/94
BANGALORE, INDIA, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- A software error in the
pitch control loop of the on-board guidance and control
processor led to the failure of the Indian Space Research
Organization's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's (PSLV)
maiden flight last September, according to the Failure Analysis
Committee which probed the setback.

Such an error occurred only when the control command exceeded the
specified maximum limiting value. However, the deficiencies
noted were "quite normal" for the first few developmental flights
of large and complex rockets like PSLV, and "ISRO should have no
difficulty in operationalizing PSLV launch vehicle very soon,"
the FAC said.

The 275-ton, four-stage launch vehicle was slated to put the
850 kg class remote sensing satellite IRS-1E into the polar orbit.
The pre-set limit value was exceeded following disturbances
experienced during the transition between the second and third
stages of rocket, pointed out FAC. These disturbances were
caused by the programmed nulling of the second stage 3.7
seconds before the ignition of the third stage, leaving the
disturbances during the above period of second stage
tail-off uncorrected.

The FAC has, however, confirmed that all the major systems
which were integrated into the PSLV, both hardware and software,
and the giant solid booster and the liquid propulsion systems
"worked as planned" and there was no lacunae in the rocket's
design.

Preparations for the next developmental flight of the PSLV,
scheduled for the third quarter of this year, are on after
incorporating the FAC's recommendations.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19940121)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00014)

Roundup - Stories Carried By Other Media This Week 01/21/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Roundup is a brief
look at some computer stories carried in other publications
received here this past week.

January's Boardwatch, Jack Rickard's magazine covering
the online world, carries a detailed look at the Planet Systems'
satellite direct feed system that provides BBS operators with
inexpensive access to a variety of services including Usenet
newsgroup and the Fidonet backbone feeds. Jack also vents his
opinions in the popular "letters to the editor" section and in
this issue he takes aim at teachers and the NEA.

InfoWorld for January 10 says that Borland is backtracking on
the strict non-competitiveness restrictions the company had
imposed on users of its new C++ 4.0, making it much more likely
that programmers will decide to adopt the programming tool.

Network World dated the 10th of January says that the Department
of Defense may be pulling out of direct Internet access due to
security concerns. Currently the DISA's (Defense Information
Systems Agency) play to sever the Defense Data Network from
Internet access is causing a storm of protests from DDN users.

The January 25 issue of PC Magazine tests 11 Pentium-based
computers and rates the ALR Evolution V its Editor's Choice as
the best all-around. For test details see the issue.

(John McCormick/19940121/)


(CORRECTION)(IBM)(TOR)(00015)

Advanced Gravis Offers Personal Piano 01/21/94
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) --
Newsbytes wishes to clarify a statement made in a story bearing
the above headline in our January 14 edition. The story said
Advanced Gravis' Ultrasound board can produce 192 Musical
Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) instrument sounds. In fact
the board comes with 192 MIDI instrument sounds preprogrammed.
Users can modify or add to these to create their own sounds.

(Grant Buckler/19940121/Press Contact: Bryan Del Rizzo, Advanced
Gravis, 604-431-5020, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00016)

Bull's New UniKix Technologies Partners With Unisys 01/21/94
BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Bull HN
Information Systems has created UniKix Technologies, a separate
business unit for its UniKix enterprise downsizing business. John
G. Noonan has been named president of the new venture.

The new UniKix Technologies unit has announced plans with Unisys to
market Bull's UniKix transaction manager and associated software on
the Unisys U 6000 Series of Unix-based systems, an alliance aimed
at helping IBM mainframe customers using CICS online transaction
processing (OLTP) to change to Unix.

Previously a division of Bull's Integris systems integration
business, UniKix Technologies has been established as a self-
contained, free-standing unit that will form the basis of the
UniKix software and services operation. In his new job, Noonan
will report to Axel Leblois, president and CEO of Bull HN.

Noonan was formerly VP and general manager of Bull's Asia
Operations. In his three-year tenure in that position, Asia
Operations achieved a compounded annual growth rate of more than 24
percent, effectively doubling the size of Bull's business in the
region, officials said. Before then, Noonan was VP of Bull HN's
international operations.

The UniKix OLTP environment is the industry's leading third-party
CICS-on-Unix solution, according to Bull. It supports the IBM CICS
application programming interface (API), allowing users to port
COBOL-based applications that use VSAM and DB2 databases to a
distributed open systems environment without application
re-engineering.

The UniKix environment lets IBM mainframe users protect their
investments in production applications and retain IBM SNA and
3270 integration capabilities, officials added. At the same time,
UniKix allows development of new applications on U 6000 Series
systems using popular relational database management systems and
other tools. The Unix-based applications are interoperable with
applications and databases in the mainframe environment.

In the newly announced agreement, Unisys and UniKix will provide
downsizing customers with systems that combine the UniKix OLTP
software suite with Intel processor-based U 6000 Series servers
running the Unix System V.4 operating environment. In addition,
Unisys will supply specialized OLTP support services to UniKix/U
6000 users.

"The alliance with UniKix Technologies furthers Unisys's strategy
to deliver a broad range of rightsizing solutions to IBM mainframe
users," said G. Michael Schumacher, VP and general manager, Unisys
Unix Systems Division.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940120/Reader contact: Bull HN Information
Systems Inc., tel [phone]; Press contact: Bruce MacDonald,
UniKix Technologies, tel [phone]/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00017)

GEnie RT Unites Quake Victims And Relatives 01/21/94
WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- To find out
the latest on the LA-area earthquake, and get in touch with loved
ones there and elsewhere, many users have been attending
Genie's American West RT (roundtable discussion group).
The moderator of this area tells Newsbytes that there have
been so many natural and man-made disasters that this week's
events have almost been treated as routine -- albeit a
very busy routine.

"I think the most touching thing I have been involved with this
week was when we were able to contact one user whose wife is
teacher and were thereby able to help reassure a 7-year-old girl
(one of her students) that she and the puppies were all right,"
said American West RT's modem.mom sysop from her home in Oregon.

Diane Chaney, sysop (person in charge) of the RT devoted to
happenings in the Western US region, is both a busy mother and
a very busy electronic communicator, helping to keep people in
touch with each other when telephone service is interrupted and
people are forced to relocate with no notice to relatives.

Ms. Chaney told Newsbytes that having begun the RT just before
the major San Francisco earthquake and having been through the
Oakland fires, LA riots, as well as several other California and
Oregon quakes, she is still excited by being able to bring people
together and especially to help relieve the stresses which are
brought about by natural disasters and the simultaneous loss of
contact with friends and loved ones.

She added that one caller who had been unable to reach a brother
and cousin through Prodigy, tried GEnie instead. Within 45 minutes
modem.mom and a person in Northridge, California who was helping
her by placing local calls, had been able to contact the
relatives for the worried woman.

People who have little or no experience with the online world
seem to be making use of services like GEnie to make contact
during disasters, according to Diane who said, "Mr. Clinton's
information superhighway seems to be clicking already."

The number of callers logging onto the RT has doubled this week
according to the enthusiastic sysop who has helped callers from
the US, Canada, and as far away as England search for friends
and relatives in the Los Angeles area.

On a more serious note, Ms. Chaney told Newsbytes, "None of the
callers are easy to deal with because of the human suffering but
if there is a way to be of help then it isn't such a terrible
thing. I really feel proud of what we are doing, when something
like this happens it is more than just fun [running an RT]."

(John McCormick/1994121/Press Contact: Diane Chaney, SYSOP
American West RT, GEnie modem.mom; or Barb Byro, GEnie PR, 301-
340-4659, BYRO)


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

New Videoconferencing Products, Services 01/21/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Compression
Labs (CLI) announced a new family of videoconferencing systems, which
will make their public debut next week at the ComNet trade show.
At about the same time GTE launched a new flat-rate
videoconferencing service called Video Connect.

The new CLI product line is called Radiance, and it's designed to
be rolled-around an office building and be easy-to-use, with
touch-screen controls. The touch-screen interface is based on
Compression Labs' Self-Guide user interface, providing control
through menus and icons and making user training unnecessary.

Compression Labs is one of the two leaders in the creation of
videoconferencing systems which require digital phone lines --
the other is Picturetel of Peabody, Massachusetts. Recently CLI
has worked to expand the use of its digital compression
technology, offering versions of its algorithm for AT&T
picture-phones and cable television set-top converters.

Radiance offers 30 frames per second video with 480 lines
of resolution, with transmission speeds ranging from a low of
56,000 bits/second to a high of 2.048 million bits/second. They
operate alongside the company's existing Rembrandt II/VP and
eclipse systems, and meet the TSS, formerly the H.320, standards,
meaning they'll work with codecs made by others. The systems can
also be linked into conferences with multiple sites, and there
are network interfaces which let several low-cost dial-up lines
be combined onto a single fast circuit for high quality at low
cost. Each model carries a GraphiCam document camera allowing
them to show still-image graphics or physical objects.

Prices range from $48,900 to $58,900 in the US, $2,000-$5,000 higher
internationally. The product is available immediately in the US
market and will be available in international markets in the
second quarter of the year.

GTE's service was launched in 15 states, where it has local phone
operations. It uses the regular telephone network so it costs
less, and GTE said it's the first of its type, although the
company admitted competitors are testing or beta-testing similar
offerings.

Video Connect services will cost about $2,000 per month,
compared to the $500 per hour charge of regular video
conferencing lines. Tariffs have been filed in Illinois, with
plans to file in Hawaii soon. The service will also be offered
this year in California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan,
Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia,
Washington and Wisconsin. In addition to its use in distance
learning, GTE said it can be used in health care, for video
arraignments of criminal suspects, and for business meetings.

(Dana Blankenhorn/01121994/Press Contact: Compression Labs, Joyce
Strand, 408/922-4610; Barbara Walker, GTE, 214-718-6917/PHOTO)


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

Another Specialized Mobile Radio Company 01/21/94
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- There's a new
player in the gold rush for specialized mobile radio
frequencies, which can be transformed with digital technology
into competitors with cellular phone companies.

Mont Rouge Resources Inc., of Denver, Colorado, said it is moving
its main offices to Wyoming, changing its name to American
Digital Communications Inc., and acquiring SMR licenses
throughout the West. The company, which is traded on the NASDAQ
system, used by smaller companies, announced two deals
recently to buy or manage SMR licenses.

The first agreement, announced January 11, covers 550 channels
covering 6.2 million people in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado,
Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. Chairman Jerald Woods said
this will enable the company to build-out a contiguous service
area with roaming capabilities throughout the region. The deal
includes some licenses which are already being used and have
built-out. The acquisitions are for a combination of cash and
common stock, with the cash being paid-out over two years.
Earlier, American Digital had acquired systems in Pennsylvania
and Tennessee.

A Motorola technology called Enhanced SMR started the gold rush.
ESMR uses a network of antennae and technology related to Code
Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, used for digital cellular, to
greatly increase the call-carrying capacity of SMR channels. A
number of companies, most notably Fleet Call, Dial Page, and
CenCall, wound up acquiring most of Motorola's own SMR licenses
for stock, and are in the process of building networks using the
Motorola technology. While regular SMR licenses are used for
local services like dispatching taxis, ambulances, or service
vehicles, the ESMR technology allows systems to be linked into
networks offering the equivalent of cellular roaming. Some
observers have questioned the market, however, noting that the
government is in the process of handing out licenses for 200 MHz
of new frequencies, while SMR licenses cover just individual
calling channels of about 50 KHz each.

By working in rural and mountain areas, American Digital may be
able to avoid competition with these new licensees and their
personal communication services or PCS networks. Its second
agreement, announced January 19, continues its strategy, with 60
new licenses acquired in northern Nevada, most along I-80. There
are just 370,000 people along the route, but American Digital
said its licenses now cover a population of 9.7 million.

Woods said his next step is to create corridors between markets where
his company has a major presence, consolidate operations and
continue to acquire systems in the West. Woods told Newsbytes his
company will offer paging, dispatch, and mobile telephone
services, as well as combinations of services not currently
available to cellular customers, including data services.

(Dana Blankenhorn/01121994/Press Contact: Deena York, American
Digital Communications, 303-377-9486)


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

BellSouth Using ISDN For School Security 01/21/94
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- As part of its
efforts to push integrated services digital network, or ISDN,
services, BellSouth announced an application with the Huntsville,
Alabama schools. Huntsville is one of the markets where BellSouth
has been most aggressive in rolling-out and marketing the
technology, which uses new software in the phone switches to
offer 2 64,000 bit/second digital lines and a 16,000 bit/second
signaling line to residential customers, in place of a single
analog phone line.

In the Huntsville example, ISDN is replacing a microwave relay
network for video surveillance and access control functions in
41 school locations. All the lines feed into a central security
facility. Superintendent Ron Saunders said in a BellSouth press
statement that ISDN not only improves security, but allows the
district to meet other voice, data and video needs. The
installation will be complete by the end of the year, according
to the district's operations director, Don Sadler.

In the system, Robot Research HyperScan systems will transmit
video images over a single ISDN channel at 38,400 bits/second.
Alarm control information from motion detectors and heat sensors
will travel over the signaling channel. The third channel remains
available for voice calls or other needs. Sadler said that in
several months of testing, ISDN proved more reliable than the
microwave network and less expensive. He added the third channel
will be used for computer data, while the district evaluates
other uses of the technology.

Huntsville has long been an important test market for BellSouth.
It launched its version of standard ISDN services under the
National ISDN-1 standard in November, 1992, at the Redstone
Arsenal. Huntsville was the first BellSouth market to have ISDN
in every switch. BellSouth recently offered a residential ISDN
tariff for Tennessee and plans to roll-out the service throughout
the region, in conjunction with companies offering equipment and
services, but as of this writing there have been no residential
tariff filings in Atlanta, and most BellSouth switches still
don't offer the service.

(Dana Blankenhorn/01121994/Press Contact: David A. Storey,
BellSouth Telecommunications, 205-977-0696, Don Sadler,
Huntsville City Schools, 205-532-4640)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00021)

 ****Coloradans To Get Digitized Driver's Licenses 01/21/94
DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Coloradans
who might be inclined to make changes to their driver's license
are going to find that more difficult and risky in the future.

That's because the state has inaugurated a program that
digitizes the entire document, including the bearer's photograph,
into a single image. No more typing of paper forms and
laminating the document and picture. An operator enters your
vital statistics on an on-screen form, presses a button to snap the
picture, and there it is.

Perhaps more importantly, the new procedure has the potential to
make the document, complete with photo and fingerprint,
available to police agencies.

A spokesperson for the Colorado Motor Vehicle Department
told Newsbytes in the future state law enforcement agencies
will be able to have the image faxed to them. The spokesperson
wasn't aware of any plan that would allow police to access
the images by computer. However that technology is available,
and it's not inconceivable that some day if you are stopped
by a police officer driving a computer-equipped cruiser he
or she can enter your social security number and in seconds
see an electronic version of the license.

The equipment for the system is being provided by Polaroid
Corporation under a five-year contract to furnish about 50
workstations and 30 mobile units. Colorado issues about one
million drivers licenses each year, and is the first state in the
nation to adopt use of the Polaroid digital imaging system for
drivers licenses.

Most applicants will get their new licenses right on the spot. A
few, who live in a limited service area, will have the licenses
processed by a traveling team and will get the document in the
mail. The Polaroid ID-3000 Electronic Security Management
System uses a CCD video camera to capture the portrait, a
signature tablet for signature input, a fingerprint capture
unit, and an NCR computer for image and data input and
storage. A thermal laminator produces the finished cards.

Polaroid spokesperson Phyllis Laorenza told Newsbytes
Colorado requested the value of the contract not be disclosed.

It may sound like a development which brings the state a step
closer a Big Brother society but state officials don't think
so. State Revenue Director and former State Representative
Renny Fagan says the state is prohibited by law from selling
the information to private industry.

Colorado has also made vehicle registration information more
difficult to obtain. Until now a few dollars and completion of a
form could buy the address associated with a vehicle license
plate number. Concerned about stalkers and rising violence,
state officials say they will no longer offer that service.

(Jim Mallory/19940121)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00022)

UK - Nurse Jailed For Computer Cracking 01/21/94
WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE, ENGLAND, 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Dominic Rymer, a
male nurse at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside, has
been charged with gaining unauthorized access to hospital computer
system to prescribe potential lethal drugs.

According to prosecutors at the Liverpool Crown Court, Rymer is said
to have altered the records of a nine-year-old patient with
meningitis to persuade other nurses to prescribe heart disease
drugs. Fortunately for the patient, the ward sister noticed the
discrepancy and blocked the drugs being dispensed.

Hospital officials later discovered that Rymer had been hacking into
the IBM mainframe at the hospital and altering other patient
records. As a result of the investigation, security at the hospital
has been tightened up.

According to Alan Spours, the administrator in charge of the
900-bed hospital said that both internal and external auditors had
carried out the security checks and that a major change in log-on
procedures had been carried out.

"It is obviously worrying when this kind of thing happens, but you
don't expect the culprit to be one of the medical staff," he said.

In court, Rymer, who has since been fired from the hospital,
pleaded guilty to two charges brought under the Computer Misuse Act.
The prosecution described him as someone who had a fascination for
computers, but was insensitive to the consequences of his actions.

In jailing him for a year, Judge William Wickham said: "You seemed
to get no other satisfaction than seeing whether you could master
the machine. It was an act of deliberate mischief and could have
caused serious harm."

(Steve Gold/19940121/Press & Public Contact: Arrowe Park Hospital -
Tel: [phone])


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

Lotus To Intro ScreenCam As Stand-alone For Under $100 01/21/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Lotus will
soon introduce its ScreenCam multimedia screen capture software as
a stand-alone product, for a manufacturer's suggested retail price
(MSRP) of under $100, according to Steve Barlow, product manager of
Lotus' Multimedia Product Group.

Already available as an integrated component of Lotus 1-2-3 Release
4 for Windows: Multimedia Edition, the new software from Lotus
lets users capture screen activity, cursor movements and sound into
movies that can be distributed and shared with others to improve
learning, presentations, and communications.

In a meeting at Lotus headquarters in Cambridge, MA, Barlow told
Newsbytes that, like the famous Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet "killer
app," but unlike many multimedia products hitting the streets
today, ScreenCam was developed to meet real and significant user
needs.

The software allows end users and developers alike to create their
own tutorial sessions, "showing" what is being done on screen while
"telling" what is happening through sound, the product manager
explained.

The ScreenCam movies can be distributed to other ScreenCam users
either as stand-alone, executable files or as embedded OLE (object
linking and embedding) objects in documents. The movies can also
be distributed for playback to Windows users who don't have
ScreenCam, because ScreenCam incorporates a runtime player
facility.

Since ScreenCam movies are screen-based, not frame-based like
video, they can be played back in full-screen format on any PC
that is 386-based or higher, equipped with a sound card or portable
sound device. Users can rewind and fast-forward the movies.

In addition to issuing ScreenCam in shrink-wrapped form, Lotus plans
to integrate the software with more of its own products, including
the next releases of Lotus Notes and Smart Suite, Barlow told
Newsbytes.

Lotus' long list of ScreenCam-related activities also includes
marketing the product to publishers and other ISVs (independent
software vendors), in addition to forming deals with OEMs (original
equipment manufacturers) to bundle ScreenCam with sound cards,
multimedia upgrade kits, and multimedia PCs, he reported. Lotus
has already announced deals with Compaq, Inmac, and DSP Solutions,
and other agreements will be unveiled in the future.

For developers and publishers, ScreenCam is a product presentation
tool, as well as a method of creating courseware and online help,
according to Barlow. In general office situations, the software
lets users share expertise in working with an application,
performing a process, or solving a computing problem in a way that
is more convenient to everyone concerned than ongoing phone
consultations or walking around to various sites in the building.

To illustrate how ScreenCam can make life easier on the job, Barlow
said that, as Lotus' unofficial guru on video capture, he
is often contacted by fellow employees for technical advice.

The product manager likes to help out, but he's finding ScreenCam
to be a real time-saver. Now, he can record movies when he gets a
spare minute, showing what to do. The movies can be sent to
multiple users. Recipients can play the movies at their
convenience, referring back to the custom demos whenever the need
comes up.

People all over the world are already starting to use ScreenCam for
purposes like this, said Barlow, showing Newsbytes a tutorial of a
Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, written in Japanese characters and
recorded in Japanese, sent to him by a user from Japan.

In selling ScreenCam, Lotus is concentrating on the software's
value as a productivity tool, taking pains to avoid the problem
of "technobabble" that is particularly prevalent in the
multimedia industry.

"When Lotus launched 1-2-3, we didn't say, `Look at the cell zone
on this puppy!' What we said was, `Here is a product that will
give you greater value than a calculator,'" recalled Barlow, who
served as product design manager on Lotus 1-2-3/G, the first
graphical user interface (GUI)-based version of 1-2-3 for IBM-
compatible PCs.

Similarly, Lotus has made the use of ScreenCam as simple as
possible, he added. Lotus has also encouraged outside companies
like DSP Solutions, Logitech, MediaVision, Vocaltec, and
InterActive to develop portable sound devices.

By attaching to the PC parallel port, these devices spare end users
from installing internal sound cards, he noted. Installing the
cards is complex procedure that calls for configuring direct memory
access (DMA) and interrupt requests (IRQs), and can sometimes
create conflicts with video or network cards.

For multimedia to really catch on, the paradigm needs to shift
toward practicality and ease of use throughout the industry,
according to Barlow. "The user shouldn't require a secret decoder
ring to understand what the product is supposed to be about," he
asserted.

Users should stay away from software-only video products, until the
technology progresses to the point where full-motion, full-screen
video is possible and disk space requirements are reduced, he
advised. "If you really need to use video, then hardware products
are the best solution."

Barlow added that networked multimedia CD-ROM -- involving
animation, still pictures and sound, but without video -- is a good
idea, because it saves companies and users from dealing with
multiple CD-ROM drives and disks on the desktop.

The first stand-alone version of ScreenCam will use four-bit sound
instead of the eight-bit sound used in Lotus 1-2-3: Multimedia
Edition. This measure will reduce the size of ScreenCam files by
50-percent or more, Barlow maintained. The current eight-bit files
consume about 1 megabyte (MB) per minute.

For further into the future, Lotus is considering ports of
ScreenCam to environments other than Windows, along with such
possible enhancements as wave file editing, captioning,
voiceover, and draw capabilities, the product manager told
Newsbytes.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940121/Reader contact: Lotus Development
Corporation, tel [phone]; Press contact: Dana Lieske,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00024)

Sun Microsystems Earnings Up Slightly 01/21/94
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Sun
Microsystems Inc., continues to post impressive financial quarters
despite the downturn in the industry. Now the company has reported
second-quarter revenues of $1,131 million, up approximately eight
percent from the $1,051 million for the same period in fiscal 1993.

The company says that, net income for the second quarter was
$43.8 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with $24.1 million,
or 23 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

For the first six months of fiscal 1994, Sun recorded revenues of
$2,091 million, up 10 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Net income for the six-month period was $60.4 million, or 62
cents per share compared with $28.9 million, or 28 cents per
share, reported for the same period a year ago.

The company has been working to cut operating expenses, according
to Kevin C. Melia, Sun's chief financial officer, who said, "We
reduced operating expenses as a percent of revenues compared with the
prior year for the fifth consecutive quarter. As a result, operating
income grew 27 percent compared with the prior year. In addition,
bookings were strong and grew to a new record, with the
SPARCserver 1000 and SPARCcenter 2000 servers and ZX and SX
high-performance graphics products leading the way. The backlog
for these products has grown significantly as they have really
taken hold in the marketplace."

The company's Solaris version of Unix continues to be popular.
Said Melia, "Our Solaris software operating environment is a key
element of our improved demand, and we have made excellent
progress in the move to Solaris 2, with nearly 2,000 applications
now available from independent software vendors. We are now
shipping version 2.3 of Solaris, which contains high performance
networking, 20-way multiprocessing, system administration,
database performance and other features."

In other Sun news, chief financial officer, Kevin Melia, and his
family are relocating to the East Coast for what the company
describes are "personal reasons." He will be replaced by Michael
Lehman, who is currently vice president and corporate controller
for Sun. Lehman's appointment takes over on March 1.

In December, Newsbytes reported that Sun Microsystems Computer
Corp.'s SPARC Technology Business (STB) had signed up Japan's
Mitsui & Company Ltd., and its Electronics Group to be a
distributor of all STB microprocessor, ASIC (application specific
integrated circuit), module, and system board products throughout
Japan. Japan is seen by major US semiconductor manufacturers as
an increasingly lucrative market.

In October, Newsbytes reported that Sun and Cray Research Corp.,
announced the new Cray Superserver 6400 superserver systems,
which use up to 64 processors. The products were developed by
Cray Research Superservers under a January 1992 technology
agreement between Cray Research and Sun Microsystems. The
products are a binary-compatible upward extension of Sun's
product line. At the time, McNealy said that the combination of
companies allows the CS6400 to take advantage of the Solaris
operating environment and the benefits it offers.

(Ian Stokell/19940121/Press Contact: Chuck Mulloy,
415-336-6424, Sun Microsystems)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00025)

Santa Cruz Operation Posts 1st Qtr Income 01/21/94
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- The Santa
Cruz Operation Inc., has reported net income for the first fiscal
quarter of 1994, ended December 31, 1993, was $1,481,000, or
five cents per share, on revenues of $41,641,000.

Net income for the first quarter of 1993 was $3,634,000, or 13
cents per share, on revenues of $44,840,000. First quarter results
in 1993, however, included $7,033,000 of revenue from a federal
government contract, the Reserve Component Automation System,
which was completed during that quarter. Taking that contract
into account, the company says that worldwide net license
revenues actually increased by 12 percent in the first quarter of
1994 compared with the first quarter of 1993.

Said Lars Turndal, SCO president and chief executive officer,
"SCO's international business, together with that of our IXI
subsidiary, continued to be strong during the first quarter of 1994.
The United States and Latin America experienced some weakness
due to high inventory levels within distribution channels." As a
result, the company says that "the inventories in the channels did
undergo some reduction during the quarter and will continue to be
a focus of management attention."

Restructuring by the company began in the summer of 1993. The
company has made efforts to control expenses by eliminating the
"duplication of effort" and by "streamlining efficiencies," which
begun during the fourth quarter of 1993. The company says that
those efforts "will continue in the current quarter."

Newsbytes notes that it is yet to be determined if Microsoft's
new high-end, 32-bit Windows NT, and Windows NT Advanced Server
products will have any major effect on SCO's bottom-line. The
company is a major Unix publisher, and Microsoft was quite
open about its targeting of NT at the existing Unix market.

SCO has not been idle in its dealings and agreements with other
computer companies recently.

In December, Newsbytes reported that SCO and Novell Inc.,
announced, what the companies called the next phase in their
"ongoing" program of technology exchange and standardization that
"aims to unify Unix System software development for tools vendors
and application developers.

SCO also announced that Sybase had certified its SQL Server 4.2
product, along with related relational database management tools,
for compatibility with the SCO Open Systems Software release 3.0
line of Unix.

In September, SCO and Wordperfect formed a strategic alliance to
support continued compatibility of their respective products.
At the time, the two companies said the alliance broadened their
existing relationship.

In August Newsbytes reported that SCO had licensed Novell's
NetWare Unix client technology for use in its systems. The deal
called for the licensing of NetWare Unix client technology for use
in SCO workstation and server operating systems. The company
said at the time that the move will provide customers with new
options for accessing the Novell environment.

Also in August, Newsbytes reported that SCO had expanded its
original equipment manufacturing (OEM) deal with AST Research Inc.
The company also announced a deal with Wyse Technology to
pre-install SCO Unix operating systems on the PC manufacturer's
hardware.

SCO's OEM deal with AST called for the company to supply its
advanced Unix operating systems pre-installed on the AST Manhattan
SMP symmetric multiprocessor. The deal with Wyse called for the
company to supply SCO advanced Unix operating systems for sale
pre-installed on Wyse Decision 486si and 486se, and Series 6000i
server systems. Wyse also planned to pre-install SCO MPX on the
Series 7000i line of multiprocessor servers.

In July, SCO entered into a strategic and enhanced user support
agreement with Progress Software Corp. Under terms of the deal,
the two companies planned to undertake joint engineering to
"optimize software performance between the Progress Application
Development Environment (ADE) and SCO operating system products."

But there have been non-business upheavals at the company too.
In December, 1992, Larry Michels, president and chief executive
officer, resigned in the midst of sexual harassment charges.

Then in July, 1993, SCO Chairman James Harris died. At the
time, the company said that Harris, age 49, succumbed to
"chronic" illness at his home in Hastings, New Hampshire.

(Ian Stokell/19940121/Press Contact: Jeff Finn, 408-427-7671,
The Santa Cruz Operation)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Microsoft Working On New "Look And Feel" 01/21/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has confirmed rumors that its consumer division is
working on a new "look and feel" for its software, but a
spokesperson stressed that its "a long way off" and will only
apply to software for home computer users.

Microsoft spokesperson Mich Matthews told Newsbytes the
project is code named "Utopia" and is designed to make software
use easier but won't apply to business applications such as
Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, word processing and
spreadsheet programs.

Matthews said Utopia is actually a line of products. "It's a new
innovation that is driving home usage. We know the home user is
very different so its going to take a whole new approach to
software. That's what the Utopia line is about."

Matthews declined to reveal specific details of Utopia, but rumors
persist that it will replace Microsoft's icons and menus with
scenes from the physical world such as a living room scene.

(Jim Mallory/19940121/Press contact: Microsoft Public Relations,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

Microsoft Employment Growth Expected To Slow In 94 01/21/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates reportedly told Microsoft employees he
expects the company's workforce will grow more slowly in the
future than the 14 percent increase it experienced in 1993,
according to the British news service Reuters.

Microsoft now employs over 14,000 people at its various
worldwide locations. "While we still expect the number of
employees to increase, we do not anticipate (headcount) to grow
at the same rate as in the past," Gates reportedly said in a letter
distributed to Microsoft employees via company electronic mail.

Mike Murray, Microsoft human resources VP, told Reuters
employment growth this year would be "marginally slower" than
last year. Murray said the company has not come up with a
detailed employment forecast for 1994.

Microsoft spokesperson Mich Matthews told Newsbytes the e-
mail message also shared with employees what Gates sees as
the high points of the year as well as his concerns for the future.

Gates told Microsofters, "Novell has a commanding lead in
networking. Apple is known for better ease of use. Lotus has
captured the market's imagination with Notes and we have been
slow to respond." Notes is a Lotus product that allows computer
users to share information. Gates said Microsoft plans a product
to rival Notes, to come to market during 1994.

The Gates e-mail comes on the heels of the Microsoft report of
second quarter profits of $289 million, up 22 percent over the
same period a year ago. Revenue for the period was reported at
$1.13 billion, up 20 percent over last year.

Gates reportedly praised Microsoft employees for producing such
as the Visual C++ development tool and Creative Writer, a word
processor for kids. He said Window NT, Microsoft's newest
operating system and interface for the personal computer, has
attained good momentum. Gates also expressed optimism about
overseas growth for consumer software and for the highly touted
information highway." He said Microsoft is spending $100 million
annually for research in that area.

(Jim Mallory/19940121/Press contact: Microsoft Public Relations,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00028)

 ****LA Forced To Look More Closely At Telecommuting 01/21/94
THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) --
Telecommuting is becoming the buzzword in Los Angeles in the wake
of the 6.6 quake that struck in the early morning hours last
Monday. Freeway damage is partly the reason, but commuters are
finding that even if they can get to work, the office isn't open
due to earthquake damage.

Pacific Bell and GTE have both announced programs to help set up
telecommuting for Los Angeles and residents of surrounding areas.
Pacific Bell says it is offering an advice hotline on
establishing telecommuting programs, free installation of
services for telecommuting, and $1 million to fund a
telecommuting equipment loan program. Free installation of
services include business telephone lines, Custom Calling
Services, Voice Mail, Centrex, ISDN lines that can carry both
voice and data transmissions in digitized form, and Custom 800
services. Free installation was not announced for establishing
another residential line for modem use.

GTE is also offering similar services pending approval from the
California Public Utilities Commission. These services would also
include waiving charges for select voice and switched data access
lines, assistance to those interested in telecommuting,
Centranet, Switched 56, Quickconnect (voice and data on a single
analog line), ISDN services, as well as voice mail and custom
calling features.

In addition, GTE is setting up a special telecommuting office in
Lancaster, a region about 40 miles East of Los Angeles, for its
employees in the Antelope Valley area who would normally commute
into Los Angeles to work. Freeways serving as access for 200,000
commuters from the Antelope Valley into Los Angeles have been
damaged by the quake and commuters are being forced to travel
three to four hours down one or two-lane side streets to reach
their normal work destinations.

GTE officials say Los Angeles County already has a telecommuting
center in Lancaster with space available for companies which don't
want to set up a center of their own. GTE claims it was the first
to open a telecommuting center in California with its Ontario
site in 1991, and is offering encouragement and assistance to
companies in setting up telecommuting centers of their own. "This
is something California has been needing to do anyway," said
Daniel Smith of GTE.

GTE company officials told Newsbytes they expect 50 to 100
employees to use its Lancaster center initially, but expect
larger numbers will opt to do so as time progresses.

Newsbytes has also talked with several programmers who say their
companies plan to have them work from home until the office
buildings they work in are again ready for habitation. Companies
with dial-in network access and electronic mail systems that are
still working are pursuing these options as a way to maintain
productivity during the reconstruction period.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940121/Press Contact: Pacific Bell, Linda
Bonniksen, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Daniel Smith, GTE,
tel [phone] or outside California 805-372-5870, fax 805-372-
7377)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Apple Earns Higher Than Expected, Margins Down 01/21/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JAN 21 (NB) -- Apple Computer
announced that revenues for its first fiscal quarter are $2.469
billion, up 23 percent from a year ago, but net income is down to
$40.0 million compared to the $161.3 million reported in the same
quarter a year earlier. The company says it has sold more
Macintosh computers than ever before, but it is making less on
each sale.

Macintosh sales were reported as up 40 percent, surpassing the
one million unit mark for the first time in Apple's history.
Michael Spindler, Apple's president and chief executive officer
(CEO) said: "Customer demand for Macintosh systems in the last
quarter reached an all-time high, and we again gained market
share. Internationally, our shipments in Japan also grew by more
than 100 percent, and a recent survey by IDC estimates that our
market share in Japan has increased from 8 percent in 1992 to 14
percent in 1993. In the portable computer market, shipments of
our Powerbook computers were up strongly, with nearly 200,000
units sold worldwide during the quarter."

To remain competitive, Apple announced a series of price cuts
last year that sent its gross margins spiraling downward, cutting
net income from the year-ago figures. However, those cuts and a
restructuring program are credited for Apple's move back into
profitability. Gross margins for the company are reported at 24.0
percent of net sales in this last quarter compared to 40.5
percent in the first quarter of fiscal 1993.

Some analysts have noted Apple's inventory is too high in the
short term. Despite a well-recieved line of new products,
analysts at New York-based Oppenheimer & Company downgraded Apple
from performer to underperformer after the Macworld show earlier
this month in San Francisco due to the introduction of new
products that will make old inventory obsolete. Other analysts
disagree and have upgraded their ratings on Apple's stock due to
better first quarter performance than some had predicted.

Apple has announced the PowerPC 601, a new microprocessor, will
become the brains of Macintosh computers beginning in the first
half of 1994. Developed in an alliance with Motorola, who makes
its current microprocessors, and IBM, the 601 is to be the first
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) chip introduced for the
Macintosh. Apple, Motorola, and IBM hope to take on
microprocessor giant Intel and are comparing the PowerPC to
Intel's top-of-the-line Pentium microprocessor.

Support for the PowerPC has been strong with 60 Macintosh
software application companies publicly committed to shipping new
Macintosh with PowerPC versions of their products. Apple says it
is also working closely with more than 200 developers worldwide
to move their existing Macintosh applications to PowerPC. And
Apple has already announced hardware upgrade programs to the
PowerPC for Macintosh computers already on the market.

Apple also announcing the availability of paging and e-mail
services for its Newton personal digital assistant (PDA) family
of products during its first quarter. The company boasts
licensees for Newton technology include Sharp, Matsushita,
Motorola, Siemens, and Alcatel.

On the heels of its earnings announcement, Apple is introducing
two new direct response programs to consumers which allow the
possibility of dealing directly with Apple instead of with
Apple's resellers. The Apple Business Direct Program, is targeted
at small business customers and offers a toll-free telephone
number for ordering products direct from Apple or from a dealer.
The company plans to promote the program in by advertising in
selected trade publications, direct mail, and by developing
affinity programs with various business associations that reach
customer segments previously untapped by Apple.

Apple says it plans to refer customers to its resellers in
situations such as requests for certain value-added sales and
products not available through the program. Since the program is
concentrated on prospecting for new customers, Apple says it does
not target the Apple installed base.

The second program, the Apple Catalog Reseller Program, will
begin in February and qualifying resellers will be allowed to use
catalogs to sell Apple products. All resellers are eligible to
apply and those that participate must meet specific requirements.
Apple says this will not eliminate the current mail order
restriction in the Apple Authorized Dealer Agreement, but the
company will amend the agreement for those dealers who meet
specific requirements.

George Everhart, vice president and general manager of Apple's
USA Personal Computer Business Division said "Both programs will
help to increase Apple brand awareness and demand for Apple
computer products. Resellers continue to be the preferred
distribution channel to all business market segments. The Apple
Business Direct and Catalog Reseller programs are just two more
ways Apple is responding to changing customer buying patterns."

(Linda Rohrbough/19940121/Press Contact: Jayme Curtis, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00030)

TCI Buys Into Japan's Cable TV Business 01/20/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JAN 20 (NB) -- Colorado-based Telecommunications
Inc. (TCI), a rising powerhouse in the US cable industry, will invest
in Suginami Cable TV in Tokyo. This represents the first time that ]
a foreign firm has invested in local Japanese cable operations.

Suginami Cable TV is operated by Sumitomo Trading, a major
conglomerate in Japan, and was set up by Sumitomo Trading and
Pioneer in May 1987 with a capitalization of 300 million yen
($2.8 million).

Since then, the firm has been testing its broadcasting, and will
start business in November. The firm is preparing to raise an
additional 700 million yen ($6.36 million) in capital at
the end of this month, and will raise another one billion
yen ($9 million) at the end of this year. TCI is expected
to invest in both these campaigns. TCI's share will
be about 20 to 25 percent, the third largest share following
Sumitomo Trading (35 percent) and Pioneer (30 percent).

Sumitomo Trading currently has 19 cable TV firms in
Japan and TCI is expected to invest in several more of them.
Cable TV is a relatively new concept to the Japanese market, having
been started just a few years ago.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19930118/Press Contact: Sumitomo
Trading, [phone])