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/nb021094

Text File | 1994-02-10 | 73KB | 1,570 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00001)

NEC's President Retires 02/10/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- NEC has announced that
President Tadashi Sekimoto plans to retire from his post this
June, with his successor assuming the presidency in July.

Sekimoto will become chairman of the firm. He is now 67 years
old and has been president for 14 years.

He has been quoted in the press as saying, "I wanted to retire
from the presidency a couple of years ago. However, due to the
slump in the industry, I was trying hard to overcome the hardship
of the firm and could not leave the post. Now, NEC is recovering
from this situation, so, I have decided to give way to a successor."

It is usually the case that Japanese business leaders retire from
their posts when their firms are in relatively good financial
condition. If they leave when the firm is in the midst of
difficulties, they are considered to be irresponsible.

NEC's new president, 60 year-old Hisashi Kaneko, is experienced
in the business with the overseas market. He was once the
president of NEC America, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC.

Said Kaneko, "The computer industry has been experiencing the
downsizing trend. The competition in the semiconductor market
and telecommunication device market is becoming intense. So,
NEC should try harder."

Additionally, in the personal computer market, IBM and Apple
Computer are gradually eroding NEC's share.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940209/Press Contact: NEC,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00002)

Japan - IDO Invests In Motorola's Mobile Phone Service 02/10/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- IDO, a major Japanese
telephone service firm, plans to invest heavily in Motorola's
mobile phone technology.

The firm will invest 30 billion yen ($270 million) to set up ground
bases for mobile phones within the next two years. IDO is currently
involved more in a NTT-type mobile phone service.

According to analysts, the investment is due partly to pressure
from the US government, which wants Japan to open its
telecommunication market to foreign firms.

IDO is currently providing phone services for both NTT-type
mobile phones and Motorola-type mobile phones in Japan. However,
the firm has about 310,000 registered users of NTT-type phones,
while it has only about 10,000 users for the Motorola-type
phones. As far as the ground telecom bases for the mobile
phones are concerned, IDO currently has about 400 bases for
the NTT-type and about 110 bases for Motorola-type phones.

IDO is planning to increase the ground telecom bases for
Motorola-type mobile phones with the 30 billion yen investment.
It is said the firm will set up 80 ground bases by April, and an
additional 130 ground bases within two years. IDO is also planning
to lower the monthly basic fee for the mobile phone service.

IDO was created by Japan Rapid Telecommunication and Toyota
in March 1987. Since then, the firm has provided NTT-type mobile
phone services in the Kanto (Tokyo) area of Japan, and Motorola-
type mobile  phone services in the Kansai area, which is in
western Japan.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940210/Press Contact: IDO,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00003)

 ****Sumitomo Links With TCI On US Cable TV 02/10/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Sumitomo Trading and
Telecommunications Inc. (TCI) have signed a business
agreement concerning cable television in the US.

The agreement calls for both firms to provide cable TV
services in the US. Both Sumitomo Trading and TCI have chosen
the easiest way to get a head start -- by acquiring cable TV
firms. They plan to provide their services through these firms.

In order to acquire cable TV firms, both firms have already
created a partnership association, called Intermedia Partners 3.
The company is based in San Francisco, and was reportedly
capitalized to the tune of $2 billion.

It is reported that Sumitomo Trading and TCI have a combined
total of 65 percent equity in the partnership association. Other
shares are held by retirement funds or securities firms.

A Sumitomo Trading spokesman said Sumitomo and TCI have already
reached a basic acquisition agreement with a Maryland-based cable
TV firm, and both firms are planning to acquire two more cable TV
firms in the US by 1995, spending a total of $5 billion.

With these acquisitions, the firms are expected to gain about
500,000 registered users of cable TV in the US. Through these
cable TV networks, Sumitomo Trading and TCI are planning to
provide new services in the future, which will include interactive
services and multimedia services, such as home shopping and
video-on-demand.

Prior to the agreement, both firms had recently started a
cable TV service in the Tokyo area. Both firms are also planning
to start the service in other regions of Japan, as well as South
East Asian regions.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940210/Press Contact:
Sumitomo Trading, 81-3-3217-5000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00004)

IBM Units In Education Alliance 02/10/94
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Two business units
of IBM have announced they will cooperate in the K-12 education
market. EduQuest, the education unit of IBM, will sell some of
its products through the IBM Personal Computer Co.'s dealer
network. The PC Co. will also develop personal computer
hardware for the education market.

The IBM PC Co. will make hardware and courseware available
through a network of selected K-12 Education Remarketers, of
which there are to be about 260 in the United States initially,
company spokeswoman Alison Jacobi told Newsbytes. The number
may increase in some areas, she added.

Schools will deal directly with these resellers to buy PC
hardware and courseware. They will keep on dealing with
EduQuest for midrange and large systems and for services such
as identifying requirements and developing technology plans.

The K-12 Education Remarketers will be chosen from the ranks
of existing IBM Personal Computer Co. dealers and will continue
handling standard IBM PS/2, ValuePoint, and ThinkPad systems.
They are to begin distributing the EduQuest products by the end
of the first quarter of this year, IBM said.

IBM PC Co. will add specialized education representatives in its
North American branch offices to work with the Education
Remarketers and with EduQuest branch offices, company officials
said.

Intelligent Electronics, which has provided order-taking and
aggregation services for EduQuest's hardware and software sales,
will remain an EduQuest partner, Jacobi said. Schools previously
bought EduQuest hardware and software through EduQuest's direct
sales force.

(Grant Buckler/19940210/Press Contact: Alison Jacobi, IBM PC
Co., 914-766-1317; Greg Thompson, EduQuest, 404-238-3245)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00005)

SoftImage Acquires ImageWare 02/10/94
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- SoftImage Inc.,
a maker of design and animation software, has acquired
Toronto-based ImageWare Research and Development Inc., which
makes special-effects software for still graphics and full-motion
video.

SoftImage is not disclosing what it paid for the Toronto company,
President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Crombie told
Newsbytes. The companies did say the deal involved a combination
of cash and stock payable over a two-year period.

ImageWare will remain as a separate subsidiary of SoftImage to
begin with, Crombie said, with the current management and
development team remaining in place to meet commitments under
current contracts. Over time, he said, SoftImage plans to merge
ImageWare into its own operations.

ImageWare makes software that is used to add texture effects to
images and video, Crombie said, and can give an image the
texture of a Dutch Master painting or a mosaic, for instance.

SoftImage has distributed ImageWare's Painterly Effects software
since July, 1992, and last fall arranged a joint sales and
marketing venture with Adobe Systems Inc., which distributes the
software as an add-on to its Photoshop software.

ImageWare has used its core technology to produce software for
other vendors, including Aldus Corp.'s Gallery Effects: Classic Art.

(Grant Buckler/19940210/Press Contact: Peter Crombie, SoftImage,
514-845-1636; John Bronskill, ImageWare, 416-367-8699)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00006)

 ****Quicktime 2.0 Aimed At Interactive Television 02/10/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Quicktime
2.0 is on the horizon, and is being aimed at interactive television
(ITV), according to Apple Computer. This new version of the
multimedia extensions for the Macintosh will offer a larger video
window and a faster frame rate as well as its own smaller and
"easier to use" music format.

The company has yet to announce any deals with ITV providers, but
Apple representatives said those deals will be on their way soon.
In the mean time, Quicktime 2.0 is being equipped with network
enhancements and support for the popular Motion Picture Experts
Group (MPEG) Level I video compression scheme for use as both a
development and delivery tool for interactive television
applications such as video-on-demand (VOD) and home shopping.
The company claims new device protocols included can address
distributed networks and devices such as video servers needed for
such applications.

In addition, when MPEG Level II is released, Apple
representatives said Apple plans to support it as well.

But besides interactive television, Quicktime 2.0 is aimed at
delivering smoother video in a larger on-screen window with
existing Macintosh computers. Apple claims that on a low-end
Macintosh LC475 full-motion 30 frame per second video can be
displayed in a screen of 320 by 240 picture elements (pixels) or
a full-screen 640 by 480 video can be displayed at 15 frames per
second.

Quicktime also supports time-code, 60 fields per second video
and data input greater than three megabytes (MB) per second --
elements in professional level video editing. The faster video
and data input is a 300 percent speed increase over the previous
version of Quicktime, according to Apple.

The 2.0 version also has its own music compression scheme for
storing 16-bit sound and synchronizing music with video. While
it was necessary for users of previous Quicktime versions to
understand the musical instrument digital interface (MIDI)
technology in order to coordinate music with video, Apple claims
creation, editing, playback, and synchronization of music with
video will no longer require technical knowledge on the part of
the user.

Quicktime Product Manager Duncan Kennedy told Newsbytes the
economy in storage space is accomplished by representing musical
notes, not by using actual digital audio as in MIDI. In this
manner, Quicktime music tracks are scalable, meaning the music
stored in this manner can be played back on any Macintosh
adjusted to the best playback device available. If MIDI is
available, Quicktime will play back the music in compact disc
(CD) quality, but if not, the sound will playback using whatever
sound capability is available. Kennedy called Quicktime's music
tracks the "Postscript" of sound recording.

Tom Ryan, manager of Media Products at Apple said: "Quicktime's
faster, full-screen video with MPEG support, will raise the video
quality standards for multimedia developers, while its new music
capabilities lower the barrier to entry for multimedia customers
who do not want to learn the technical nuances of MIDI."

Further, the storage space needed for Quicktime 2.0 music tracks
is significantly less than that required for digital audio. For
example, Apple compared the storage of Beethoven's 5th Symphony
in digital audio at 300MB to the single 800 kilobyte (KB) floppy
disk needed to store the same symphony.

Apple has also reduced the system requirements for Quicktime 2.0
to any color-capable (68020 or later) Macintosh computer running
System 7 or 6.0.7 with at least 2MB of memory.

Previous versions of Quicktime have sold over one million copies in
both Macintosh and Microsoft Windows versions. However, Quicktime
2.0 will be released in the Macintosh version first, with the
Windows version to follow and a version for the new PowerPC-
based Macintosh is being planned as well.

Developers will be given the 2.0 version in March and a public
release of the product is expected in mid-1994. No pricing
information was available, but the product will still be able
to be licensed by developers, Apple representatives said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940210/Press Contact: Katy Boos, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]; PHOTO)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00007)

Japan - NEC Offers Dialog, Nifty-Serve Offers MIDI Data 02/10/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- NEC has started providing
access to Dialog, one of the largest on-line databases in the world,
through the firm's personal computer-based telecommunication
network called PC-VAN. NEC's rival, Nifty-Serve network, has also
started the sale of MIDI (musical instrument digital interface)
data through its PC network.

NEC's Dialog service has been realized in an agreement with
Japan's major book-seller, Maruzen, in Tokyo. Maruzen has been
the exclusive dealer of Dialog in Japan. NEC's PC-VAN users will
be able to access Dialog via PC-VAN's gateway.

As a result, PV-VAN users do not need to pay Dialog's registration
fee or the minimum fees. All they have to pay is PC-VAN's domestic
and international fees -- currently 60 yen (55 cents) per minute --
as well as Dialog's fees for each article searched.

PC-VAN is currently the largest personal computer network in
Japan. It has about a 650,000 registered membership. The network
is also the gateway to the GEnie network. The firm has actively
been trying to interconnect with other networks. It can access
Japan Airlines' JALNET. It has also has started an experiment
accessing ASCII Net in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Japan's second largest personal computer network
Nifty-Serve has also added another service -- involving on-line
shopping, called MIDI Station. Users who wish to access a variety
of digital music resources will be able to get them through this
service, which is quite unique in Japan.

Nifty-Serve has also linked with both the domestic and
international Internet. As a result, members of Nifty-Serve and
the Internet can exchange electronic mail with each other. In
addition, domestic Internet users will be able to exploit
Nifty-Serve's database.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940203/Press Contact: NEC,
PC-VAN, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00008)

CompuServe Adds Republican Forum, Media News 02/10/94
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- CompuServe continues
to expand its Basic Services package. The latest additions to the
service are: the "Beck/Smith Exclusive," billed as a behind-the-
scenes, hard journalistic approach covering recording, television,
movies, the media, and entertainment publications; and a
Republican forum.

As reported previously by Newsbytes, America OnLine, a
CompuServe competitor continues to struggle with more members
signing up than it can accommodate. CompuServe, meanwhile,
is increasing its services without additional charges.

Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith, co-writers of Hollywood's
syndicated entertainment column in more than 300 newspapers,
bring a professional writer's view to the service as opposed to a
traditional gossip column, says the company.

Speaking with Newsbytes, Marilyn Beck, said, "The immediate
feeling that I get from our on-line work is so different and enjoyable
from the longer lead time of the print publications. We are looking
forward to being able to ask user questions in our celebrity
interviews and we will be concentrating our efforts on an exclusive
Academy Awards coverage for CompuServe." One new item will be
appearing daily and the past twelve articles will be available.

CompuServe has also inaugurated the Republican Forum, which
began February 9.  The new forum is billed as a platform for the
Republican National Committee and offers the headings of Library,
General, GOP news, Rising Tide, X-ray, and Monday Morning Briefing.

CompuServe says the new forum will have real-time conferences
with various Republican leaders and the various forum sections
will offer current GOP news, history, the latest press releases,
transcripts of the latest speeches, new political strategies,
reviews of legislative action, responses to public opinion polls
and others. The X-ray area is devoted entirely to "X-raying the Plan,"
an extensive and detailed report of the Clinton Health Plan.

According to the company, the new forum will attract researchers,
students, Republican party members who want to keep in touch, and
opposition party members looking for direct quotes and data.

This forum follows an existing Democratic Forum that has had a
strong following. To access the forum, type: Go:Republican. The
Republican Forum is a service that is charged at the new hourly
rate of $4.80.

(Patrick McKenna/19940210/Press Contact: Michelle Moran,
Compuserve Inc., 614-538-3497)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00009)

 ****Electronic Arts Buys Broderbund In $400M Stock Swap 02/10/94
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Electronic
Arts (EA) has announced it will purchase Broderbund Software in
a merger valued at $400 million. A publisher of entertainment
software, EA is probably best known for its founder's involvement
in the new 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, while Broderbund
publishes educational and entertainment software aimed mainly at
children.

EA approached Broderbund about a merger late last year, according
to Broderbund officials. The two companies had already been
working together for over a year, as EA had been handling
Broderbund's international distribution. Representatives for
Broderbund said EA's international distribution arm and its
multiplatform expertise were the main attraction for the merger,
while Broderbund's strength in the educational software market
interested EA.

Based in Novato, California, Broderbund has been a
strong presence in the educational software market from its
founding in 1980. Its strongest foothold in the early days was
with its Printshop software program that would produce banners,
greeting cards, and flyers using graphic images on Apple II
computers, which many schools owned.

The company's other largest success was with its Carmen Sandiego
geography game series, which has developed into a children's
television game show on PBS and is even being considered for a
feature film. Broderbund has stayed pretty much in the personal
computer (PC) market and only has one game cartridge out for
the Sega system which is marketed by EA.

Headquartered in San Mateo, EA is a third-party publisher in the
interactive entertainment software industry for the 16-bit video
game cartridge market, such as the Sega Genesis and Super
Nintendo home entertainment systems. The company also produces
titles for the personal computer software market.

EA's founder, Trip Hawkins, has been in the public eye with his
high-profile promotion of the 3DO interactive multiplayer.
Manufactured by Panasonic, the 3DO player connects to a
television set, is powered by a reduced instruction-set chip
(RISC) microprocessor, uses compact discs (CDs), and has been
billed as one of the new "video cassette recorders" (VCRs) of the
90's. Electronic Arts is currently the major developer of titles
for the 3DO unit.

Representatives from Philips, the company who makes the Compact
Disc-Interactive (CD-I) player, a competing product for the 3DO
player, told Newsbytes it is the combination of good gaming as
well as educational software titles that appears to be the right
mix to allure the public into purchase of these new "VCRs."

Philips, strong in educational titles, is moving quickly to the
entertainment side to promote CD-I sales. The merger
announcement from EA and Broderbund makes it appear EA has
come to a similar conclusion. However, company officials say it
is too early to talk about interactive Carmen Sandiego games
and what Broderbund titles might be released for the 3DO player.

The merger will be handled as a pooling of interests, with the
holders of Broderbund common stock receiving 1.6 common shares of
Electronic Arts' common stock for each share of Broderbund stock,
for an exchange of approximately 15.4 million shares of EA stock.
This represents approximately 25 percent of the combined company
on a pro forma basis. In addition, Electronic Arts will assume
all outstanding Broderbund options.

The two companies expect the merger to be accomplished by May of
this year, subject to the required government and stockholder
approvals. However, Ed Auer, president and chief operating
officer, who had previously announced his intention to retire
from Broderbund this spring, and Trip Hawkins have both said they
will vote their shares in favor of the merger. Auer holds 18
percent of the outstanding Broderbund shares and Hawkins holds 7
percent of EA's outstanding stock.

Broderbund's co-founder, Doug Carlston, will join Electronic
Arts' board of directors, which will now consist of eight
members. No layoffs or staff cuts are planned and both companies
say each will maintain operations in their current locations.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940210/Press Contact: Jeanne Golly, Electronic
Arts, 415-513-7742; Jessica Switzer, Broderbund, tel 415-382-
4568, fax [phone])


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

Mac Quadra Price Reductions & Printer Rebates 02/10/94
CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) --  Apple Computer
has announced a price reduction on its Macintosh Quadra computer
line and a $150 mail-in printer rebate for US customers who
purchase selected Quadra computers with qualifying printers.

The announcement follows an earlier one stating that all of
the existing Macintosh Quadra systems will have an access
path to upgrade to PowerPC.

Apple says many customers wait for price drops in relation to
new models being introduced before making purchases and that
the company wishes to capture that market at the same time the
Macintosh with PowerPC is available.

The price cuts will range from 18 percent for the Quadra 660AV
(with 8 megabytes of RAM, a 230MB hard drive and 1MB VRAM) to
7 percent for the Quadra 950 (running at 33 megahertz,
and including 16MB RAM and 1000MB drive, with 1MB VRAM), and
include 19 different models.

Speaking for Apple, Jayme Curtis, public relations office, said,
"This is a great time for high-end users to enter the Macintosh
market and we want to let all Macintosh users know that we
have an affordable upgrade path to PowerPC."

(Patrick McKenna/19940209/Press Contact: Jayme Curtis,
Apple Computer Inc., 408-974-6296)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00011)

Increasing US/Japan Trade Deficit Concerns AEA, SIA 02/10/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- The American
Electronics Association (AEA) estimates the 1993 trade deficit in
electronics products and services between the United States and
Japan increased more than 50 percent. The Semiconductor Industry
Association (SIA) is also expressing concern about US/Japanese
trade relations due to a declining share of foreign access in the
semiconductor market in Japan.

AEA 1994 Chairman Robert J. Saldich, president and CEO of Raychem
Corporation, said: "Since 1986, our industry's trade deficit with
Japan has remained in the $20 billion range. This year that
negative imbalance jumped by more than $2.5 billion. The
significant increase this past year in the US/world electronics
trade deficit and the further undermining of our negative trade
balance with Japan is a cause of major concern for our industry."

The AEA estimates the volume of exports by Japanese firms to the
United States is four times that of US exports to Japan. The
1993 US/Japan trade deficit in electronics products and services
increased to $24.9 billion from $22.3 billion in 1992.
Electronics exports to Japan from the United States grew
marginally to $8.5 billion in 1993 from $8.2 billion in 1992.
However, imports from Japan jumped almost 10 percent to $33.5
billion from $30.5 billion a year earlier. Estimates are the 1993
US/world trade electronics trade deficit increased 56 percent to
$15.1 billion from $9.7 billion in 1992.

"It is time for the U.S. and Japan to seriously address our
industry's access -- or lack thereof -- to the second largest
technology market in the world," Saldich added.

Andrew A. Procassini, president of the SIA said: "The Japanese
attitude is mystifying. The semiconductor accord is one agreement
between the US and Japan that has worked. Real progress was made,
not only as exemplified in market share, but in very extensive
efforts between the Japanese and American industries that
resulted in more foreign design-wins, better long-term
relationships, and real cooperation -- all of which underlie the
achievement of a 20 percent foreign share at the end of 1992. Now
the forward momentum has been lost and we are every worried about
backsliding."

The SIA said progress toward foreign access fell off steadily in
the past year, from a 20.2 percent foreign share at the end of
1992, to an 18.1 percent foreign share in the third quarter of
1993.

Japanese Prime Minister Hosokawa is expected to visit Washington
next week and both the AEA and the SIA are urging President
Clinton and US Ambassador Mickey Kantor to address these critical
trade issues. Procassini said: "The Semiconductor Agreement has
become to many in Congress a litmus test as to whether real
progress can be made in the troubled US-Japan trading
relationship. If this Agreement fails, there is little reason
to believe that any other negotiations can succeed. We can't help
but feel that we are drifting toward an era of confrontation and
recriminations. This is unfortunate because it is completely
avoidable."

(Linda Rohrbough/19940210/Press Contact: John Hatch, American
Electronics Association, tel [phone]; Daryl Hatano, SIA, tel
408-246-2711, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00012)

Development Of Thin-film Color Flat Panels Announced 02/10/94
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- SI Diamond Technology
(SIDT) has announced an agreement with David Sarnoff Research Center
to perfect color phosphors and screens for a new generation of flat
panel displays that use thin-film diamond technology. The project
could eventually lead to large wall screens for television viewing.

SIDT says the collaboration will include investigation of the
appropriate color phosphors to interface with the diamond
field-emission displays to insure the desired brightness, contrast
and operating life. Sarnoff will also work on issues like screen
size and resolution.

Some experts say the U.S. development of a new flat screen
technology is critical to the economic health of domestic computer
and electronic manufacturing companies. Stanford Resources has
estimated the flat panel display market will exceed $13 billion by
the year 2000. That estimate includes applications such as
computers, process controls, auto dashboards and avionics but not
the television market.

Color phosphors are one of the key components in the flat panel
display being developed by SIDT. Current color screens for field
emitter displays are based on zinc sulfide phosphors. Earlier FEDs
used silicon and metal micro tips had problems with sulphur
contamination of the cathodes.  The inert qualities of diamonds
make them resistant to sulphur.

SIDT anticipates that the first displays its manufactures will be
monochrome four-to-six inch monochrome displays which could be
utilized in hand-held portable electronics, avionics, process
controls, or medical instrumentation. SIDT spokesperson Marijane
Ensminger told Newsbytes development of the first units could lead
to wall-sized television displays within a few years.

SIDT is also applying their diamond technology to digital
mammography. It is working with Denver-based Fischer Imaging
Corporation to develop a flat panel display that would allow
radiologists to read mammograms on a screen more than 20 inches
measured diagonally with a much higher resolution and greater
brightness than current monitors. Digital mammography allows the
brightness and contrast of the image to be controlled and specific
areas of the image could be enhanced and enlarged to closely examine
suspicious areas. Those advantages are not available with current
x-ray mammography.

(Jim Mallory/19940210/Press contact: Marijane Ensminger, SI
Diamond Technology, 713-529-9040; Reader contact: SI Diamond
Technology, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00013)

Lawson Announces Object-Oriented Technology Lab 02/10/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Lawson
Software has announced a partnership with the University of
St Thomas to create a laboratory to study object-oriented
technology.

The lab will be located at the university in St.Paul, Minnesota
where researchers will attempt to develop a new generation of
more powerful client/server computer software for use by large
businesses.

Dr. David West told Newsbytes the member organizations are
interested in addressing the problem of integrating software
packages that have to work together in order to realize their
potential. "Product integration is one of the first things we are
doing," he said.

"Object-oriented technology will allow us to cut the time and cost
of creating new applications to meet the changing needs of
business," says Lawson President Richard Lawson. He believes the
technology developed at the lab will enable adaption of existing
applications without requiring the user to go through the process of
installing a new system.

Lawson Software specializes in enterprise-wide accounting, human
resources, distribution and materials management software running
on a variety of platforms.

(Jim Mallory/19940210/Press contact: Dawn Westerberg,
Lawson Software, 612-379-2633 ext 3298; Reader
contact: Lawson Software, 612-379-2633 or 800-477-1357)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)

Compaq Hand-Held Device Now Expected In '95 02/10/94
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation says the launch of its planned hand-held personal
computer is not likely now until early next year.

The prediction was made by Compaq President Eckhard Pfeiffer
during an international media briefing this week in London. "We
want to reserve the flexibility to revise product specifications
during the development of new products and new product
categories," Pfeiffer told reporters.

Last September Pfeiffer, saying it is no longer possible for a single
vendor to offer the whole "solution," announced Compaq would team
up with software publisher Microsoft Corporation, chip maker Intel
Corporation, and VLSI Technology to develop what he called "a
hand-held mobile companion device."

At that time Pfeiffer said the devices might be available as early
as this year, and would be supported by Microsoft's Microsoft At Work
software. VSLI would provide chip sets designed by Intel. No details
have been released about the device.

(Jim Mallory/19940210/Press contact: John Sweney, Compaq
Computer Corporation, 713-374-1564; Reader contact:
Compaq Computer , 713-374-1459 or 800-348-1518)


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

More On NBC Online Plans 02/10/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- NBC broadened
its online plans, signing a deal with GEnie to go along with
agreements signed earlier with Prodigy and America OnLine.
Newsbytes also discussed all this with Alan Cohen, senior vice
president-marketing for NBC.

"It is not our hope to have many big differences," among the
services, he said. "We're trying to appeal to as many people as
we can." However, the services themselves are different, and that
will require some differences in what NBC offers online. "If we
want people to download a video promo, it may not be available at
all services. But as far as putting basic information on shows,
we'd like to try to make it uniform...it's all part of our effort
to take the NBC brand and extend it to other places. In the case
of online, we want viewers to interact with us."

Cohen also addressed the overall strategy behind NBC's latest
moves. "Our strategy has been over the last year or two to do
more than national promotions, and help our advertisers promote.
We have a magazine deal, we have in-flight programming with
United Airlines, we have a telephone information system for
advertisers' leads, and we're doing things in the supermarket.
Anyway you look, NBC is there, and we can take our advertisers
there too."

Cohen described where online networks fit into that strategy.
"The online thing has additional benefits because when we started
the interactive program for advertisers last year, they got
qualified prospects and viewers got more information. This gives
us the next level."

But he also recognizes that the online audience skews heavily
toward conservatives and men, that it's not representative of the
total audience. "I don't think we'll look at this as a sample of the
public. There's other ways to communicate with us. When you have
the broad reach of a network, reaching millions of people, 100
responses is interesting but you have to consider the demographics.
Our magazine reaches teenagers, the supermarket programs reach
more women...we're not doing this in lieu of spending money on
research study on attitudes."

The online network deals had been in the works about a year,
said Cohen, who began his career in publishing and got his first
taste of online networks, doing searches of Dialog for
information on companies he was doing business with. There's one
more benefit of making NBC technology-literate, he added. "When
the Information Superhighway talk started, everyone became more
literate about what's out there. With network television and a
telephone, you can do a lot of interacting. We want to do it
today and be ready for tomorrow."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940210/Press Contact: NBC, Ellen
Hamilton, 818-840-3637)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00016)

 ****Spectrum Sues Sculley For $300M 02/10/94
MANHASSET, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Spectrum
Information counter-attacked in its dispute with former chairman
John Sculley, suing him for $300 million over his resignation.
But reports that Sculley and Spectrum might end their dispute
and put Sculley back in charge buoyed the stock, which rose from
under $2.50 to $3.25 in early trade February 10.

In a 14-page complaint filed at the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York, Spectrum claimed Sculley knew
about SEC investigations of the company before joining it last
October, and charged he had been planning on jumping-ship since
December. The company blamed the fall in its stock price on
Sculley's decision, a loss of $300 million in market value, and
also demanded punitive damages and an injunction against
Sculley's use of Spectrum trade secrets. Spectrum also charged in
its suit that Sculley sought the company out, not the reverse.

In fact, according to other press reports, the problem all along
was that Sculley never really ran Spectrum. Peter Caserta, who
recruited him to become chairman, continued to control the board
and, by extension, the company.

"The document is a complete work of fiction," Sculley spokesman
Tom Davies told Newsbytes. He added that the press gave copies
of the complaint to Sculley's representatives before the suit
was even filed. He added, "It is interesting to note that
whatever else it says, the suit is a tacit admission that Caserta
and others were in possession of inside non-public material
information when they exercised their options and sold their
stock in November. While it alleges that Sculley knew of the SEC
inquiry, which we deny, it never states that such a vital piece
of information was withheld from the public."  Davies added that
a detailed response to the suit would be available once Sculley
and his lawyers have a chance to look at it thoroughly.

While Spectrum has issued a number of press statements since the
Sculley departure became public, spokesmen for the company have
not returned repeated calls from Newsbytes. Since Sculley left,
the company KPMG Peat Marwick, an auditor brought in by Sculley,
resigned the account.

In a statement from Sculley on his resignation, he said the company
had found Spectrum to be overly aggressive in recognizing revenue
from its licenses, which was one of the facts leading to his
resignation. Spectrum also re-stated its earnings for the last two
quarters based on KPMG figures, cutting net income for those
quarters by $6,371,403, turning a $1.057 million profit into a
$5.315 million loss for the six months ending last September.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940210/Press Contact: Dae Chang, Spectrum,
516-627-8992 ext 136, Christopher P. Franco, Spectrum
counsel, 516-627-8992 ext177; Tom Davies, for John Sculley,
212-593-2655)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Bell Atlantic Accelerates ISDN Deployment 02/10/94
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic
said it will install integrated services digital network, or
ISDN, equipment in all its 1,400 local switching centers, making
the services available to any customer requesting it.

ISDN, which is now in 900 Bell Atlantic switches, transforms a
single analog line into three digital lines, two running at
64,000 bits/second and a signaling channel at 16,000 bits/second.

ISDN has been touted by the phone industry for a decade as its
major upgrade, but few people use the service in the US, in
part because of delays in establishing a uniform standard, but
also because phone companies have been slow to offer the service
at rates customers consider reasonable.

As a business service, ISDN offers 23 64,000 bit/second lines
and a 64,000 bit/second signaling channel. The service can be
configured by users at will, so residential ISDN users can have
a fax machine, modem, and voice call going at once on an ISDN line,
while business users can combine video, data, voice, and fax
signals as they see fit on the larger "primary rate" interface,
which is the equivalent of a so-called "T-1" trunk line in terms
of total speed.

"This program redefines the way we make ISDN available," Bell
Atlantic vice president for large business services John Prisco
said in a press statement. "If a customer wants it, we'll get it
there, no matter where it is." There might be extra charges,
however, if a customer is a long way away from a phone switch,
the company acknowledged. Normal installation of ISDN takes 3-5
days, the company said, while it had taken 4-6 weeks. To take
advantage of the service, however, customers must still have
phones, fax machines, and data devices which work with ISDN
lines.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940210/Press Contact: Bell Atlantic, David
Pacholezyk, 410-393-7109)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00018)

Education Stock Profits Remain Elusive 02/10/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Recent
financial results may indicate why Electronic Arts got such a good
deal in buying Broderbund for $400 million. Despite a lot of hype
and growing sales for educational software, companies involved
in the industry are having a hard time turning a sizable profit.

Education Alternatives Inc., which has contracts to run public
schools in Baltimore, and whose chairman, John Golle, recently
testified before a Congressional committee on the industry's
plans, turned in an operating loss of $298,000 for the quarter
ending last December, on revenues of $8.756 million. The company
is the largest factor in the business of running public schools.

John Kinnard & Co. reitterated its rating of "hold" on the stock,
but indicated 1994 earnings estimates might have to be revised
downward. Golle said he remains optimistic, noting that
consulting contracts have been added in Baltimore since the
company won the right to run 9 public schools there in July, 1992.

Software companies have not had it much better. Despite revenue
growth, both The Learning Co., and Davidson & Associates, long-
time leaders in the market, remain in narrow trading ranges.
Learning Co. stock is trading at about $15 per share, near its
52-week low, while Davidson's recent price of $21 is closer to
its low than its yearly high. Interest in both may pick up on
takeover speculation following the Broderbund buy, but Hambrecht
& Quist's latest rating on both stocks is a hold.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940210/Press Contact: Education Alternatives,
612-832-0092; Learning Co., Sharyn Fitzpatrick, 510-713-6011)


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

Telecom Groups Make Last Pitches Before Markey Mark-Up 02/10/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Phone and cable
companies are getting their last licks in before the
communications sub-committee headed by Rep. Edward Markey
starts marking-up bills which could dramatically change the
industry. The Clinton Administration supports both bills the
committee is considering, but is expected to recommend
amendments of its own.

The U.S. Telephone Association, which represents regional Bell
companies as well as smaller local phone companies, wants Markey
to consider its members interests. The principles it defended
were parity, reciprocity, fair compensation, and workable
regulation, meaning it doesn't want its former-monopoly members
to be hindered in any way as they allow competitors into their
markets. Even the Clinton Administration has said that de-
regulation of the industry must be phased-in, or else local phone
companies may use their monopoly power over rate-payers to drive
others out of the market.

Spokesmen for US West also testified in favor of lifting
restrictions now placed on the regional Bells, with no questions
asked. The company claims development of the Information
Superhighway will be accelerated, jobs will be created and
consumers will have more choices if Bell companies are able to
design and make equipment as well as enter the long distance
market. While the USTA was testifying for the goals of a bill by
Markey and Texas Republican Jack Fields-- HR 3636-- US West likes
HR 3626, a bill from Texas Democrat Jack Brooks and Michigan
Democrat John Dingell, which would open those markets. As with
the USTA, however, US West doesn't want any delays in entering
the market.

AT&T, on the other hand, sent Executive Vice President Alex J.
Mandl, who claimed there are too many barriers to his company's
entrance into the market now dominated by the regional Bells.
Mandl likes the rules and delays in the Markey-Fields bill, H.R.
3636, but warned that local service remains in monopoly hands and
Bell control of those bottleneck facilities will continue "for at
least five years."

National Newspaper Association Treasurer Jack Fishman asked for
guarantees that small community newspapers will be able to use
the Information Superhighway, so they don't lose their markets to
larger publishers who are already linking up with online services
like Prodigy and America Online.

Finally John Major, a Motorola executive who chairs the
Telecommunications Industry Association, said nice things about
Markey-Fields but expressed grave reservations about Brooks-
Dingell. Major said his group likes the idea of the regional
Bell's constraints and development of competition being linked,
as Markey-Fields does, and urged that a "waiting period" be
enacted which would create real competition in the local service
area before the Bells are allowed into manufacturing. In this, he
echoed AT&T's concerns on the long distance side, setting himself
against the USTA and US West. The TIA's big problem the Brooks-
Dingell bill is a domestic content provision, which it claims
violates both the North American Free Trade Agreement and the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The Markey sub-committee is working fast on both bills hoping
they will clear the Congress before the President's Health Care
proposal is heard.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940210/Press Contact: Rep. Edward Markey,
202-224-3121; Mary Hisley, US WEST, 202-429-3105; Chris Collins,
United States Telephone Association, 202-326-7279; Herb Linnen,
AT&T, 202-457-3933; Mark T. Sheehan, National Newspaper
Association, 703-907-7900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00020)

Lotus Intros Mobile Version Of cc:Mail For Windows 02/10/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Lotus has
unveiled a mobile version of its cc:Mail for Windows local area
network (LAN)-based electronic mail system.

Tailored to users who work "on the road" or at home either all of
some of the time, the new cc:Mail Mobile for Windows Release 2.0
offers icon-based location profiles, message preview, an increased
number of communications protocols, easier-to-use mail filters, and
other new features for sending and receiving messages over a wide
area network (WAN), with the use of a modem, network protocols, or
wireless connection.

"For the mobile user, the bottom line is that connectivity has to
be easy," a Lotus spokesperson told Newsbytes. Although this is
the first edition of the mobile version, the product was given the
"Release 2.0" suffix because it also contains the capabilities of
cc:Mail for Windows Release 2.0, he explained.

The new location profiles in the remote version are aimed at
letting the user quickly change software settings when moving
between frequently visited destinations. Settings for the location
profiles include communication type, serial port settings, baud
rates, and dialing variations such as PBX (private branch exchange)
prefixes (dialing "9" before the phone number, for example), long-
distance calling card account numbers, and numeric codes for
phone company capabilities ("cancel call waiting").

A special security feature lets the user hide information like
calling card account numbers from public view, the spokesperson
added. To ease the configuration process, the package also offers
preconfigured "dialing rules" with area codes for major cities in
the world, and phone company access numbers for calling cards.

The user can switch between one location profile and another in two
ways: through icons representing the destinations, or through the
status bar. More than 40 location icons ship with the product,
including a peach (representing Atlanta), the Eiffel Tower (for
Paris), a hotdog (for Chicago), flags of various countries, and
generic symbols for hotels, homes and offices.

Further, users can easily customize the icon interface, adding
bitmap images that represent other destinations, such as a
company logo, the spokesperson said.

Also with cc:Mail Mobile for Windows, users can select up to eight
communication methods per location, including TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), X.25, NetWare's
IPX/SPX (Internet Packet Exchange/Sequential Packet Exchange),
ISDN (integrated services digital network), PBX, direct, wireless
over the RAM Mobile Data Network or cellular modem, and
conventional telephone modems.

Users can instruct cc:Mail Remote for Windows to automatically try
a back-up communication method if a connection is not established
the first time, or to try a lower-cost or faster communication
method first. Modem script files are included for more than 70
modems, with support for speeds up to 115.2 Kbps.

Users can also stipulate times to transmit electronic mail on an
hourly, daily or weekly basis (such as "every Thursday at 3 am,"
for instance).

A new "preview message summaries" feature is designed to save
time by letting users view information about incoming messages --
including estimated transmission time, size of message, subject,
author, priority, and names of attachments -- before deciding
whether to download.

The on-the-road user can opt to download some messages immediately,
save other messages for downloading at a more convenient time, and
delete any "junk e-mail," all in the same phone call, the company
spokesperson noted.

Also new in cc:Mail Remote for Windows are automatic filters for
screening messages. Like the location profiles and other mobile
features, the automatic filters are accessed from a special
"Mobile" drop-down menu, Newsbytes was told.

The new filters allow users to screen out incoming messages on the
basis of simple criteria such as date, author, or size. If more
complex screening is required, the user can switch to a rules-based
filter. Also offered in cc:Mail for Windows, the rules-based
filter employs user-selectable Boolean criteria that will accept or
reject messages based on 14 different elements, including age of
message, blind carbon copies, and types and titles of attachments.

cc:Mail Mobile for Windows also introduces a new mail container
called "session logs" that lets users send a detailed analysis of
each connection to their administrators for troubleshooting.

Another new capability, DockingAssistant, is designed to help
occasionally connected users keep their mobile and LAN mailboxes
up-to-date and synchronized. When leaving the office, users can
invoke DockingAssistant to move or copy messages and folders
needed during the trip from the LAN post office to the mobile
computer. They can also copy bulletin board messages.

On return to the office, users can move or copy messages received
on the portable PC to the LAN (local area network), to free up
storage space on the mobile device.

Messaging rules can be invoked to automate docking/undocking. One
of these rules, for instance, allows the user who is leaving on a
road trip to move the Mobile message log over to the LAN. The LAN
message log will then keep a copy of each message sent when the
user was out of the office.

Priced at $195, Lotus cc:Mail Mobile for Windows has begun
shipping, and will be available in US retail stores in about a week,
the spokesperson told Newsbytes. Lotus is also offering a $95
upgrade to existing users of cc:Mail Remote for MS-DOS and
cc:Mail Remote for Macintosh.

Fully translated and localized European-language versions of the
product are expected to be available in the first half of 1994,
with Asian versions to follow.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940210/Reader contact:  Lotus cc:Mail,
800-448-2500; Press contacts:  Mark McHarry, Lotus, 415-335-
6786; Meryl Franzman or Brenda Nashawaty, McGlinchey & Paul
for Lotus, 617-862-4514)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00021)

Digital Hollywood Expo - Deals & A 60's/90's Mix 02/10/94
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- The
Digital Hollywood show was held this week at the Beverly Hilton
in Beverly Hills, California. While nothing earthshaking was
presented at the show or the seminars, the emphasis was on the
how-to's of multimedia.

The show's organizers, American Expositions in New York, promote
Digital Hollywood as the place where deals happen. Certainly
there were plenty of talk of deals between Silicon Valley
companies and Hollywood at the show, but no specifics were
available.

Apple, Radius, Supermac, Aris, 3DO were all demonstrating on the
exhibitor floor, but most of the information was geared toward
selling to multimedia developers. Someone attending Digital
Hollywood who was unfamiliar with multimedia might almost think
the show was a nostalgic look at the 1960's. Inexpensively
produced books of round table discussions among multimedia
experts or lists of multimedia companies and products were being
sold from folding tables along side touch screens, interactive
television displays, and demonstrations of interactive compact
disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) titles. In one booth "The Glummy
Glo Mermaids," girls in long blonde wigs and longer clothes,
danced dressed in florescent clothes and jewelry under black
lighting to promote the Mondo LA newsletter, which celebrates
"the eccentric, the offbeat, and the definitely quirky in Los
Angeles."

In one of the far back rooms, show goers were asked not to
disturb a crew from Experimental Pictures who were using a
Macintosh and a video camera to do stop-motion animation of a
foot long plastic pterodactyl for a new motion picture,
"Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills." And just as an added
touch, attendees could go down to the "Smart Bar" and buy a
"Smart Drink" for $3 that the gentleman in the booth mixed on
demand from powder and distilled water.

Some new products were being demonstrated. 3DO was showing its
new titles, John Madden Football, a space video game called Total
Eclipse, and Twisted, a children's interactive television quiz
game. Aox was promoting its new video compression format that
will work over plain old telephone service (POTS) analog
telephone lines, but requires licensees to manufacture a special
digital signal processing (DSP) chip.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940210/Press Contact: American Expositions,
tel [phone], fax)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(MSP)(00022)

Apple, Oracle In Cable Set-top Box Trial 02/10/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Apple Computer
and Oracle Corporation are launching trials of Apple's set-top
converter box based on the Macintosh for cable television.
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.

A trial of the technology is slated for the first half of this
year, and the  Macintosh-based technology will be demonstrated at
Oracle's interactive multimedia products launch in Los Angeles on
Feb. 15. The system is designed to deliver video on demand, home
shopping, interactive learning and other multimedia applications to
consumers.

Margaret Lasecke of Oracle tells Newsbytes that Tuesday will
in fact, be a worldwide news conference  in which alliances with
a dozen companies, many of them set-top box providers, will
be announced.

"This is truly the best of both worlds for the information age,"
claimed Jerry Held, a senior vice president at Oracle Corporation.
"Finally, network providers and consumers can begin to see the key
components of this new era emerging."

Oracle's Media Server is very much in the public eye these days,
as it allows network providers to manage all types of multimedia
data including video, audio, text, and images on low-cost,
scalable massively parallel supercomputers.

Other companies are already in this race. In January, IBM 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.

In mid-1993, TCI, the largest operator, signed a final agreement
with General Instruments for new cable boxes serving its proposed
500-channel system. The boxes will use Intel 80386 chips and a
version of Microsoft Windows called Modular Windows.

Oracle's Media Server product line also includes Oracle Media
Objects, an authoring tool that runs on set-top boxes such as
Apple's.  Oracle's Media Server product line offers the key software
for building easy-to-use applications accessible by thousands of
users at an extremely low cost.

Oracle's main competition at this point appears to be AT&T
which has announced that it is getting into the video server
business. But  Lasecke says that Oracle will have the advantage
with its  open scalable hardware architecture.

"The secret to our architecture is that it's open, it's anything
anybody can plug into," she told Newsbytes.

She would not disclose  the location of the test nor how many
sites will be involved. Oracle announced earlier in the month
that it was partnering with Bell Atlantic for a deployment or
test that would take place in the Washington DC area. "Our
feeling is that when Bell Atlantic flips a switch on
that deployment this spring, they flip a switch on the
information superhighway."

(Wendy Woods/19940210/Press Contact: Frank O'Mahony of Apple
Computer, 408-974 5420; or Margaret Lasecke of Oracle, 415-506-
4175)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MSP)(00023)

IBM PC Factory Outlet Store To Open In Raleigh-Durham 02/10/94
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- IBM has
joined leagues with Eddie Bauer and Burlington Coat Factory to
create a factory outlet store for PCs and related equipment at
Raleigh-Durham's Triangle Factory Shops.

The IBM PC Factory Outlet will offer select discontinued,
withdrawn, reconditioned and returned PCs, displays, features
and options at significant discounts at exit 284 off Interstate
40 near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, according
to Anya Harris, representing the Baltimore-based The Prime
Group, Inc., developer of the outlet center.

IBM PC Company's factory outlet will have its grand opening
on Saturday.  Products will come with a 15-day money-back
guarantee and while warranties vary by product, every item will
come with an applicable IBM Statement of Limited Warranty,
according to a statement from the company.  Customers
can get service at IBM Authorized Dealers or the factory outlet.

Customers can obtain frequently updated lists of prices and
available prices by calling 1-800-426-3395 or the IBM PC Factory
Outlet at 919-380-1442.  The IBM PC Factory Outlet is owned and
operated by the IBM PC Company, based in Somers, New York.

(Wendy Woods/19940210/Press Contact: Anya Harris of TBC
Public Relations 410-347-7500, or 410-302-8187)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00024)

Dataflex Throws Down Approval Gauntlet To UK Govt 02/10/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Dataflex Design, the modem
manufacturer, has announced that, unless further regulatory action
is taken by the British government, it will introduce a range of
unapproved modems for sale in the UK.

Currently, modems must be approved for connection to the British
Telecom or Mercury Communications phone network in the UK. While it
is not illegal to sell an unapproved modem for sale in the UK, it is
against the law to use the device. Newsbytes notes, however, that
not one single person has ever been prosecuted in the UK.

Modem manufacturers such as Dataflex have argued that this is the
equivalent of "a law with no teeth," and that, as a result, the use
of unapproved modems in the UK is rife. Industry estimates suggest
that between 20 and 30 percent of modems sold in the UK are
unapproved.

The typical price of an approved modem tends to be around twice that
of an unapproved unit, which is why sales of unapproved modems are
riding so high, Newsbytes notes. According to Dataflex, unless the
Government takes immediate action and changes the law, it will
unveil a range of unapproved modems for sale in the UK next month.

"We've done everything we can to lobby for a level playing field in
the modems market. We started the MAG (modem approvals group), we
lobbied OFTEL (the Office of Telecommunications), the DTI
(Department of Trade & Industry), the Health and Safety Executive,
magazine publishers and we have raised the issue so that corporate
buyers would better understand that products should have BABT
approval," explained Phil Benge, Dataflex's marketing director.

"I'm not King Canute -- I can't stop the commercial tide of non-BABT
approved modem sales growing. If the Government is not prepared to
make certain that competition is fair for all concerned, then we are
going to have to bow to inevitable commercial pressure. All I am
asking the Government to do is speed up its decision on the modem
issue," he said.

According to Benge, the decision is simple for the Government.
"Either make it illegal to sell non-BABT approved product or we will
be forced to compete in this rapidly growing sector of the market.
Whatever the decision, it needs to be done quickly as the technology
market does not stand still for long," he said.

According to Dave Downie, marketing director with Pace, one of
Dataflex's competitors, the situation over Dataflex, which was the
founding member of the Modems Approval Group (MAG), a lobbying group
formed last year to encourage the Government to make it illegal to
sell unapproved modems (currently unapproved modems can be sold
legally, but not used), has upset the group, which held its regular
meeting on Monday this week.

"I understand that Dataflex has stated its intention to resign if it
eventually unveils an unapproved modem range, but this isn't good
enough. The aims of Dataflex are not compatible with those of the
MAG. As a result, I've taken the decision to resign our company from
the group," he told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19940210/Press & Public Contact: Dataflex Design - Tel:
[phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00025)

UK - BT/Mercury Abolish Peak Rate Phone Charges 02/10/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- British Telecom, closely
followed by Mercury, has announced plans to abolish the peak morning
rate for all UK phone calls. The peak rate, which is imposed between
9am and 1pm on weekdays, is replaced by a new weekday day calling
rate that applies between 8am and 6pm on business weekdays. The
weekday day calling rate is the same as the current standard rate,
which applies between 8am and 9am and 1pm and 6pm.

The new BT rates kick in on March 9, with Mercury announcing that it
too will be scrapping is peak rates, although the actual date of
implementation for Mercury subscribers has yet to be decided.

According to BT, the price cuts mean an effective reduction in calls
charges of around 25 percent on morning daytime calls. The cuts
were, the company claims, necessary to comply with the annual cap on
prices imposed on BT in the light of the falling inflation rate.

Under the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) rules, BT must keep
its prices rises under the official rate of inflation by 7.5
percent. Since inflation is currently around the 2.0 percent mark,
BT must cut its prices by 5.5 percent this year.

The price move will cost BT UKP 225 a year, adding to the UKP 275
million that BT cuts its annual income by when it announced almost
half-price weekend calls late last year. BT officials have said that
this second round of cuts completes the price cutbacks required to
achieve the 5.5 percent reduction required under the Oftel rules.

(Steve Gold/19940210/Press & Public Contact: British Telecom - Tel:
[phone]; [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00026)

Tricom Announces Remote Access LAN System 02/10/04
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Tricom has
announced LANDial, which it claims is a new solution for connecting
remote users to the corporate local area network (LAN).

The system, which is available immediately, combines a fully
integrated, high performance access server with a Windows-based
client package that claims to allow users to run both remote
takeover and client server applications simultaneously with one
connection.

According to Tricom, the system is targeted at the growing remote
access market which has been fuelled by the increase in PC sales and
telecommuting; the movement of critical data from mainframes to LANs
and an increase in client/server applications.

The company cites Forrester Research, the US research and
consultancy business, as predicting that the market will include
more than 25 million remote professionals by the end of next year,
and that the market will be worth around $2,800 million in sales by
1997.

Commenting on LANDial, Mike Hafferty, Tricom's CEO, said that
effective remote access applications must address certain
challenges. "These include maintaining high communication speed,
providing an easy to use interface and making management of this
solution simple for network managers," he said.

"With LANDial we have designed a system which addresses these
issues, by creating a cost-effective solution which uses the fastest
hardware technology available with a user friendly, Windows-based
interface," he added.

LANDial is claimed to be a complete system for dial-in and dial-out
applications, and includes:

[] LANDial remote, a Windows-based remote access package that
integrates client server and remote takeover software with advanced
comms drivers, supporting DOS and Windows applications.

[] Fileserver, Host and PC access are available over the LAN.

[] A desktop Tornado 28/42 high speed desktop or portable modem,
capable of 300,000 bits per second data transmissions using parallel
port transmission technology,

[] Expresswatch SNMP (simple network management protocol) based
management software for monitoring and configuring the interface.

[] A protocol independent solution, allowing SNA, IP, IPX, NetBIOS
and other networking solutions to operate.

LANDial is available in two port, four port and eight port server
versions. Prices start from UKP 3,999 upwards and include server, as
well as SNMP network management technology, plus an unlimited
license for LAN PC software. The optional high speed modem adds UKP
599 to the price tag, while the license for LANDial remote software
is UKP per copy for disks and documentation.

(Steve Gold/19940210/Press & Public Contact: Tricom - Tel: +44-494-
480329; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00027)

Fujitsu Intros 3.5 Inch Magneto Optical Drive 02/10/94
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 2 (NB) -- Fujitsu Europe has
announced what it claims is the world's first second-generation
magneto-optical drive that has a data capacity of 230 megabytes (MB)
per media unit. This is, Newsbytes notes, about twice that of its
128MB per unit predecessor.

According to Joe Jura, Fujitsu Europe's storage products manager,
the M2512A drive is backwards compatible with the earlier 128MB
unit. In addition to this, the drive claims to comply with the ECMA-
201 magneto-optical standard ratified last December.

"The larger capacity enables 3.5 inch magneto optical drives to
compete more strongly in a number of markets, particularly archive
and backup applications," he said, adding that, in the PC arena, the
market is currently dominated by 60 to 160MB quarter inch tape.

"The increased capacity of the new generation optical drives coupled
with their superior access times, makes them a very attractive
alternative," he said.

Newsbytes notes that the drive has double speed data transfer rates
over its predecessor. This is due to improved driver software, as
well as a 237,000 byte write back caching system, as well as a fast
spin speed of 3,600 revolutions per minute.

Another improvement over the previous generation of drives is a
reduced power consumption -- down from 10 watts to seven watts, as
well as a power management mode that cuts consumption to 3.5 watts
in a "sleep mode." Because of the reduced power consumption, the
unit only needs a single five volt power source, not an additional
12 volt system as is usual with other magneto optical drives, the
company claims.

So how much does the drive cost? Fujitsu isn't saying until the
drive ships in a couple of months. The company claims that the unit
is very price competitive on a UKP per megabyte basis.

(Steve Gold/19940210/Press & Public Contact: Fujitsu Europe - Tel:
[phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)

McAfee To Acquire Brightwork Development 02/10/94
NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- McAfee Associates and
Brightwork Development, which claims to be a leader in NetWare-based
network management software, have announced that they have signed a
non-binding letter of intent for McAfee to acquire the assets of New
Jersey-based Brightwork for cash. No further details of the
acquisition were announced as this issue of Newsbytes goes to press.

"Network security management has become a basic requirement in
corporations," explained William Larson, McAfee's president and
chief executive officer, announcing the planned acquisition.

"McAfee intends to leverage its customer base by expanding its
product line and adding more security and network management tools.
We believe that acquiring Brightwork Development will be the right
first step in delivering on this strategy," he added.

According to Larson, network security management encompasses a wide
variety of tools to manage assets and protect the integrity of
corporate networks, including, among others, software metering,
asset management, and anti-virus software. He said that Brightwork
Development, which offers a robust line of LAN management products,
will bring a number of key strengths to McAfee.

Larson said that, in addition to an award-winning product line,
Brightwork has approximately 30,000 customer accounts. His
enthusiasm for the deal was backed up by Greg Gianforte,
Brightwork's president and chief executive officer.

"The combination of McAfee and Brightwork will bring together a
powerful set of products and unique sales channels targeted
exclusively at the network security management market," he said.

(Steve Gold/19940210)


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

NatSemi Unveils Encryption Chip For LANs 02/10/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- National
Semiconductor (Natsemi) has announced a new encryption chip
that it claims will increase security for corporate networks, as
well as public networks such as the Internet, a network reknowned
for its "too public" public access, as clearly illustrated by the
unauthorized network "sniffer" program revealed this week.

Known as iPower technology, Natsemi's new chip encryption system
could be incorporated, the company claims on PCMCIA (personal
computer memory card international association) cards to allow users
to access smart networks to buy or rent software, access data and
even shop in "virtual stores" online.

For the first application, Natsemi says it expects to see the iPower
chipset to be embedded in PCMCIA security "tokens" that can be used
like an ATM card.

"To gain access, you'll have to have something you own -- your card
-- and have information you know, such as your ID number," explained
Walter Curtis, vice president of National's iPower business unit.

According to Curtis, the iPower chip can store and run one or more
encryption algorithms. The chip is impossible to copy or decode; if
it is tampered with, it releases a chemical that erases its secure
data, he said, adding that, as well as encrypting data, iPower cards
can track how long a user is logged on and what data he accesses.

Several hardware and software developers, including Lotus
Development Corporation, are working on products that take advantage
of iPower technology, he said.

(Steve Gold/19940210/Press & Public Contact: National
Semiconductor - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00030)

Trend Micro Devices Announces Stationlock System 02/10/94
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, 1994 FEB 10 (NB) -- Trend Micro Devices has
announced an enhanced version of Stationlock, its workstation
security product, for what it claims are the security-conscious
network users in the accounting profession.

According to the company,Stationlock version 1.6, which is available
now, is a hardware solution which addresses two major security
concerns that it claims are critical to the accounting industry:
unauthorized access and menacing viruses.

"Privacy is a key issue in the implementation of networks in
accounting firms, and is of utmost concern to any professional
accountant," explained Steve Chang, the company's president.

"Because of multiple points of access, networks provide
opportunities for illegal entry, allowing access to highly sensitive
data. The enhancements we are offering with this version of
Stationlock will make the network administrator's life simpler when
configuring security on the network," he added.

Stationlock contains its own read only memory (ROM)-based DOS known
as X-DOS, which takes control of the system prior to loading any
operating systems, thereby preventing all possible intrusions.

According to the company, because of its work at the BIOS level,
Stationlock offers protection that is a step beyond software
products currently available. Stationlock's hardware design claims
to offer highly effective reliability in security, embedding access
control and virus protection functions on an eight bit card.
StationLock version 1.6 offers several new features, including:
audit trail capabilities, allowing network administrators to
track attempts made at accessing the workstation; screenlock, a
customized key feature which causes the screen to go blank at
specified times, or after a predetermined time; Non-Privilege User
Access Right, enabling LAN administrators to choose if user may
access Stationlock set-up program; Virus Clean Option, which
detects and cleans viruses. Stationlock version 1.6 protects LAN
workstations in both access control and virus protection modes,
the company claims.

The standalone retail price of Stationlock has been set at $129.
The company says that discounts are available for site licenses.

(Steve Gold/19940210/Press & PUblic Contact: Trend Micro Devices -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])