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/nb021794

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(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00001)

 ****UK Report -- Superhighways A Non-Starter 02/17/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Superhighways are very
much in the news on both sides of the Atlantic, mainly because of
their potential. But not everyone is claiming that they offer the
perfect nirvana to the computer user. According to John Matthews,
lead author of a new report from Ovum -- "The Local Loop: Market,
Technical & Regulatory Strategies" -- residential users of
superhighway technology are not worth worrying about,

"Suppliers should forget superhighways to the home and focus on
technologies which will give them a competitive edge. Domestic
customers view superhighways, which provide switched,
broadband information, as an expensive luxury," he said.

According to Matthews, traditionally, it has been argued that the
local loop is a natural monopoly and that competition is not an
issue. There, he argues, several challenges to this argument.

In the first place, interconnection is now a requirement. A large
number of interconnect issues remain, but it is a policy objective
in all competitive regimes to ensure that customers on one system
are able to call customers on another.

Additionally, product differentiation is now a requirement.
Marketing and service development (such as the ability to provide
a mobile service) have started to elevate telephony out of the
commodity-item status.

Also, serving even a small number of customers can be profitable.
A major customer will require a large number of circuits and will
generate larger quantities of traffic. Some of the traffic will go
to the local loop suppliers, either directly from the customer or
from the operator to which it connects via the competitive local
loop.

Ovum predicts that, because of its low cost and improved service
levels, fiber in the loops (combinations of fiber and copper) will
come to dominate, at the expense of copper. By the year 2003, the
company predicts that fiber in the loop will claim almost a 70
percent share of all phone lines worldwide.

The use of radio will also grow quite strongly, the report says,
since it offers a rapid and cost-effective market entry. In contrast,
asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) technology will have
only a limited impact, except in the UK and US, where it will be
used by some telecom companies as an answer to a competitive
threat from cable TV companies.

"The Local Loop: Market, Technical & regulatory Strategies," is
available for UKP995 from Ovum.

(Steve Gold/19940216/Press & Public Contact: Ovum,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00002)

UK -- Apple Sells Computers Through Catalog 02/17/94
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Apple Computer UK has
announced it will be selling the Performa range of Macs through
Argos, the catalog shop. Plans call for the "Performas to be
stocked at 24 of the "shop catalog" stores.

According to Apple UK, the Performa was chosen to be sold through
shop catalog operation owing to its best-seller status which the
machine has achieved since its launch a year ago. "The Performa
builds on the Mac ease-of-use style and has become one of the most
popular home computers for Apple on the high street," claimed Jon
Molyneux, retail sales manager with the Apple UK.

"The Apple brand is well respected in the consumer market and
our retail partners and customers have benefitted from Apple's
aggressive pricing policies," he said.

The Performa range will, Newsbytes understands, be demonstrated
in-store, with ample opportunity for potential buyers to get a
"hands on" with the system. A Performa hot-line is also being made
available to all customers to assist with technical support and
general queries.

According to Nick Knight, office equipment buyer with Argos, the
company's philosophy has been to sell well-known products at an
"everyday" price. "We believe that Apple's Performa will meet the
increasing demand for quality home computer products, and
welcome the opportunity to offer the range," he said.

(Steve Gold/19940216/Press & Public Contact: Apple Computer
UK, 44-81-569-1199)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00003)

Greek Parliament Votes Against PM Wiretap Probe 02/17/94
ATHENS, GREECE, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- The Greek Parliament has
announced it has voted against an investigation into allegations
of illegal tapping of phones, under the orders of Andreas Papandreou,
the Socialist Prime Minister, who was in power between 1981 and
1989.

The threat of an investigation into Papandreou comes in the wake of
an ongoing investigation into similar alleged activities by ex-PM
Mitsokakis, who was Conservative PM from 1989 onwards. That
investigation, Newsbytes notes, is continuing. The vote against an
investigation was 151 to 102 -- a major coup for the Government.

The investigation into Mitsokakis' activities is reaching its
conclusion, according to informed sources in Greece. The committee
looking into the affair will finish by the end of this month, at which
stage, it will recommend whether any criminal prosecutions should
take place.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940216)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00004)

Intel Opens First European Manufacturing Plant 02/17/94
DUBLIN, IRELAND, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Intel, the US chip
manufacturer, has inaugurated its biggest production facility in
Leixlip, Ireland. The facility, the company's first in Europe, has
cost around IRL550 million ($750 million) before the first
computer chip rolls off the production line.

Plans call for the facility to manufacture the 80486 chipset, with
an eventual switch to the Pentium processor. According to Intel,
the facility's production will augment, rather than replace,
production from the company's other plants around the world.

Although under pressure from other so-called "clone" chip
manufacturers, Intel reports healthy profits as continuing, with
sales of its Pentium chipset continuing to rise. So far, no clone
chip manufacturer has committed to producing the Pentium chipset.
This situation should assure Intel's profitability over the next few
years, Newsbytes notes.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940216/Press & Public Contact: Intel UK,
44-793-696000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00005)

IBM Staff Block Paris Streets In Layoff Protest 02/17/94
PARIS, FRANCE, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- French employees of IBM are
reported to be extremely angry at the company's plans to lay off
around 3,000 staff from the payroll. So angry, in fact, that on
February 10, 400 staff blocked the streets of Paris for three
hours to protest the situation.

In parallel with the staged protest, staff at the company's various
sites and offices around France staged their own protest -- a 90-
minute mini-strike. IBM's managers have remained aloof from the
problems, however, claiming that they are necessary in order for
the company to save around $100 million on the payroll.

Curiously, IBM's sales in France are said to be doing well, on the
back of an intensive media campaign to boost sales in the UK and
Europe. The media campaign, which majors on comparing brain
power between a human-being and a computer, is reported to have
boosted sales by as much as 60 percent in some areas, Newsbytes
notes.

(Steve Gold/19940216/Press & Public Contact: IBM UK,
44-81-995-1441)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00006)

 ****IBM Ships Quarter-Millionth PowerPC 601 Chip 02/17/94
HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- IBM
Microelectronics said it has shipped more than 250,000 PowerPC
601 microprocessors in its first four months of making the chips.

IBM also said it is cutting prices on the PowerPC chips by about
15 percent. The new prices are $417 for the 80 megahertz (MHz)
version, $298 for the 66MHz version, and $232 for the 50MHz
chip, in quantities of 25,000.

IBM Microelectronics makes the chip, developed under an alliance
with Apple Computer Inc., and Motorola Corp., at its plant in
Burlington, Vermont. Both IBM and Motorola sell it. IBM
introduced the first computers based on the chip last fall, and
Apple is widely expected to add PowerPC-based models to its
Macintosh line in March.

The PowerPC 601 is the first of four planned PowerPC parts. The
PowerPC 603 is a power-saving version aimed at laptop, portable,
and low-end desktop computers. The PowerPC 604 is meant for
higher-performance desktop PCs and workstations. The PowerPC
620 will be the top of the line, meant for high-performance
workstations and servers. IBM plans to begin making these chips
this year and next year, company spokesman Jim Smith told
Newsbytes.

The 601 chip has 2.8 million transistors, in a package about four
tenths of an inch per side. It includes the Motorola 88110 bus,
which provides an advanced interface that supports a range of
computer systems, including personal computers, workstations,
and multiprocessing systems, the companies said.

(Grant Buckler/19940217/Press Contact: Jim Smith, IBM
Microelectronics, 914-892-5389)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00007)

Networks Expo - Net Mgt Product For Modem Connections 02/17/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- At Networks
Expo, VisiSoft Inc., and Digital Communications Associates (DCA)
Inc., have unveiled a product aimed at bringing sophisticated
network and systems management to the emerging arena of remote
local area network (LAN) access.

The new VisiNet SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) for
RLN (Remote LAN Node) is a version of VisiSoft's VisiNet 2.5 network
monitoring and alarm application that has been custom designed to
support DCA's RLN 2.0 software for accessing LANs from remote PCs
by modem, officials said at a news conference attended by
Newsbytes.

The joint product announcement follows a strategic relationship
initiated last summer, and also includes a co-marketing agreement.
Fittingly, the VisiSoft/DCA press event was subtitled "Making
Beautiful Music Together," and featured a live performance by jazz
students from the Boston-based Berklee College of Music.

Ian Pennell, DCA's director of RLN products, told journalists that
DCA's RLN 2.0 lets end users and network/systems managers access
Ethernet and token ring networks remotely by dialing in over
regular or integrated services digital network (ISDN) phone lines
via modem. The remote LAN access software supports up to 16
remote connections per server.

From their homes and other remote locations, users can log on to
any popular LAN operating system -- such as Novell NetWare,
Microsoft LAN Manager, or Banyan Vines -- and function as though
they were sitting at their desks in their offices, according to
Pennell.

RLN 2.0 also includes an SNMP-based manager that lets network
administrators add and delete users, configure communications
ports, and gather statistics from any Windows-based PC on the
network, including remotely connected portable and desktop
computers. The administrator can access RLN 2.0 locally as
well as by modem.

VisiNet 2.5 is a Windows 3.1-based graphical network management
system that allows the network manager to "drill down" through a
series of network overviews, explained Visisoft officials. SNMP
agents and most NetBIOS networks are supported. The software also
alerts network managers to potential trouble spots on the network.

Greg Goodall, Visisoft's CEO, said that the new VisiNet SNMP for
RLN has been specifically developed to support the SNMP
Management Information Base (MIB), alarm conditions, and other
network management capabilities of RLN 2.0.

VisiNet SNMP for RLN will soon be implemented by a large
multinational corporation, for management of RLN servers used by
3,000 field salespersons at remote locations, according to Goodall.
The salespeople will dial in to the corporate network daily over
ISDN to "access the information they need," he said.

In a demonstration, Joe Brown, Visisoft's director of product
management and business development, showed how VisiNet
SNMP for RLN gives the network manager a series of graphical
representations that starts out with a network overview map
and ends with statistics for individual servers.

Brown also illustrated how the administrator can quickly carry out
such tasks as adding a new user to a user group, changing a user's
password, or requiring all members of a user group to have
a password of a specified length.

The graphical representations in VisiNet SNMP are color-coded to
specific alarm conditions in RLN 2.0, said Brown. "And VisiNet can
page you to let you know of an alarm condition," he noted.

A server that "goes down," or a failed attempt by a user to access
the system, are a couple of examples of alarm conditions in RLN,
said Mark J. Monday, RLN product manager for DCA, meeting with
Newsbytes after the press conference.

The network manager can easily configure VisiNet SNMP for RLN to
represent RLN alarm conditions through any desired color scheme,
added Monday. The paging capability in VisiNet requires use of a
wireless server.

Also after the press conference, Pennell told Newsbytes that RLN
and VisiNet SNMP for RLN can be used with modems down to 9,600
bits-per-second (bps) speeds. Network operating systems do not
function well at speeds below 9,600 bps, he maintained.

But with prices of high-speed modems becoming increasingly
affordable, the remote access/network management software is
typically used at 14.4 megabits per second (Mbps) or higher,
Pennell said.

VisiNet SNMP for RLN is available now. Through the newly announced
co-marketing agreement between Visisoft and DCA, the software will
be offered for $795 through March 31, less than half the regular
$1,995 price of VisiNet 2.5 SNMP.

Each package of DCA's RLN will bear a sticker on the front saying
"VisiNet for Windows Inside." A coupon inside the package will
provide information on how to purchase the product at the
introductory price of $795.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940217/Reader Contacts: DCA, 800-348-3221;
VisiSoft, 800-VISINET; Press Contacts: Kerry Stanfield, DCA, 404-
442-4519; Sally Smith, SSSmith & Associates Public Relations for
VisiSoft, 513-897-0654)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00008)

Macworld Expo Tokyo Opens 02/17/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Macworld Expo Tokyo
opened at Makuhari Messe today in Chiba Prefecture. The opening
ceremony was held at the gate by Apple Computer's Executive Vice
President Ian Diery and Apple Computer Japan's President John
Floisand, and some executives from IDG and Macworld magazine.

It is expected that a total of 100,000 visitors will attend the
exposition during the three-day period.

It is the fourth time the Macworld Expo has been held in Tokyo,
with the current show being the largest. A total of 303 firms will
exhibit their products and technologies at 1,140 booths. Major
participating firms include Apple Computer, Lotus, Microsoft,
Claris, Wordperfect, Pioneer LDC, Toshiba EMI, ASCII, Adobe
Systems, Fujitsu, Seiko-Epson, Software Japan, AI Software,
Dynaware, Japan Silicon Graphics, Catena, and Oki Electric.

Among others, it is the first time that music recording firms
have participated in the show with CD-ROM-based multimedia
software.

The major products are focused on multimedia-related products
such as CD-ROM, the Newton personal digital assistant (PDA), the
PowerPC, and powerful peripheral equipment such as color page
printers. Software for the PowerPC, called "PowerApp," is being
demonstrated at the Apple booth. Also, Newton's electronic-mail
system, called "NewtonMail," is being shown.

Two unique sections were set up for the show -- the "Step-Up
Avenue" and the "Touch & Try" corner. At the Step-Up Avenue,
visitors are able to exchange ideas on how to upgrade their
own computer systems, while at the Touch & Try corner, they
can actually "test-drive" various application programs for the
Macintosh.

At Apple Computer's booth, plenty of new technologies and
products were shown under the theme "Macintosh 10th Anniversary."
Major new products include an advanced color inkjet printer, called
the Apple Color StyleWriter Pro, a low-cost laser printer, called
the LaserWriter Select 610, and a digital still-camera, called the
Apple QuickTake 100.

The Color StyleWriter Pro is an advanced version of the
StyleWriter, and can be connected with the QuickTake 100. The
printer supports quality color printing under Apple's technology,
called ColorSync. The printer also supports regular copy paper,
with sizes between a post card and A4 paper. Printing speed is
two minutes per A4-size paper. It can print via local area network
such as LocalTalk and Ethernet. The retail price is 128,000 yen
($1,280).

The LaserWriter Select 610 is equipped with a RISC (reduced
instruction-set computing) chip. With this chip and Fuji-Xerox's
engine, the printer can print 10 pages-per-minute. The printing
quality is good -- it prints at 600 dots-per-inch (dpi). The
LaserWriter Select 610 is retailed at 448,000 yen ($4,480).

The QuickTake 100 can be connected with the Macintosh and the
printers. It has its large memory in the body of the camera, and
can store between eight and 32 pieces of color digital pictures
depending on the resolution. This digital still-camera is sold at
118,000 yen ($1,180).

Other products and technologies being demonstrated and discussed
include the PowerPC Macintosh, the Newton, OpenDoc, Fire Wire
EnPassant, Drag&Drop, HyperCard 2.2, Apple Interactive Help,
PowerTalk and Language Kit family. At the small theater in the
booth, films on mobile computing, AV/Future Technology, and a
Macintosh 10-year history were shown.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940217/Press Contact: IDG
World Expo Japan, Toshiro Nishihara, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00009)

Macworld Expo Tokyo -- Multimedia 02/17/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- At Macworld Expo Tokyo in
Makuhari Messe, Japan, various conferences are being held
concerning multimedia devices and technologies.

On the opening day, Ian Diery, Apple's executive vice president and
general manager of the Personal Computer Division, talked about
the progress and innovation that Apple Computer has made. Also,
he talked about Apple's future with PowerPC and peripheral
equipment.

Prior to the talk, Ian Diery was quoted by the Nikkan Kogyo
newspaper as saying that Apple Computer is preparing to support
Windows software on PowerPC. He has also mentioned that it was
Apple Computer's fundamental mistake that the firm did not
license the Macintosh operating system to third party firms in
1985.

To some observers, judging from these words, it appears Apple
may be changing its policy, and may license the operating system
in the future.

Other conference speakers are Gaston Bastiaens, who is vice
president and general manager of Apple's Personal Interactive
Electronics Division, and Rick LeFaivre, who is vice president of
Apple's Technology Group. These executives will talk about Apple's
future strategy concerning personal communications with the
Newton MessagePad, on February 18.

On February 19, Eikoh Harada, Satjiv Chahil, and Peter Gabriel will
talk about Apple's new multimedia structure, which will affect
low-end home users. Japan's Nobel Prize winner Heisuke Hironaka
will participate in an educational session in the afternoon.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940217/Press Contact: IDG
World Expo Japan, Toshiro Nishihara, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00010)

Dataquest - Double-Digit 1993 Semiconductor Growth 02/17/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB)  --  Market research
firm Dataquest has released the results of their 1993 semiconductor
market survey, which shows the entire industry grew by 27 percent,
with every semiconductor product category experiencing double-
digit growth.

As reported by the company, last year's "entire industry growth"
figure was 9.3 percent. A review of the data shows the North
American region remaining a leader. Dataquest suggests that such
continued growth should attract even more investment.

Speaking with NewsBytes, Gary Grandbois, an analyst for Dataquest,
said, "The semiconductor market has traditionally been disconnected
from the general trends of the overall US economy and may not be
a good indicator of economic recovery, but the signs for North
American semiconductor growth have to be considered great,
economically, within the industry."

Because it has changed from a captive-only supplier to a merchant
supplier, IBM has, for the first time, been included in the survey
and its presence in the survey strongly affects the memory and
microcomponent IC (integrated circuit) category, said the survey.
However, discrete devices and optical semiconductors showed
more modest gains.

Worldwide revenue from IC's, with the inclusion of IBM, was
$35.1 million, with discrete devices $11.6 million, optical
semiconductors $11.8 million, and total semiconductor growth
$31.2 million.

The survey further reveals, from the IBM-included results, that
semiconductor products in 1993 grew by at least 18 percent in each
producing region in the world, with the greatest growth occurring
in the Asia/Pacific-ROW at 45 percent. North America follows with
37 percent,  Europe with 27 percent, and Japan with 20 percent.

The worldwide percent of growth of semiconductor product
consumption was 31.2. The inclusion of IBM revenue affected the
outcome an average of four percent.

Dataquest expects another banner year for the semiconductor
industry in 1994, but states that the "growth rate may not be quite
as high."

Gary Grandbois further stated, "The strong growth patterns are
a reflection of the personal computer market and the strength
of the integrated circuit producers."

(Patrick McKenna/19940216/Press Contact: Paul Wheaton,
Dataquest Inc., 408-437-8312)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00011)

Hong Kong - SAS Helps Air Terminal Manage Cargo Space 02/17/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) --  Hong Kong Air Cargo
Terminals Ltd (HACTL), claimed to be the world's largest airfreight
terminal operator, is developing a planning information system
based on software from SAS Institute to improve its use of Hong
Kong's most expensive commodity - space.

Last year, for the first time, the company's two terminals at Hong
Kong International Airport handled more than one million metric
tons of cargo in a single year. Already working at 73 percent of
capacity, HACTL is experiencing an average compound annual
growth rate of 11.4 percent, which puts increased pressure on
facilities and resources.

"In view of our strong business growth, we needed a robust decision
support solution to help us plan for the future," said Planning
Manager Maria Luk. "The SAS System enables us to perform
sophisticated 'what-if' analysis to identify possible bottle-necks
and see where we can increase efficiency. Eventually our planning
information will be consolidated into a SAS-based resource that
will allow staff to efficiently retrieve data for capacity and
equipment planning."

HACTL licensed an initial eight modules of the SAS System, an open
systems information delivery, and application development software
suite, including BASE SAS, SAS/STATS, SAS/QC, SAS/FSP,
SAS/GRAPH, SAS/ASSIST, SAS/ETS, and SAS/INSIGHT. The planning
department previously used PC applications such as dBase III, Lotus
1-2-3 and Harvard Graphics to monitor and plan its operations.

Luk said that HACTL will use the new software to handle high-level
statistical analysis, perform advanced operational research, and
for quality control analysis. Other key applications will include
database management and ad hoc enquiries using SQL (structured
query language).

The flexibility of the SAS system means that HACTL can upgrade its
hardware at any time, said the company. For example, if the firm
moves to a larger, more powerful Unix-based system, its SAS
applications will be fully portable to the new platform.

"By selecting SAS software as its decision support tool, HACTL is
future-proofing its investment in software," said Nigel Gasper,
general manager of SAS Institute in Hong Kong. "The SAS system,
being hardware independent, grows with the business and can be
migrated to any change in hardware."

(Keith Cameron/19940214/Press Contact: Nigel Gasper,
853-568-4280, SAS)


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

Microsoft Ships Powerpoint 4.0, Office 4.2 02/17/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Microsoft
has announced it has started shipping version 4.0 of Powerpoint
for Windows, its presentation graphics software program. Also,
now that Powerpoint 4.0 for Windows is generally available,
Microsoft is also shipping Microsoft Office version 4.2 for
Windows, the software suite that includes Powerpoint.

Office also includes word processor Microsoft Word 6.0a for
Windows, spreadsheet Excel 5.0 for Windows, the Microsoft Access
database management system version 1.1, and a client license for
Microsoft Mail 3.2.

Microsoft claims more than four million Powerpoint for Windows
users worldwide, double the installed base of a year ago. The
company cites an International Data Corp. report that says about 78
percent of the 1993 sales of presentation graphics programs were
Powerpoint.

Features of Powerpoint include Autolayout, which allows the user to
pick from a variety of predefined slides. It also includes Intellisense,
a recently introduced Microsoft technology that causes the software
to anticipate what your are doing and do it for you. For example, in
Microsoft Word if you were to type the characters "Newsb"
Intellisense would anticipate you were typing "Newsbytes" and
finish the keystrokes for you. It also uses Wizards, an aid in
preparing presentations, and Cue Cards that list the steps
necessary to accomplish the current task.

In the latest release of Microsoft Office, Officelinks help integrate
the various elements of Office, drawing information from multiple
applications into a single finished product. There is also an updated
version of MOM (Microsoft Office Manage), a tool that integrates the
Office applications and perform such tasks as searching files directly
from the MOM tool bar. Office supports object linking and embedding.

Microsoft says Powerpoint 4.0 will be generally available March 19,
1994 in retail outlets as a standalone product and as an automatic
no-cost upgrade to Office 4.0 except for shipping and handling. The
first boxes will be shipped directly to 4.0 users who purchased after
September 15, 1993, and qualify for the automatic upgrade.
Standalone Powerpoint 4.0 for Windows has a suggested retail price
of $495. Users of competitive products can switch to Powerpoint
for $129.

Microsoft Office 4.2 Standard Edition, which is available on floppy
disks or CD-ROM, has a suggested retail price of $750. The
professional edition sells for $899. If you currently use any of the
individual products that make up the Office suite you can upgrade
to Office standard edition for $259.

(Jim Mallory/19940217/Press Contact: Julie Briselden, Microsoft
Corp., 206-882- 8080; Reader Contact: Microsoft Corp.,
206-882-8080 or 800-426-94000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00013)

Microsoft Money 3.0 Now Available 02/17/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Microsoft
is now shipping version 3.0 of Microsoft Money, its personal
finance and on-line banking software.

The on-line banking feature of Money, called Bank On-Line, allows
users with Money, a modem-equipped personal computer running
Microsoft Windows, and an account at a participating bank to perform
such tasks as checking the balance of their credit card, savings,
and checking accounts, and transfer funds between accounts. You can
also download the information needed to reconcile your checkbooks,
and even exchange electronic mail with your bank.

Money also has an electronic bill payment and investment tracking
capability through its Pay On-Line and Quotes On-Line features.

According to Patty Stonesifer, VP of Microsoft's consumer division,
research indicates most of us want to spend as little time as
possible on routine financial management chores. "With Microsoft
Money 3.0 we wanted to make it really easy and fast for users to
update account records and pay bills, so they can spend their
valuable time on more important short- and long-term financial
planning issues," she said.

The Bank On-Line service is being introduced initially with First
National Bank of Chicago, Michigan National Bank, and US Bank
National Payment Clearinghouse Inc. The latter institution (NPCI)
is facilitating the program by providing network switching and
processing services.

With competition keen for your bank business, financial institutions
are constantly looking for ways to entice new customers. Bank
On-Line may be one of those ways, says the company.

Michigan National Bank Senior VP Alan Ostroff says the demand for
electronic access to banking information is growing. "It's one way
customers can choose one bank over another. It enhances our
customer service capability by giving customers instant access to
account information and the ability to better manage their
finances - it's a big plus for our product line."

The introductory price of Microsoft Money 3.0 is $34.95 until April
15, 1994, when it goes up to $69.95. There is also a monthly fee for
each of the on-line services it supports. Bank On-Line costs $7.95
per month. Pay On-Line carries a $9.95 price tag to pay up to 20
monthly bills electronically. Payment to each additional 10
creditors adds $3.50 to the monthly charge. Pay On-Line is available
to all Microsoft Money 3.0 purchasers regardless of the bank they
use.

Quotes On-Line is also available to all Money 3 users, and
provides access to information about more than 16,000 stocks and
mutual funds listed on NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ. For $3.95 each
month you can make four calls per month to Quotes On-Line, with
no limit on the number of stock quotes obtained during each call.
Additional calls cost $0.50 each.

Users of Money 2.0, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Works can get
$5 off the price by using an in-box rebate coupon that comes with
Money.

(Jim Mallory/19940217/Press Contact: Christine Santucci,
Microsoft Corp., 206-882-8080; Reader Contact: Microsoft Corp.,
206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00014)

Prodigy, Southam Studying Canadian On-line Plans 02/17/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Prodigy Services
Co., and Southam Inc., said they are studying the market for on-line
services in Canada. The joint effort could lead to the creation of a
Canadian counterpart to Prodigy's information service in the
United States.

Prodigy, of White Plains, New York, is a joint venture of IBM and
Sears. Its on-line service of the same name is one of the largest
in the United States. Southam is a Toronto-based publisher of
daily newspapers and trade magazines, which also has interests in
electronic publishing and trade shows.

The companies are giving out few details of their plans, saying
only that they are planning to evaluate consumer market demand
for on-line services in Canada with a study starting immediately.
Other Canadian companies are welcome to join in the project, they
said.

Carol Wallace, a spokeswoman for Prodigy, told Newsbytes that
future developments will depend on the outcome of the study,
though she said the outlook is "very positive" for some sort of
commercial offering. "The big question is going to be content,"
she said.

Prodigy has recently announced alliance with several newspaper
publishers in the US to provide local interactive services on
its network. Southam's electronic publishing interests include
Infomart, which makes available the text of a number of daily
newspapers on-line.

(Grant Buckler/19940217/Press Contact: Sue Ann Wickwire,
Southam, 416-442-2100; Carol Wallace, Prodigy, 914-448-2496)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00015)

Japan - Powerful Pocket Beeper Developed By Casio 02/17/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Tokyo-based watch maker
Casio claims to have developed a unique pocket beeper.

According to the company, it includes, not only a regular "beeping"
feature, but also has a telecommunications feature to exchange
data between beepers. The device is called the "Nicot," and will
be released around April.

Casio's Nicot is quite small -- measuring just 9.2 by 6.7 by 1.9
centimeters (cm), and weighs 9.9 grams. It has a foldable LCD
(liquid crystal display) screen over its small keyboard.

The device also has a modem with which the user will be able to
transmit an input message through the mouth-piece of the
telephone. The message will be sent to the other device via a
telecom center of beeper firms.

Fifty kinds of custom-made frequently-used messages are
provided in the beeper. Besides these messages, the user will
be able to create their own. A maximum of 50 messages can be
stored in the device, with the messages being created in both
"Katakana" Japanese and alphabet letters. The device also has
a calculator feature.

Casio is planning to release the Nicot for beeper firms on
March 1. The beeper firms are expected to release it for the
regular consumer market in Japan as early as April. Casio
aims to ship a total of 150,000 units in its initial year.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940215/Press Contact:
Casio, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00016)

Japan - Fujitsu To Intro Quick-Time Compatible PCs 02/17/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Fujitsu says it will release
Quick-Time compatible personal computers (PCs) on February 19.

The company claims that these PCs are not only more powerful,
but cheaper than the exiting models. Fujitsu has also cut the
price of the firm's multimedia player called the "Marty."

Fujitsu's latest personal computers are in its FM Towns
family, which is based on the company's original architecture.
The high-end model -- the FM Towns II Fresh -- is an all-in-one
version. It has a 33 megahertz (MHz) 486SX processor, a 14-inch
display, a mouse, a keyboard, and a microphone. It also has a
built-in CD-ROM player, which is compatible with Apple's
Quick-Time motion picture software.

In an agreement with Apple Computer Japan, Fujitsu supports
Quick-Time on the Fujitsu version of Windows 3.1. Moreover, it
has a 170 megabyte (MB) hard disk, the Towns 2.1 operating
system, Windows 3.1, and Oasys-wins word processor. The
price of the PC is 368,000 yen ($3,680). The firm is hoping
to ship a total of 150,000 units in its first year.

Another new model, called the FM Towns II MF, is equipped with
Quick-Time for Windows and Microsoft's Video for Windows. This
is the low-cost version, which is retailed at 228,000 yen ($2,280).

Meanwhile, Fujitsu has announced that it has slashed the price of
its multimedia player by 30 percent. It is now available at 66,000
yen ($660).

According to Fujitsu, this price cut is due to the slow sales of the
player. The company was expecting to sell about 200,000 units in
its first year. However, it has sold only 45,000 units since the
device was released in February, 1993. The Marty is compatible
with Fujitsu's FM Towns on a CD-ROM basis. The device is
connected to a regular television set.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940217)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00017)

Hong Kong - EDS Signs Systems Mgt Deal With OSi 02/17/94
CAUSEWAY BAY, HONG KONG, 1994  FEB 17 (NB) -- EDS has
announced that it has secured a multimillion dollar contract to
design, implement, and manage a fully integrated IT (information
technology) infrastructure for OSi Specialties Inc., formerly a
part of the specialty chemical division of US chemical giant
Union Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc.

The contract, which will be worth more than US$53 million over
the next 11 years, calls for EDS to design and install a LAN
(local area network) backbone, an office automation system, and
an electronic mail gateway. EDS' technical specialists have already
spent six months working with an OSi project team to help
customize a sophisticated manufacturing application packaged
to suit the company's regional business needs.

"When Union Carbide decided to spin the company off as an entirely
separate corporate entity, OSi found that it suddenly needed a
completely new IT infrastructure, including hardware, software
and communications," said Larry Ng, technical services manager of
EDS Hong Kong Ltd. "The challenge was to develop a solution that
took full advantage of OSi's existing IT investment, but which
accommodated the latest in office automation and communications
technology."

"As a part of this transformation EDS will be responsible for the
implementation of OSi's manufacturing application package, as well
as taking care of all ongoing LAN administration, maintenance
support and high-level application support," said Thomas Chau,
technical support manager of EDS Hong Kong and the person who
has been given the task of overseeing the project in Hong Kong.

Under terms of the contract, both EDS and OSi will contribute
personnel and expertise to put the new IT infrastructure in place.
"This involves us working very closely together to develop a set
of business objectives which comply with OSi's high standards
on a global basis," said Chau.

The EDS system consists of a global, fully-integrated client/
server-based application with a central database repository. The
hardware platform consists of Hewlett-Packard 9000 Unix
servers, customized to support every major business function
of the company.

"We wanted a state-of-the-art infrastructure to help us reshape
and improve the way we do business, from integrated sales and
customer information through purchasing and manufacturing, as
well as business and financial planning," said Lucas Luk, general
manager of OSi Specialties Asia Ltd. "Operating our business
throughout the world on a seamless basis is critical to achieving
our corporate mission of providing outstanding service to our
customers. The partnership with EDS allows us to achieve this
while maintaining business continuity."

OSi is engaged in worldwide research, development, manufacture
and marketing of organofunctional silicones (OFS) and specialty
fluids to industrial customers. OSi employs more than 1,300
people and markets more than 500 products in 40 countries
around the world.

(Keith Cameron/19940214/Press Contact: Steve Leakey,
852-867-9888, EDS)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00018)

Two More Reader Rabbit Education Titles For Windows 02/17/94
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Educational
software producer The Learning Company, has announced two more
of its award-winning Reader Rabbit titles are available for
Microsoft Windows. "Reader Rabbit 1" and "Math Rabbit for Windows"
now feature better graphics, digitized sound, and more activities
aimed at children ages three to seven, says the company.

The firm also says it is responding to the demand for Windows
software from its customers. According to the Software Publisher
Association's 1993 Consumer Survey, half of IBM and compatible
computer users now use Microsoft Windows as their operating
environment.

Educational software publishers have been slower in moving to the
Windows platform than publishers of other application software
products. However, The Learning Company says it now has five
Windows educational software products and plans to continue to
move its other products to the Windows platform.

Reader Rabbit 1, aimed at ages three through six, has children
working with the Reader Rabbit character sorting, stacking and
matching words at the Word Factory. A Word Train game, has
children identify words that differ by just one letter and then
load them on the train headed to Wordville. The product features
animated 256-color graphics and sounds.

"Math Rabbit for Windows" aimed at children ages four through
seven and is set in the Circus of Numbers. Colorful, animated
members of the circus beckon the player to enter one of the four
attractions: the Calliope Counting Game; the Tightrope Show; the
Sea Lion Show; or the Balloon Matching Game -- for practice in
counting, addition, subtraction, number, and pattern recognition
skills.

The Learning Company's previous three Windows titles are:
"Reader Rabbit 2," "Treasure Mathstorm!" and "Student Writing
Center for Windows." All the Windows products require a 386 25
megahertz (MHz) or faster IBM or compatible personal computer
(PC) running Microsoft Windows 3.1, four megabytes (MB) of random
access memory (RAM), a hard drive, a video graphics array (VGA)
monitor, a keyboard, and mouse. A Windows-compatible sound card is
recommended and the software will take advantage of a 256-color
super video graphics array (SVGA) display if one is available,
company officials said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940217/Press Contact: Sharyn Fitzpatrick, The
Learning Company, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact, The Learning Company, 800-852-2255)


(CORRECTION)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00019)

Correction - Compton's Fight, Patent Office Reverse 02/17/94
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- In a story
that Newsbytes ran February 11, entitled: "Compton's Fight --
Patent Office Reverse On Prior Art" a wrong statement was
attributed to Philip Dodds, executive director of the Interactive
Multimedia Association (IMA).

Newsbytes reported that he had already previously announced
the IMA is willing to fight the Compton's patent in court. The
statement should have been that Dodds has already previously
announced the IMA is willing to support efforts to fight the
Compton's patent in court.

The original Dodd statement, made in a previous announcement,
was that, "I expect the IMA will support legal efforts to limit
or over-turn this patent."

Newsbytes regrets any inconvenience this error may have caused.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940217)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00020)

Books That Work Wins Award 02/17/94
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Books That
Work has received the Award for Technical Achievement/Innovation
at the R.R. Bowker Literary Market Place (LMP) awards held in the
New York Public Library for its Design & Build Your Deck multimedia
software title.

This is the second award this product has received, the first of
which was the Retailer's Choice award from Do-It-Yourself
Retailing magazine. PC Magazine also recognized the Design &
Build Your Deck as a finalist for its Technical Excellence Award.
Books That Work representatives say this is the first time
software product has been recognized by three different industries.

Design & Build Your Deck allows Microsoft Windows users to design
and model their own deck in three dimensions, then offers
instructions on how to build it. Animations help users visualize
potential problems, such as what the sun does to untreated wood
over time or how termite damage might occur.

Books That Work is a Palo Alto, California-based software company
whose titles are distributed by Broderbund Software. The
company's second title, the Home Survival Toolkit was released
late last year, and is an interactive multimedia encyclopedia
that offers needed information to home owners. The software
includes tips that explain how to fix electrical and plumbing
problems, what to do to prevent common emergencies, and how to
use a variety of tools. Animations are included in this title as well.

The technology for these types of books has been around for 20
years, said Kelly Rodriques of marketing for Books That Work.
Creating the titles, however, is a challenge in communication
between those with the expertise in the subject area and the
software developers. Other subjects planned are interior
decorating, gardening, cooking, and home entertainment.

Both products are in nationwide retail distribution. Design &
Build Your Deck carries a suggested retail price (SRP) of $79.95,
but can be found for around $50 in software stores. The
Home Survival Toolkit's SRP is $49.95 with a street price of
around $32, according to company officials.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940217/Press Contact: Kelly Rodriques,
Books That Work, tel [phone], fax [phone]; PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00021)

Networks Expo - Cameo's Low-Cost Boundary Hub/Brouter 02/17/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- At Networks
Expo Boston, a startup company called Cameo Communications has
announced an "economical" boundary hub with sophisticated
integrated bridging and routing.

In an interview and demo on the show floor, F. Alan Brind,
executive VP for sales and marketing, said that the company's new
UltraHub 1030 Integrated Frontier Router Hub is designed to provide
the functionality similar to the capabilities offered by larger and
better known integrated hub vendors, but at a lower cost.

Competitors in Cameo's price bracket offer only some of the
functionality of the UltraHub 1030, Brind told Newsbytes. 3Com,
for example, offers a boundary router, but the 3Com product is
without hub and bridging capabilities, according to the executive
VP. "The user has to add a hub and bridge," he explained.

The UltraHub 1030 belongs to Cameo's UltraHub 1000 product family,
first launched at Interop in May, 1992, Brind said. Other members
of the UltraHub 1000 family include the UltraHub 1020 master hub,
the UltraHub 1010 slave hub, and the UltraHub 1040 local bridge.

Cameo Communications also produces the UltraHub 5000 Intelligent
Concentrator; a series of plug-in modules for the UltraHub 5000;
and UltraView, a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)-
based network management system.

Based in Nashua, New Hampshire and Taiwan, Cameo has doubled its
revenues over the past year, and now boasts an installed base of
5,000 units in 15 different countries, according to Brind. The
executive VP projects that revenues will triple again over the
coming year.

Products are targeted at health care, education, research and
development (R&D), and other market segments where there are
"small budgets but high aspirations for building a network," he said.

Brind, who was previously a senior product line manager at DEC,
joined the startup in July, 1991, when the company was known as
Andover Technology Group. The name change to Cameo
Communications was Brind's idea. "I wanted a name that would be
close to top of the alphabet, but that wouldn't need an acronym,"
Newsbytes was told.

The company's latest offering, the UltraHub 1030, is aimed at use
with remote local area networks (LANs), which are at the edge
("boundary" or "frontier") of a wide area network (WAN), added
Brind. As a hub, the 1030 is able to cascade up to four AH 1010's
to form a 60-port workgroup system. The hub supports workstations
that are hard-wired to the LAN, as well as links to remote
computers dialing in by modem.

As a bridge router, or "brouter," the product is able to connect
LANs to WANs. Each UltraHub 1030 has one LAN port and one WAN
port. The product behaves like a central router to the LAN
end-node it serves, while passing all non-local packets of
information to its neighbor's central router to route the best path
over the WAN.

The 1030 supports standards-based encapsulation protocols such as
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), multiprotocol over frame relay, and
Cisco Serial Line Encapsulation, allowing it to interoperate with
most existing routers, according to Brind. The product also
performs the Internet Routing Information Protocol (RFC 1058) to
route Internet Protocol (IP) packets over the WAN link, and
supports Novell's Routing Information Protocol (RIP) for routing
Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) packets over the WAN.

In addition, the product supports bridging of other protocol types
over the WAN link through use of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol, an
automatic self-learning algorithm that builds an address table of
local and remote network nodes.

Other capabilities of the integrated hub/brouter include: SNMP
network management; remote software upgrade; automatic fault
reporting to the central site; auto dial backup; and RS-232C, V.35,
RS-422/449, and X.21 high-speed WAN interfaces.

Beta sites for the UltraHub 1030 have included Boston University
(BU), where the product has been used since November, 1991. BU has
now standardized on the UltraHub product line for building its
campus-wide 10BASE-T network, according to Brind. Available now,
the UltraHub 1030 is priced at $2,400.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940217/Reader Contact: F. Alan Brind, Cameo
Communications, 603-888-8869; Press Contact: Debbie Tabone or
Melissa Bretz, Clarke & Company for Cameo, 617-536-3003)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00022)

IBM Canada, ROLM Team Up On Call Center Management 02/17/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- ROLM, a
Siemens Company, and the Voice/Data Solutions Center (VSC) unit
of Markham, Ontario-based IBM Canada Ltd., have agreed to work
together to develop and sell advanced computer-telephony
integration (CTI) applications.

ROLM was an IBM subsidiary for a time in the 1980s, but was
sold to Siemens. This deal is an outgrowth of the continuing
relationship between the two companies, which also have other
joint marketing and development agreements, said Carter
Cromwell, a ROLM spokesman.

ROLM's deal is with IBM Canada because that subsidiary has the
center of expertise in call center technology, Cromwell told
Newsbytes, but products that result from the relationship will be
available throughout North America.

ROLM will act as consultant, systems integrator, and prime
contractor for call-center customers that want to integrate voice
and data. IBM's VSC, which has worked extensively with ROLM's
desktop products, will build applications based on the company's
CallBridge, which links its computerized branch exchange (CBX)
with host computers, local area networks (LANs) and desktop
computers -- including support for Microsoft Corp.'s Telephony
Application Programming Interface (TAPI).

The companies said their deal will let customers benefit from the
skills of two leading vendors, yet have a single point of
contact, making it easier and less costly to manage integration
projects. They also said customers will receive packaged
applications they can easily and economically fine tune, as
necessary.

By using an object-oriented graphical user interface on their
terminal screens, officials said, call center supervisors will be
able to shift agents quickly between groups. Also, agents will be
able to move calls from other queues into their own queues and
answer them. Agents will be able to share "white boards" and
other information with supervisors or peers. Managers will see
graphic reports of activity at multiple call centers, and the
system will create call-back lists automatically.

ROLM and IBM said they plan off-the-shelf products that will work
with a variety of computer hardware including IBM and non-IBM
models. They said they will also offer tailored, turnkey packages
to meet unique needs.

The custom program service is available immediately.  ROLM and
IBM said they expect to make the initial off-the-shelf packages
available by the third quarter of 1994.

(Grant Buckler/19940217/Press Contact: Carter Cromwell, ROLM,
408-492-2995; Derek van Bronkhorst, ROLM, 408-492-2161)


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

PacTel Cellular Becoming AirTouch Communications 02/17/94
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- PacTel
Cellular will change its name to AirTouch Communications when
it is spun-off from Pacific Telesis later this year.

The new company will hold all the unregulated wireless
communications companies formerly held by PacTel, the regional
Bell company for California and Nevada. Included are the "wireline"
cellular operations in those states, "non-wireline" operations in
outlying markets like Atlanta, international operations, and a
paging operation.

In addition to a new name, the new company will have a new logo --
a stylized arch in blue and gold suspended above the name. PacTel
chairman Sam Ginn will head the new company, and showed off the
new logo at a ceremony for employees at its Walnut Creek
headquarters. He said "air" symbolizes freedom, while "touch"
represents something highly personal. The spin-off also gave the
new company an opportunity to differentiate itself from
competitors, most of whom have corporate names created by larger
corporate parents, either regional Bells or other companies.
"AirTouch is the only name among our major competitors that most
clearly suggests a benefit to the customer," Ginn claimed.

PacTel had long been expected to come up with a new corporate
name for its wireless unit after it was spun-off. At the ceremony
unveiling the new name, California Governor Pete Wilson praised
the company. He is running for re-election, and the move carried
some political risk, since many analysts feel PacTel is making a
mistake in spinning off its fastest-growing units from its
sizable source of capital. No other regional Bell company has
made a similar move since Ginn announced his intention to make
the split-off happen a few years ago.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940217/Press Contact: PacTel, Susan
Rosenberg, 510-210-3910)


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

BellSouth Accelerating Fast Data Plans 02/17/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- BellSouth said it
will move quickly to employ frame relay and other data services
at speeds up to 1.544 million bits/second in over 25 cities,
allowing customers to build wide area computer networks across
those geographic boundaries.

The company said it will use fast-packet switching equipment from
Cascade Communications of Westford, Massachusetts. The result
will be a simplified version of its switched megabit data
services, which move at speeds above 1.544 million bits/second,
sometimes called a "T-1" trunk line. But BellSouth's
implementation will also work with the existing frame relay
standards, so routers which support frame relay can be deployed
with the service. Frame Relay speeds start at 56,000
bits-per-second (bps) and 64,000 bps.

Frame relay and low-speed SMDS, which BellSouth calls
"connectionless data services" or CDS, have some key differences,
spokesman David Storey told Newsbytes. Frame relay works on a
virtual circuit basis, replacing private lines, while CDS has no
permanent link between the user and network interface, making it
more like a regular voice call. CDS is considered a better data
link for inter-company communications, Storey added, although
both technologies are often used to connect local area networks.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940217/Press Contact: David A. Storey,
BellSouth, 205-977-0696)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

Hearst Entering On-line Market 02/17/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Hearst revealed
more of its multimedia strategy under former FCC Chairman Al
Sikes, who now heads its new media and technology unit.

The company said it will enter the on-line marketplace later this
year with a service called HomeNet. Later this year, the company
added, it will launch a line of CD-ROM products, and follow it up
next spring with a TV based service on UBI, the Canadian
multimedia system of which Hearst is a partner.

HomeNet will draw on the resources of Hearst magazines, including
Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, House Beautiful, and Country
Living, as well as Hearst's books, newspapers, and television
assets. But HomeNet will also offer third-party programming.

The announcement follows by just two days Hearst's announcement
it has invested in Books That Work, a small California software
company which works on disk-based products under MS-Windows and
MS-DOS. The two also signed an affiliation agreement, under which
they will jointly work on new titles.

Sikes, who concentrated on deregulating the communications
industry as the FCC chairman under former President Bush,
deliberately went to Hearst after leaving the agency to avoid
criticism over the "revolving door" between lobbyists and
government. At Hearst, he has concentrated on bringing new
products and services to market, not on using his government
contacts. Many of the policies he pioneered as chairman,
including the advocacy of frequency spectrum auctions on new
services instead of lotteries or "public interest" tests, have
since been accepted by the Clinton Administration.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940217/Press Contact: Tom Campo,
Hearst, 212-649-2147)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00026)

Northern Telecom Readies Cordless Technology For Cebit 02/17/94
MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Northern
Telecom has revealed it will be staging a major display of its
cordless technology at the Cebit Computer Fair, which takes place
in Hanover, Germany, from March 16 to 23 this year.

According to the company, its presence at Cebit will reflect the
company's response to providing today's customers with "complete
business solutions," with the accent on multimedia and cordless
applications.

Plans call for Northern Telecom to demonstrate its VISIT multimedia
desktop communications systems on a Meridian 1 digital private
branch exchange (PBX), connecting through Magellan Passport, the
company's enterprise networking switch.

The VISIT product portfolio claims to offer a range of features such
as videoconferencing, collaborative screenshare, file and document
transfer and call management to allow users, geographically
separated, to communicate as if they were in the same room.

Northern Telecom plans to give live demonstrations of the Meridian
1 business communications system supported by its full networking
capability on Euro-ISDN (integrated services digital network)
technology and advanced applications such as Intelligent Call
Center, Agentless Call Center, and sophisticated voice processing
plus interactive voice response technology.

(Steve Gold/19940217/Press & Public Contact: Northern Telecom
Europe, 44-628-812483)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00027)

British Telecom Claims 100% ISDN Call Success Rate 02/17/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- British Telecommunications
(BT) claims that its integrated services digital network (ISDN)
digital network system, designed for both voice and data, has a
100 percent call success rate.

This compares to around 98 percent for the standard analog phone
network, the difference being caused by failure of the switchgear on
the inter-phone exchange route. The advantage of ISDN, BT claims, is
that the technology allows calls to be routed over a multiplicity of
connections. Over the digital network, even local ISDN calls can be
routed around the world, without any degradation of call quality,
Newsbytes notes.

The national test by BT, which was conducted over a three month
period, evaluated both local and national calls in three key areas
of performance: call establishment delay, data transfer, and
loss of established calls.

In the loss of established call category, BT claims that, even where
call routes "went down," the digital nature of the ISDN network
meant that the service could reestablish the call before the
caller became aware that there were problems.

In the call establishment delay tests, BT claimed that 100 percent
of calls were connected within two seconds, the average being 1.5
seconds. This, BT claims, is vital for time critical applications
such as LOAN to LAN (local area network) connection or accessing
information services.

The data transfer tests were the most interesting, Newsbytes
notes, with 60 second tests being used to measure whether data
transmission was error-free once a call was connected. The results
claim to show that more than 98 percent of transmissions had no
errors, with the remaining two percent being auto-corrected by
the user's software, or, in the case of voice calls, by the calls
being of acceptable quality for the subscriber.

The results come at a good time for BT, Newsbytes notes. Until the
end of March, BT is offering half price installation (UKP200) for its
ISDN-2 data service, which offers two 64,000 bits-per-second (bps)
data channels and a single 16,000 bps control data channel. Ongoing
line rental for the ISDN-2 service remains unchanged at UKP84 per
quarter year -- around same cost as two standard analog exchange
lines.

(Steve Gold/19940217/Press Contact: Penn Communications for
BT, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00028)

Apple UK Slashes Price Of Newton 02/17/94
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- Apple Computer
UK has announced it has slashed the price of the Newton Messagepad
from UKP699 to UKP499.

However, Newsbytes notes that few outlets charge the full UKP699
price tag, preferring instead to discount down to about UK599.

Announcing the price cut, Craig Sears-Black, director of Apple's
PIE division, said that the price change coincides with an expansion
of the availability of the machine, which is now being stocked by
several authorized Apple resellers, including Ryman, Dixons, John
Lewis and major British Telecommunications shops.

"Our aggressive pricing policy will ensure that a broad range of
business and consumer markets will be able to take advantage of the
Newton technology and the increasing range of software available,"
he said.

In parallel with the price cut, Apple Europe has announced that a
new version of the Newton, loaded with a German language version of
the operating system, is now available in Austria, Germany, and
Switzerland.

The German operating system version of the Newton is the first
local language version, Newsbytes notes. The OS changes have been
extensive, Apple claims, owing to fundamental differences in the
way handwriting is formed. As a result, the handwriting
recognition software has had to be extensively rewritten.

(Steve Gold/19940217/Press & Public Contact: Apple Computer UK,
44-81-569-1199)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)

New Voice Technology Wins Heavy Endorsements 02/17/94
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- A new technology
from Radish, called VoiceView, has won big endorsements from the
computer industry -- with Microsoft, Intel, Rockwell, and Octel all
among the endorsers.

VoiceView is a protocol that allows people to exchange voice and
data information on a single phone call. A Microsoft spokesman
called it complementary to VoiceSpan, as well as a new Intel
technology called ProShare. AT&T also confirmed that it is in
discussions for a license for VoiceView, which is compatible
with the company's Voice Span.

Radish Communications Systems of Boulder, Colorado came up with
VoiceView, and is already using it with its own systems and
customers such as Oppenheimer Shareholder Systems.

But the endorsements will greatly speed up the pace with which
VoiceView is implemented. Rockwell alone sells 80 percent of the
world's modem chip-sets, and will implement it in silicon. Hayes
and US Robotics, which also endorsed the technology, use other
sources for their modem chip sets. Octel and Dialogic, both leaders
in voice processing applications, will also feature the technology.

Microsoft, meanwhile, will make VoiceView part of its Microsoft
At Work architecture. The endorsers noted that VoiceView is an
open protocol and application software developers do not need a
license to take advantage of it. Hardware developers will pay
only a small, one-time fee. Radish also licenses c-code modules
and provides certification and contract engineering services for
VoiceView.

Microsoft said its role will be to encourage hardware makers to
integrate VoiceView into their products and encourage software
applications developers to take advantage of the function. The
company will send out information on using VoiceView to its
300,000 Windows developers, as part of the July edition of the
Microsoft Developers Network. The technology is implemented as an
extension to the AT-command set, first used in modems, and can
thus be accessed through existing versions of Microsoft Windows.
A dynamic link library aimed at further aiding developers will
also be released later, however.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940217/Press Contact: Radish Systems, Cyndi
Kemper, 303-443-2237; Microsoft, Karen Andring, 206-637-9097;
AT&T, Randy Hawks, 813-530-8823; Developers Contact: Radish,
303-443-2237)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00030)

Networks Expo - Brightwork Fusion For Software Mgt 02/17/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 17 (NB) -- At Networks
Expo, Brightwork Development has introduced Brightwork Fusion, a
Windows-based package for network administrators that combines
asset inventory with system-wide software management and
distribution.

"Study after study shows that software management is the most
expensive, time-consuming part of network management. It
(involves) everything from finding out what applications exist
(on) the LAN (local area network), to being able to update and
configuration and system files from a central PC. Brightwork
Fusion automates these tasks," said Greg Gianforte, company
president.

Brightwork Fusion is based on a scripting language that allows
administrators to conduct software updates remotely, eliminating
the previous need to visit each workstation on the network to
install software from floppy disks or download programs from the
network, according to Gianforte.

"Software distribution is much more than a once-a-year upgrade to
your word-processing program. It's a day-to-day, every week
process -- it's updating 'config' files or installing new network
drivers. There are new people on the network, new printer drivers
to install, all the time," he noted.

Brightwork Fusion provides administrators with information on
important files on each workstation -- such as "config.sys,"
"autoexec.bat," and the users' "ini" files -- and allows these files
to be edited remotely, he explained.

Fusion also includes a scheduler aimed at allowing administrators
to decide who on the network will receive software -- and when
the distribution will occur -- without any scheduling.

In addition, Fusion automatically tracks and collects inventory
information on resources installed on the network, and alerts
network administrators of changes that have occurred, according
to Gianforte.

Administrators can be alerted in any way they select --
electronic mail, screen flags, pager, or running a report through
an externally supplied program.

Further, the product allows the administrator to perform software
metering, ensuring that software purchases are compliant with
application licenses. Fusion permits concurrent metering of up to
500 software files per server. DOS and Windows applications can be
metered, as well as application suites such as Lotus SmartSuite and
Microsoft Office.

A standalone report writer and a library of pre-defined reports are
both bundled with the product. Brightwork Fusion is available now,
as an integrated package or as individual modules. Fusion
requires Novell NetWare 2.x or 3.x, DOS 3.3 or greater, Windows 3.1
running in enhanced mode, and network disk space of 13 megabytes
(MB), with 25MB recommended.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940217/Reader Contact: Brightwork
Development, 908-530-0440; Jack Jackson or Debbie Lacy, Miller
Communications for Brightwork, 617-536-0470)