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/nb022894

Text File | 1994-02-28 | 113KB | 2,355 lines

(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00001)

Australian Project Intros Commercial Mapping Into Education 02/28/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- After 18 months of
collaborative work, a project involving high school teachers and
university academics has produced a Local Area Study (LAS) for year
seven junior high school students in Sydney.

Under the guidance of geography teacher Scott Smith, a class at
Cherrybrook High School undertook a specially designed study using
commercial mapping software. Students were required to describe
their local area in detail by carrying out field work, using Mapinfo
software.

The project began with Mapinfo training in 1992. A link between the
school and Charles Sturt University was used to set goals for the
project in the Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE) key learning
area in the schools curriculum.

The next stage involved using local area digital data provided by
the Land Information Center. The final preliminary stage was to
design and print a student field work booklet for use over three
weeks of implementation.

28 students received a booklet and went into the community to gather
primary data based on housing styles, developments, location of
home-based businesses, parks and gardens, vacant land and commercial
land usage.

After this, the students shared their results and discussed what the
data actually communicated about their local area. Once they had
entered the data onto the maps on the computer they were able to
examine the project as a whole.

Not that the project ends there. Newsbytes understands that the next
project is a year 11 senior high school geography study.

(Paul Zucker and Ann-Marie Flanigan/19940228)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00002)

Fulcrum Offers Mac C Version Of SearchTools 02/28/94
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Fulcrum Technologies
has announced a version of its SearchTools text-retrieval software
for Apple Computer's Macintosh computer.

The new Mac version of SearchTools is meant for C-language
programmers, Fulcrum officials said. In use, it works with the
company's server software for OS/2 and Unix and its client software
for Microsoft Windows.

The company has no plans to support the use of the Macintosh as a
server, Doug Wiggan, product line manager, told Newsbytes. A server
for Digital Equipment Corp.'s VAX minicomputers, which the company
had earlier said it was planning, is still in the plan but no target
date has been set for its release and Fulcrum is "looking hard" at
whether to proceed with it, he added.

SearchTools has a client/server architecture and an application
program interface (API) based on the Structured Query Language (SQL)
Access Group's Call Level Interface (CLI) standard. Code is portable
from one platform to another, company officials said.

SearchTools is full-text search software, which deals with
unstructured information, such as correspondence or manuals, where
users need to be able to search for any word or combination of
words, rather than the structured data stored in databases.

Fulcrum Search Tools are based on the company's Ful/Text search
technology, which a variety of major vendors use in their own
products, Peter Eddison, vice-president of corporate marketing, told
Newsbytes earlier.

The product line includes: SearchTools, a developer's toolkit for
creating text-searching applications in Visual BASIC or C;
SearchServer, an indexing and retrieval engine needed on the server
to support client applications built with SearchTools; and an
extended version of SQL called SearchSQL.

Prices for the SearchTools development kit start at US$7,500.
Licenses for SearchServer start at US$1,000 per user.

(Grant Buckler/19940228/Press Contact: Barbara Johnson, Fulcrum,
613-238-1761, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00003)

 ****Lotus Notes Is Ready To Take On Microsoft's EMS 02/28/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 -- Riding high on a
sales surge, and with several new versions about to emerge, Lotus
Notes is in excellent shape to fend off the challenge of Microsoft's
upcoming EMS (Enterprise Messaging Service), Lotus executives told
journalists and analysts in the first of a series of "Quarterly
Update on Notes" audioconferences.

The North American growth rate for Lotus Notes sales tripled from
1992 to 1993, and more than doubled in Europe over the same time
frame, officials said in the audioconference, which was attended by
Newsbytes. Shipment of Notes for Sun Solaris has just begun, and
Lotus expects to release other Unix-based editions over the next few
months, as well as a new NetWare Loadable Module (NLM) version at
the end of March, Notes 3.1 in April, a Windows NT server edition
this summer, and the Lotus Communications Server (LCS) in 1995.

At the start of the telephone link-up, Richard Eckel, director of
corporate communications, advised reporters and analysts on the
line: "The intent of this conference call is to keep you apprised of
Notes news on a periodic basis. We will provide updates on product
developments, standing relationships, and standing business issues."

Jeff Papows, vice president of the Notes Product Division, then
supplied a product development update, beginning with the newly
delivered Notes for Solaris. "This is an incredibly important
product announcement for us," he said. "The industry has been
clamoring for us to deliver on our promise for Unix-based workgroup
solutions for some time."

The Solaris edition of Notes was initially slated to ship at the end
of 1993, added Papows, but Lotus devoted a long time to the beta
phase, concentrating on scalability. Papows then read comments from
several beta users. "The system outperformed other top-end Unix
servers by a factor of three or four times," said one user. "All
applications ported simultaneously," wrote another.

Sun recently announced plans to bundle the Notes server with
Solaris, pointed out Papows. Lotus plans to follow the release of
the Solaris version with Notes for Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) Unix,
HP-UX, and AIX, in that order, at intervals of six or seven weeks
through this summer.

"We're also on the cusp of what we think will be a blockbluster NLM
version of Notes at the end of next month," Papows said. "With Notes
for Unix and NetWare out, customers will be getting solutions that
are more open, as well as more compatible with their existing
applications, versus the `single solution' that was largely
operative before -- speaking specifically about OS/2, and to a
lesser extent the Windows-based server that became operative in
March of last year."

Notes 3.1 will ship in April instead of the March date originally
planned, according to the VP. "This will be the first significant
release that's more than a maintenance upgrade since 3.0," he
explained. New features will include Sequential Packet Exchange
(SPX) 2 support for the Windows-based server, transmission control
protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) drivers for Windows and the
Macintosh, Datalens drivers for Windows and OS/2, and the extension
of cc:Mail interoperability to the Mac.

Version 3.1 will also be the first edition of Notes to bundle Lotus'
ScreenCam, a multimedia screen capture application already included
in Lotus 1-2-3 Release 4 for Windows: Multimedia Edition, he added.
The package will also include a series of "accelerator application"
templates, intended in part to demonstrate the Notes companion
products. One of these applications, designed for customer service,
provides interactive voice response (IVR) through PhoneNotes, a new
companion product for building voice-enabled applications, according
to Papows. The addition of the multimedia capabilities, especially
IVR, was largely responsible for the one month delay, he indicated.

PhoneNotes is now in beta, with an expected release date of March,
he added. Video Notes, an Notes add-on that will for video store-
and-forward and video-on-demand applications, will ship in the third
quarter. Notes VIP, a Notes companion product previously referred to
as Notebook, has moved into alpha, with shipment targeted for this
summer. VIP will provide Notes with added functionality in updating
of relational and Notes database, querying, charting, reporting,
graphical user interface (GUI) extensions, and programmability
through LotusScript, he said.

LCS, a "1995 deliverable," will be "a different thing" from
Microsoft's EMS, Papows maintained. "(LCS) is designed to integrate
the widely used file sharing world of e-mail -- cc:Mail, in our case
-- with the fast-growing world of groupware, or Notes. LCS is more
than just a convergence of technologies. It's a universal messaging
backbone with support for multiple operating systems, messaging
protocols and APIs (application programming interfaces)." Lotus has
already announced the acquisition of X.400 cross-protocol messaging
technology, and the X.400 technology "will be native in the LCS time
frame," he said.

In addition, two of Lotus' partners will be releasing products soon.
Powersoft plans to ship PowerBuilder Library for Lotus Notes by the
end of this quarter, and Gupta will follow with its Revelation
product, he said. Both third-party products, like VIP, will allow
integration between SQL and Notes data.

Speaking next, Cliff Conneighton, director of marketing for Lotus,
said that Notes' sales growth tripled in North America from 1992 to
1993, and more than doubled in Europe. Lotus' cc:Mail "also
continues to grow, from a larger base, at a 70 percent rate."
Revenue from Notes, cc:Mail, and Lotus' communications consulting
business together constitutes 25 percent of all company revenues.

Lotus had planned 100 percent sales growth for Notes between 1992
and 1993, according to Conneighton. "1993 was above plan in all
segments, in all geographies, both direct and in the channels," he
elaborated. The current installed base for Notes is 750,000
licenses, and Lotus expects to add 600,000 more licenses in 1994.

Conneighton also pointed to ten trends Lotus has seen in the sales
of Notes. One of these trends is a "shift to the channel" which has
taken place since Lotus' decision last March to emphasize channel
sales over direct sales. At the beginning of 1993, 80 percent of all
Notes sales went through Lotus' direct sales force, whereas by now,
80 percent go through the distribution channel, he said.

The influence of Lotus' business partners is another key trend. "We
have 1000 in the US, and nearly as many in the rest of the world.
When you add in the ISVs (independent software vendors), we have
about 3600 partners of different kinds working around the world," he
said. These partners are "driving" about 50 percent of Notes
business, according to Conneighton.

In a third trend, new customers are buying Notes. "We're not just
selling into our installed base." 3Com, for example, recently
purchased 3000 licenses for Notes. In a fourth trend, customers are
buying Notes for "enterprise-wide deployment." Bank of America, for
instance, just purchased 5000 new licenses, for a total of about
10,000 Notes licenses.

Notes is also being used for mission-critical applications. "This is
a new class of applications -- not just OLTP (online transaction
processing)...but real `bet your business' applications." Examples
include regulatory and customer service applications, Conneighton
said.

In other new trends, Notes is being used for multimedia publishing
and intercompany communications, and cc:Mail customers are adding
Notes. Further, better integration between Notes and Lotus product
suites is causing Notes to "drag the suites," he asserted. For
example, Progressive Insurance, a company that has been using Notes
for several years, has just purchased 1000 sets of Smart Suite,
along with an additional 1200 licenses for Notes.

In a tenth trend, Lotus has noticed a proven return on investment
(ROI) for Notes. In a recent study of 65 Notes customers,
International Data Corporation (IDC) found that 90 percent of them
had experienced an ROI of greater than 40 percent, he reported.

"Looking forward, our number one marketing imperative is to make
sure everyone understands how Notes differs from EMS. It's our job
to get across this new class of extended platform and this new class
of application that Notes represents," said the Lotus marketing
director.

"Our job is to educate the public, and you are our channel to do
that. So you'll see us working a lot more closely with all of you to
make sure you've got the facts, and can evaluate properly where this
industry is going," he promised.

Conneighton told the listeners that, when he hears Microsoft talk
about "beating Notes with an X.400 messaging system and shared
folders," he thinks back to the situation IBM enjoyed in the 1980s.
"It was sort of assumed that everything (IBM) built would somehow
kill everything else on the market. And of course we all know that
didn't happen, and probably it's because IBM didn't really
understand this phenomenon of the PC revolution at that time," he
recalled. "We can look back and say, `The company that is assumed to
be dominant doesn't always get it.'"

Speaking next, Bill Wilson, VP for MIS (management information
systems) at Johnson and Higgins (JH), a large insurance brokerage
firm, explained that his company is employing J&H InfoEdge, an
application internally developed with Notes, for communications
between 1700 brokers located in offices around the globe.

"This is fascinating for us, because clients literally have people
from 10 or 15 different countries around the world working on their
accounts," remarked Wilson. "Individual brokers can draw on the
worldwide knowledge base and resources."

InfoEdge, the winner of last year's ComputerWorld Smithsonian award,
is being used to send 9000 mail messages and 8000 faxes a day at JH.
In addition, Desktop Data's News Edge has been integrated for
filtered news, and the company is accessing Security and Exchange
Commission (SEC) documents with the use of CD Notes. JH is currently
reviewing the possibility of converting its existing asynchronous
dialup connection to a frame relay network.

"And we've been so successful internally with J&H InfoEdge that
we're now piloting a program, which I think is potentially
revolutionary, to include our client in the workflow," Wilson added.
"So what has historically been two teams of people -- our client and
separately the JH account team -- is now becoming one virtual team
working together in a true win-win environment."

During a lengthy Q&A session at the close of the audioconference, a
reporter commented that Bill Gates has said for years that
functionality like that provided by Notes belongs in the operating
system.

"To say it belongs in the operating system is kind of an easy way
out," countered Conneighton. "(Microsoft is) behind in providing the
products that people want... Regardless of where it is, (Microsoft)
doesn't have it. And number two... that means everybody in the world
has to have NT, because that's the only operating system it's going
to be in. And I don't think that's realistic. It's going to be a
long time before the whole world converts everything to Microsoft
servers and Microsoft desktops."

Added Papows: "It's not a matter of throwing a little Visual Basic
of a little mail in the box. Notes is bigger than the sum of its
pieces."

Wilson supported Conneighton's point regarding the need for
crossplatform operability. "As a company using Notes, it's critical
for us to be able to communicate with other companies who are using
Notes, or who are interested in using Notes. We certainly can't ask
them to change their platforms," he said.

The same reporter then asked Papows whether he thinks pulling Notes-
like functionality into the operating system is technically
necessary. "Absolutely not," answered the Lotus VP. "I think you'll
end up with a kernel that becomes big and ponderous, and a range of
complexity that's not going to play to anyone's advantage."

The reporter then asked Papows what is most "worrisome" about EMS.
"My biggest concern (about EMS) is the nebulousness of shadow-boxing
with something that doesn't exist. As paradoxical as this may seem,
I can't wait till they deliver it, to give us something tangible,
instead of a lot of marketing hype," Papows replied.

An analyst asked the executives about the recently raised argument
that EMS is a relational database, whereas Notes is an object store.
"Yes, there are some relational capabilities in EMS, because of a
well understood SQL (structured query language) kernel that is an
adjunct to EMS," Papows acknowledged.

"But EMS is built on a fundamentally straightforward object store
that's been around Microsoft a long time," he continued. "So all
these Redmond-initiated discussions on `object stores versus
relational' are neither fish nor foul. We've said all along that
these imperatives will exist in parallel, and we're very supportive
of integrating with the SQL-based world. We're doing a lot to
embellish that work. The fact is we're both working toward a
document-centric architecture."

The analyst replied that Microsoft officials have not been using the
words "relational database" in regard to EMS, and have recently said
that the technology for the EMS database is a client-server version
of the access technology" -- basically "an ISAM (indexed sequential
access method) database with an ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)
application programming interface (API)."

Rebutted Papows: "Depending on what forum and what Redmond speakers
you're dealing with, there's a lot of confusion. (But) I think
you've basically hit the nail on the head."

The analyst added that Microsoft claims EMS to be a "messaging-
oriented replicating database" that lets the developer use either
MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface), ODBC (Open
Database Connectivity) or OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) 2.0 as
an entry-point.

"What strikes me as an advantage," the analyst maintained, "is that
there are a ton of people out there developing apps for those three
APIs, which means that potentially they may have a shorter curve to
come up in terms of getting a critical mass of applications."

Papows responded that developers can also enter Notes through ODBC
and Microsoft's MAPI, and they will be able to enter Notes through
OLE 2.0 in the future. "But the fact is we've got another set of
services, with another API, which is the Notes services," he said,
adding: "And that's where we gain our advantage."

Another analyst pointed out that Lotus has previously announced
plans to support Simple Messaging Transport Protocol (SMTP) in LCS.
"Are you going to have a bundled gateway, or are you going to offer
two bundled MTAs (Message Transport Agents) with LCS?" he inquired.

Papows replied that Lotus has decided to offer the recently acquired
X.400 MTA as part of native MTA support for LCS. "There will also be
SMTP support," he added. But Lotus has not yet determined whether to
offer the SMTP support natively, through an MTA, he added. "I don't
know, at this point. We'll certainly have the option."

Another analyst said that, in his opinion, the 750,000 licenses now
held for Notes is small in relation to some 25 million clients that
are potentially available for Notes in North America. "What are you
going to be doing to try to accelerate this?" he asked.

"Assuming that the operating plans as currently envisioned are met
we will have penetrated about 3 percent of the connected computing
universe, so...it is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the
entire opportunity," answered Papows. This, though, is "a great
problem to have," he said.

OEM relationships of the kind just announced by Sun offer one path,
though "certainly not the only one," to ramp up implementation, he
added. "I'll also tell you that like any public company, we need to
plan our operations from the perspective of meeting expectations
reasonably conservatively, (and) that we've routinely beat those
expectations relative to Notes."

Interjected Conneighton: "We know from experiments we've run that
dropping licenses or dropping bundles doesn't get it used. And the
key to getting it used is the business partners. This has been
expanding so rapidly that we're looking forward to the guys that we
signed up over the past several months getting online in '94. Our
plans are relatively conservative, but we do have some more tricks
up our sleeves. I think that hopefully we'll see a lot more growth."

Papows noted that the number of new licenses is an important
statistic to consider. Once a new seat is placed, growth tends to
follow a predictable curve, he suggested. Lotus will try to "spread
the curve" before Microsoft has a "viable (competing) product in the
marketplace."

A reporter then asked whether Notes has an "identity problem."
"Notes is new," Papows allowed, "and it does take a while for people
to get on to it. (But) the industry has been through this before."
It took a long while for people to realize that relational databases
were "different" from and "more valuable" than the way data was
managed before, he reflected. "And I think we're on the same time of
a path with Notes."

Some of the other questions raised during the 75-minute session
included whether Lotus considers OLE 2.0 and OpenDoc support to be
"strategic" to Notes, how Lotus would respond to criticism that the
development language for Notes is a "macro language," whether Lotus
plans to change the pricing structure for Notes, and whether any of
the ten trends in Notes sales took Lotus by surprise.

Lotus will introduce "robust support" for OLE 2.0 in Notes 4.0,
including drag-and-drop and complete support for edit-in-place,
according to Papows. But Lotus has not yet decided about industry
standards such as OpenDoc and System Object Model (SOM), because
there is "not as much tangible technology evidence."

The development language used in Notes is a macro language, he
acknowledged. But it is also "reasonably robust," and has been used
to build very complex applications," he told the questioner. "Having
said that, there is a great deal of work going on to expand the
programmability."

In the "Version 4.0" time frame, Lotus will add LotusScript, a
scripting language along the lines of Visual Basic, to Notes and the
entire Lotus product lineup, he said. LotusScript "will not replace
the macro language, but extend it."

More immediately, the new products from Powersoft and Gupta will add
user interface (UI) capabilities "beyond the inherent UI in Notes,"
as well as new querying functionality and the ability to merge
documentic-centric and data-centric information in a reporting
format which provides improved decision support capabilities, he
added.

The industry should not expect to see any "significant changes" in
Notes pricing for calendar year 1994, according to the Lotus vice
president.

Among the "ten trends" for Notes, Conneighton replied, the only
major surprise is that the use of Notes for intercompany
communications and multimedia publishing has been "moving more
rapidly" than Lotus anticipated.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940228/Press contact: Meryl Franzman,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)


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

ExperComp Launches Ambra Notebooks 02/28/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- ExperComp Services,
the division of IBM Canada that sells Ambra computers in Canada, has
launched six new notebook models.

The six models include four-pound SN-series models and three seven-
pound N-series models. All the new machines use 80486
microprocessors, and four have color displays.

The new models were recently launched in the United States by the
Ambra subsidiary of IBM, a spokeswoman for ExperComp told Newsbytes.

One of the SN models and two of the N models come with dual-scan
passive matrix super-twist nematic (STN) color displays. The
costliest and most powerful of the N models, the N450T, has an
active-matrix color display as well as a 50 megahertz (MHz) 486DX2
processor and a 200 megabyte (MB) hard disk. The N450C has a 50 MHz
486DX2 processor and 200MB hard disk, while the N433C has a 33 MHz
486SX processor and 120MB hard disk.

The color SN425C has a 170MB hard disk, while the monochrome SN425
is available in two versions with either an 80MB or a 170MB hard
drive. All SN models use a 25-MHz 486SX processor. 4MB of memory is
standard on all models except the N450T, which comes with 8MB.

Prices for the SN series start at $2,399, and prices for the N
series start at $4,199, and all models are available now, ExperComp
said.

IBM Canada launched ExperComp in June of 1992, at about the same
time as IBM began selling Ambra personal computers in Europe. The
company has since brought Ambras to the United States, but earlier
this month announced it would withdraw the models from the European
market (Newsbytes, Feb. 18).

(Grant Buckler/19940228/Press Contact: Jim Deeks, Goodman
Communications for ExperComp Services, 416-924-9100)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00005)

Cable & Wireless And Digital Provide INS 02/28/94
CHAI WAN, HONG KONG, FEB 28 1994 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation and Cable & Wireless plc (C&W) have signed an agreement
under which they will jointly provide integrated network solutions
(INS) to their customers on a worldwide basis.

The agreement, which claims to combine the telecommunications
expertise of C&W with the systems integration and data networking
expertise of Digital, meets increasing customer demand for complex
network solutions. It is one of the first examples of a global
communications company and a global computer company jointly
offering worldwide one-stop service to customers for their network
integration needs.

"By combining our core competencies and complementary cultures, our
two companies can directly meet a critical need for network
integration expertise which customers have been demanding for
years," explained Navin Mehta, Network Business Manager at Digital
Asia.

Under the non-exclusive agreement, the two companies will work co-
operatively to deliver "best-in-class" solutions and services to
their joint customers. They will provide mutually agreed training to
their respective sales forces, jointly develop and carry out service
demonstrations, customer visits and technical support.

For every engagement, one company will assume the role of prime
contractor based on the customer's requirements.

C&W is one of the world's leading international providers of
telecommunications services. With operations in more than 50
countries worldwide and its own network of high-quality cable and
radio links connecting the world's principal business centres, C&W
claims to be well positioned to serve the communications needs of
international business customers.

C&W, through its subsidiary Hong Kong Telecom, holds the sole
franchise for the territory's international telecommunications until
2003, and also controls Hong Kong Telephone which provides domestic
services.

(Keith Cameron/19940228/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel (Digital): +852-
805-3510)


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

Screensavers React To Audio Input, More Sound Files 02/28/94
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Animotion
Development Corporation (ADC) has announced two new products to
enhance the sound capabilities of personal computers running
Microsoft Windows. The company has introduced MCS Soundsavers,
screen savers that oscillate in reaction to audio input; and MCS
Soundrevue, a library of 300 PC sound effects combined with a
special effects editor.

MCS Soundsavers is a collection of screen saver modules that respond
visually to audio input from various input sources, including
simulated audio, recording input, and .WAV playback.

You don't need an audio card to utilize simulated audio, while using
recording input uses the input from a sound card including CD-based
audio. Using .WAV playback allows users to select audio input stored
in .WAV format on disk.

MCS Soundrevue, which is shipped on a CD-ROM disk, contains a
library of 300 sound effects in various .WAV sample rates including
11, 22, and 44 Kilohertz (KHz). A special version of Animotion's
sound editor called Soundtrak SE allows users to add special effects
to audio files including chorus, flange, echo, amplify, pan, and
fade.

MCS Soundsavers has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $39.95, while
the SRP for MCS Soundrevue is $49.95.

(Jim Mallory/19940228/Press contact: Charles McHenry, McHenry &
Associates for Animotion Development Corporation, 503-772-2382;
Reader contact: Animotion Development Corporation, 205-591-5715 or
800-536-4175, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00007)

Kodak Announces Photo Digital Enhancement Stations 02/28/94
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Kodak is boasting
about its Digital Enhancement Stations for retail use in
reproduction of color photos from its Photo compact disc (Photo CD)
format or existing prints. The company has announced several
different equipment combinations for use by store personnel and even
offers self-serve kiosk-type units for consumer use in a retail
environment.

The new Copyprint Station is a combination of Kodak's Digital Print
Scanner 1000, a 13-inch 8-bit color monitor and touch screen, and a
Kodak Digital Printer. The station enables store personnel to scan a
customer's negatives, color photographs, or slides, enhance or add
text, and then produce a photo-quality color thermal print up to 8
by 10 inches in size.

Specially designed "Photo Impression" paper from Kodak enables the
creation of a variety of custom products including calendars,
decorative borders, business cards, and photo cards.

The Digital Enhancement Station 100 takes the concept one step
further by adding an Apple Macintosh Quadra 840 Audio Visual (AV)
Computer, enhanced by Kodak's hardware for faster printing. The
addition of the Quadra allows the images, once scanned, to be
cropped or zoomed, text added, and corrections made to the image.
For example, a store operator can remove common defects such as "red
eye" before creating the custom product. The company claims that
little operator training is needed.

By putting housing the Digital Enhancement Station 100 in a kiosk,
adding a track ball, buttons, and an inviting and user friendly
interface, Kodak plans to produce The Creation Station. Consumers
can use the kiosk themselves to create custom products from their
own prints, slides, negatives, or Photo CD discs.

A simpler version of the same idea is the Create-A-Print enlargement
center, another walk-up kiosk where customers can make their own
designs and enlargements. For this kiosk, customers need their 35mm
color or black and white negatives, which they insert into the unit.
The images appear on the 13 inch monitor and simple adjustments,
such as cropping or color adjustment, can be made before printing.

The company claims that these new products will encourage picture-
taking by consumers. Alexander Wasilov, vice-president and general
manager of Consumer Imaging for Kodak said: "Consumers will have
more reasons to take photographs and new ways to use their existing
prints... Our market research tells us that these services will
provide both consumer convenience and satisfaction."

Wasilov also said the new imaging reproduction products are expected
to spark sales of additional photofinishing volume for the retailer
as well as increase sales of items in the photo category, such as
frames, albums, and film.

The Create-A-Print kiosks are available now, but Kodak says it will
announce at a later date more details about store design programs
and its Photo Impression products.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940228/Press Contact: Kristine Kappel, Kodak,
tel [phone], fax [phone]/PHOTOS)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00008)

 ****Motorola Next Generation Cellular, PCS Products 02/28/94
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Attendees
at the Wireless 94 convention in San Diego next month will get a
preview of some of Motorola's lineup of new products for the
cellular and personal communication service (PCS) markets. The show
opens March 2, 1994.

Motorola's Cellular Infrastructure Group (CIG) says it will show six
six new analog and digital products at the show that will improve
cell site compactness and reduce operating costs for cell operators.

CIG says the new products support multiple air interfaces for 800
Megahertz (MHz) and two Gigahertz (GHz) applications. The 800 MHz
products include two new HDII family members and two GSM-based
products for the GHz market. GSM stands for global system for mobile
communications, a new digital technology that allows for clearer
calls and roaming between different country networks.

Motorola says that its new SC2400 cell site will support CDMA for
cellular and PCs applications as well as AMPS, NAMPS, and Integrated
Cellular Digital Packet Data for cellular. the high-power SC2400
base station is one-third the size of its predecessor and also
easier to service, according to Motorola. PCS and cellular SC 2400
products are expected to be commercially available later this year.

The new GSM-based microcellular products include the DCS 4800 is
packaged in a single cabinet while the modular DCS 1600 can be wall
mounted. Both address the indoor and outdoor requirements of dense
urban areas. Motorola says the DCS 4800 and DCS will be commercially
available in the fourth quarter. Motorola spokesperson Scott Wyman
told Newsbytes the 4800 will not be shown at the show.

The HDII Micro C-I-T-E is an integrated cell site aimed at the need
for cost effective capacity relief in high traffic areas. It is
optimized for in-building applications and for filling presently
dead areas. both are housed in small, weatherproof cabinets for
outdoor and indoor applications and will also be available later
this year.

Wyman said that Motorola will also be demonstrating its Cellular
Digital Messaging Service (CDMS) and Cellular Digital Packet Data
(CDPD) and its low mobility devices. The low mobility phones are
intended for the office and home market.

(Jim Mallory/19940228/Press contact: Scott Wyman, Motorola CIG, 708-
632-4691)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00009)

Print Shop Deluxe Now Available On CD 02/28/94
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 25 (NB) -- Having just
announced a merger with Electronic Arts, Broderbund unveiled has
two new products -- Print Shop Deluxe CD Ensemble and a multimedia
version of Myst.

With total sales of more than seven million units of The Print Shop
family of products, Broderbund's Print Shop Deluxe CD Ensemble is a
compilation of The Print Shop Deluxe, Companion, Sampler Graphics,
Business Graphics, Comic Characters Amazing Animals Graphics and 50
bonus graphics for Windows.

The multimedia version of Myst, meanwhile, is a PC-version of the
award winning surrealistic adventure game already produced for
Apple Macintosh computers with multimedia.

Speaking with Newsbytes, Michael Estigoy, product manager for The
Print Shop line, said: "We are offering a configuration option that
will allow users to install files to their hard disk from a range of
1.5 megabytes (MB) to 10.5MB. This will allow users to customize the
program to get the best performance possible, depending on hard disk
size, RAM, and type of CD drive."

According to Estigoy, the Print Shop Deluxe CD Ensemble will have
all of the features of the combined products including 73 TrueType
fonts, calendars in Italian, German, English, Spanish, and French,
graphics conversion to WMF, TIFF, Adobe Illustrator, CGM, PCX and
EPS files, a name and address manager and banner maker. The package
requires a 386SX processor or better, CD-ROM drive, Windows 3.1, VGA
and a mouse.

The approximate street price will be $80 and users may expect to see
it on the shelf the fist week of March. According to Michael
Estigoy, "Registered owners of licensed copies of The Print Shop
Deluxe will receive a $15 rebate when purchasing the Ensemble. For
new owners the CD is equivalent to the price of The Print Shop
Deluxe and The Print Shop Deluxe Companion purchased separately."

Myst, the recipient of MacUser Editor's Choice Award for "Best New
Game", is a three dimensional, interactive adventure that, according
to PC Data, is the number one selling Macintosh CD title. The
package is billed as a non-linear game in which there is no
violence and the player cannot die, says the company.

Laurie Strand, associate publisher, told Newsbytes: "This game goes
so far beyond other games on the market. We are getting letters from
women who have never liked computer games and they are playing as
intensely as any computer gamer. And the hard gamers have also been
very supportive and carried the game from the beginning to this
larger audience. We are so pleased by the responses from women, men
and children."

The game requires an IBM or compatible PC, 386SX or faster processor
(486 recommended), CD-ROM (compact disc read only memory) drive,
Sound Blaster compatible audio card, SVGA video card, 3MB of
available hard drive and 2.5MB of RAM. The approximate street price
is $55.

(Patrick McKenna/19940228/Press Contact: Adrienne Hankin,
Broderbund, Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00010)

Windows Show UK - PC Software Audit Package Debuts 02/28/94
BERKHAMSTEAD, HERTS, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- S&S International
has unveiled Dr Solomon's Audit, which the company claims brings the
benefits of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit to the software auditing
arena.

The package, which was launched at the Windows Show in London last
week, claims to allow network managers and PC support departments to
track every executable program on every PC for which they are
responsible, without having to disrupt their user's workflow, or
even leave their desks.

The heart of Dr Solomon's Audit package is the software package
library (SPL) which S&S International claims provides all the
information necessary to identify full, partial or even renamed
programs, including older versions. The package can be updated
easily, either by the user or by updates supplied by S&S
International.

There are two components in the Audit package -- the management
center and the scanner. The management center runs under Windows 3.1
and oversees the creation, as well as the analysis of software
audits, and the management of the Software Package Library.

The scanner, meanwhile, used to collect the data from user's PCs, is
DOS-based-based and can run from the system prompt on a standalone
PC or stored on the network for automatic scanning via the login
script. System managers have the option to include a questionaire
with the scanner, enabling them to gather additional information
about each PC at the same time. The average scan time is around two
megabytes a second.

According to S&S International, the package will ship in a few weeks
time and will be available in starter kits for 20, 50 or 100 users.
The Management Center package can also be bough separately, along
with the required number of user licences. Pricing will be announced
when the package ships.

(Steve Gold/19940225/Press & Public Contact: S&S International -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00011)

KISS Offers Solar Power Products For Newton, Powerbook 02/28/94
HELENA, MONTANA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- If you're frustrated
with the battery life of your Newton Messagepad personal digital
assistant (PDA) or your Apple Powerbook notebook computer, then the
sun might be able to help. Keep It Simple Software (KISS) has begun
shipping Sunpak solar power units for operating or recharging
Newtons and Powerbooks.

Three products, two for the Newton and one for the Powerbook, line
are available from KISS. All are built with tough, flexible panels
that can take the abuse of travel while providing solar power via
the AC power connection on the Newton or Powerbook. A six foot cord
allows the user to sit in the shade while the solar panel enjoys the
sun, company officials said.

While there are solar panels that will from lighting generated
indoors, such as fluorescent lighting, those panels are glass and
quite fragile. "We opted for the more sturdy solar panels that
are strong enough to dance on," according to Jerry Spencer, KISS
company president.

This means the solar panels work best in bright, direct sunlight
providing the same amount of power as an AC outlet. The panels will
also generate some AC current, enough for battery recharging, in
cloudy or indirect sunlight conditions, depending on the amount of
light available, Spencer said.

The Sunpak for the Newton Messagepad provides solar panels sewn into
a cordura nylon carrying case measuring 16 inches long by 11.5
inches high and weighing in at over a pound (20 ounces). The case
has room for accessories such as a fax modem, Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cards, a power
adapter, plus papers. KISS offers the Sunpak directly to users for
$149.

For $119 Messagepad users can opt for the Sunpak Jr, which is the
solar panels without the carrying case. The Jr weighs a pound (16
ounces) and measures 15.5 inches long by 8.75 inches tall.

The Sunpack PB works with the Powerbook and consists of two solar
panels instead of the single panel used for the Newton products.
KISS claims the Sunpack PB will run any of the "all-in-one"
Powerbooks, specifically models 100, 140, 145, 160, 165, 165c,
170, 180, and 180c. KISS sells the Sunpack PB for $189.

According to the company, users need not worry about overcharging or
battery drain as all the Sunpack products are built with diodes and
resistors which regulate the amount of power being sent to the
computers and prevent battery drain or battery overload, the company
maintains.

KISS provides a full one-year warranty for its solar products with a
thirty-day money back guarantee. The Sunpack units for the
Messagepad come with a reply card that entitles the user to software
to help gauge the amount of power in the Newton's batteries and the
percent of charge those batteries have. In addition, the Windows or
Mac disk that a purchaser receives contains more than twenty public
domain or shareware utilities for the Newton.

The Sunpack for the Powerbook is also accompanied by free software
to help monitor the charge in the Powerbook, but for another $49
users can get the popular Connectix Powerbook Utilities.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940228/Press Contact: Jerry Spencer, Keep It
Simple Software, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact,
Keep It Simple Software, 800-327-6882/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00012)

Personnel Changes Roundup 02/28/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- This is a
regular feature, summarizing personnel changes at companies not
covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Sun Microsystems Computer, Artisoft,
US Robotics, Adobe Systems, VMARK Software, Nintendo of America,
Dataquest, Interlink Electronics, Accton Technology, Adaptec,
Wellfleet Communications, MacUser, KidSoft, Conner Peripherals,
AT&T's Global Business Communications Systems, Network Computing
Devices, Paramount Technology Group, IBM and The ASK Group.

J. Phillip Samper, former vice chairman of Eastman Kodak and a
member of the Sun board of directors, has been appointed president
of Sun Microsystems Computer (415-336-6424). Samper, 59, was
appointed to the board in April of 1991. In his new role he will
report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott McNealy. As a
result of his appointment and in accordance with Sun's policy of
having only one inside director, Samper will step down from his
position on the board of directors, says the company. In his 28
years with Kodak, Samper held a variety of management
positions,including vice chairman and executive officer and general
manager of the company's Photographic and Information Management
Division. He also managed Kodak operations worldwide.

Peer-to-peer networking software company, Artisoft (602-670-7145),
has announced that T. Paul Thomas, 34, has been appointed vice
president of marketing. Thomas, who joined Artisoft in November 1993
as vice president of Channel Development, will now be responsible
for Product Management and Marketing Communications as well as
Channel Development.

Modem maker US Robotics (708-982-5244), has announced that George A.
Vinyard has been named vice president and general counsel. Vinyard's
responsibilities include advising management with respect to all
legal matters affecting the company, contract review, monitoring the
company's legal, regulatory and contract compliance functions,
managing outside legal services, maintaining corporate governance
records and coordinating and monitoring the company's intellectual
property protection programs. Vinyard, 44, joins the company after
16 years with Sachnoff & Weaver Ltd., a 90-lawyer Chicago firm where
he was a principal practicing in the areas of securities, mergers
and acquisitions, corporate, computer and commercial law.

Software vendor Adobe Systems, (415-962-2197), has announced that
Hachiro Kimura has been appointed as president of Adobe Systems
Japan. Kimura, joins Adobe Systems Japan with more than 26 years of
experience in the computer industry, including 20 years with IBM
Japan. Since 1992 and prior to his joining Adobe Japan, he served as
president of Systems Center, a US-based network software developer.
From 1988 to 1991, Kimura served as vice president of sales at
Applied Materials Japan, a wholly owned subsidiary of the US
semiconductor equipment manufacturer. Prior to that and since1968,
he worked at IBM Japan and served as the director of marketing for
the company's point-of-sales systems business.

VMARK Software (508-879-3311) announced that Charles M. O'Neill has
joined the company as director of consulting services. He will be
responsible for developing and managing the delivery of VMARK's
consulting services on a worldwide basis including transition
services and technology integration and in assisting in the design
and implementation of new applications and networks. In this new
position, he reports to Jason E. Silvia, vice president VMARK
worldwide customer service.

Howard C. Lincoln, senior vice president of Nintendo of America
(206-462-4220), has been elected chairman of Nintendo of America.
Lincoln will join Minoru Arakawa, president of Nintendo of America,
as a member of the company's board of directors. They will together
be responsible for the management of the company. Lincoln is a
graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and its Boalt
Hall School of Law. He joined Nintendo of America, as its senior
vice president in 1983. Lincoln is active in civic affairs in
Seattle, serving as a trustee of the Seattle-King County Chamber of
Commerce and United Way of King County. Lincoln is also a trustee of
Children's Hospital Foundation of Seattle and a member of the board
of directors of the Bellevue Boys & Girls Club. He is a ember of the
board of directors of the Baseball Club of Seattle, owner of the
Seattle Mariners Baseball Club.

Market research firm Dataquest, (408-437-8312), has announced that
senior vice president John L. Torres will lead its new Cross
Industry Services group. Dataquest says that its Cross Industry
Service provides a broad array of clients-including government
agencies, Wall Street firms, and other financial institutions-with
information and perspectives that span all technology areas,
delivering recommendations to help these companies improve the
quality of their services and investment decisions. Torres has been
in the industry nearly 30 years, and has held numerous senior
management positions at IBM and two key roles at Dataquest.

Cursor control device vendor Interlink Electronics, (805-484-8855),
has announced the resignation of Kenneth W. Bitticks as CEO (chief
executive officer) of Interlink Electronics and the appointment of
President E. Michael Thoben III as president and CEO of the company,
effective March 1. Bitticks will retain his position as chairman of
the company. The company says that Bitticks, who will remain active
with the corporation, was a founding member of Interlink and has a
lengthy history with the company. Thoben was appointed president in
June 1990.

Accton Technology (415-508-1554), announced that Swan Chen, Accton's
director of international marketing and sales, will head its new
RedBox Division business group as general manager. Chen has been
with Accton since the company was founded in 1988 and has
been responsible for sales and marketing for Accton's line of
networking hardware and software. Most recently, Chen has been
working out of Accton's San Jose office, developing strategic
partnerships and exploring new OEM (original equipment
manufacturing) opportunities for Accton's diverse line of workgroup
products. Chen's additional duties as general manager of Accton's
RedBox Division will make him responsible for coordinating
development and marketing of Accton's new generation of NetWare-
specific connectivity products. Accton's RedBox Division was formed
to develop workgroup computing "solutions" designed specifically to
create new network adapters, hubs, and support software products for
Novell environments.

Chip and adapter board maker Adaptec, (408-957-4893), has announced
it will create three new business units from its System Products
Operation (SPO). Effective April 3, the start of the company's fiscal
year, the newly formed business units will focus on the input/output
(I/O) opportunities in the desktop and portable computing, enterprise
computing, and multimedia areas of the computing industry. Paul
Matteucci, currently corporate vice president and general manager of
SPO, will become general manager of the Media I/O business unit
created to address the multimedia market. He remains a member of the
executive staff as a corporate vice president. John Hamm, presently
vice president of worldwide sales, will become general manager of the
Enterprise Computing business unit and retains his positions as a
corporate vice president and executive staff member. S. Sundaresh,
presently director of SPO marketing, is promoted to general manager
of the Personal I/O business unit and joins the executive staff as a
corporate vice president.

Internetworking product maker Wellfleet Communications has announced
the appointment of Gerald A. Patton to the newly created position of
vice president, human resources. Patton will report directly to
Stephen Cheheyl, Wellfleet's senior vice president of finance and
administration. In his new position, Patton will direct all of
Wellfleet's worldwide human resources functions, including
employment, compensation, and benefits. Additionally, he will focus
on expanding the company's management development and employee
relations programs. He joins Wellfleet from Idexx Laboratories, an
international biotechnology firm located in Westbrook, Maine,
where he served as vice president, human resources.

MacUser (415-378-5638) has named Allen Kemmerer associate
publisher. Kemmerer reportedly brings 14 years of micro computer
industry experience to MacUser magazine. Kemmerer spent the past
10 years at Apple Computer, where he held a number of senior
sales and marketing management positions, including US. sales
manager for national accounts. Prior to his Apple experience,
Kemmerer was the general manager of an educational software and
multimedia publishing company.

Educational software company, KidSoft (408-354-6100) has announced
Dan'l Lewin as vice president of business development and Lucia
Steinhilber as chief financial officer. Lewin, 39, served as a
founder at Kaleida and NeXT, and held senior marketing positions
with GO Corp., and Apple. As a founder and vice president of sales
and marketing for Kaleida, he was responsible for worldwide OEM,
media industry and content developer relations, as well as product
marketing, corporate communications and licensing. Lewin holds a
B.A. in politics from Princeton University. Steinhilber joins
KidSoft to manage all finance and accounting procedures for KidSoft,
as well as human resources and investor relations. Prior to joining
KidSoft, Steinhilber, 38, was chief financial officer of PIA
Merchandising in Irvine, Calif., where she was responsible for all
financial functions, including the refinancing of the company, money
management and accounting.

Hard drive maker Conner Peripherals (408-456-3134) has announced
the resignation of executive vice president John Squires, a co-founder
of the company. Squires, who had been on a sabbatical leave since the
summer of 1993, said he is leaving Conner to pursue personal
interests and will not stand for re-election to the company's board
of directors. Squires led Conner's disk drive research and development
efforts from 1986 through mid-1993. The company also announced that
senior vice president Michael L. Workman, who has been in charge of
disk drive research and development, engineering and launch activities,
will assume the additional role of chief technical officer for disk
drive products. Before joining Conner, Workman spent 15 years with
IBM Corp., most recently as director of the storage development
laboratory in San Jose. At IBM, he was involved with the development
of high performance 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drives and the integration
of magneto-resistive heads. Workman earned his doctorate in electrical
engineering from Stanford University, and his bachelor's degree in
electrical engineering from University of California at Berkeley.

Richard A. Cundari has been appointed to vice president, marketing
for AT&T's Global Business Communications Systems unit. He will
oversee marketing and advertising strategies and programs and manage
industry relationships for the company's global operations. The unit
provides communications products and systems for business customers
worldwide. Cundari, recently division vice president for the company's
computer unit, AT&T Global Information Solutions (formerly NCR Corp.),
has been in the computer and communications industries for 22 years
in a number of marketing, sales and distribution roles, including 18
years with IBM.

Network Computing Devices (415-694-0650), a provider of X Window
System products and enterprise electronic-mail software, has named
Ralph Mele senior vice president of field operations. He reports to
Judy Estrin, NCD president and CEO. In the newly created position,
Mele is responsible for sales of all NCD products: X terminals, PC-
Xware (PC-to-Unix integration software) and Z-Mail, the electronic
mail software of NCD's recently acquired Z-Code Division. Mele, 57,
a resident of Los Altos, California, holds a B.S. degree in
electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Paramount Technology Group, (415-812-8255), has named Gregory W.
Slayton as vice president of business development and finance.
Slayton had been with McKinsey and Co. where he advised various
Fortune 50companies in Europe, South America and the United States
on issues ranging from technology strategy to worldwide strategic
partnerships. Slayton was previously employed with World Vision
International in West Africa as operations director of the Republic
of Mali. While working with MGM International in Southeast Asia, he
was director of operations in Manila and the regional consultant
for operations in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Slayton earned
an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in economics from
Dartmouth College.

IBM announced that Thomas F. Frist Jr., Judith Richards Hope, and
John R. Opel will retire from the IBM Board of Directors, effective
April 25, 1994. Frist, 55, is chairman, Columbia/HCA Healthcare
Corporation. A member of IBM's Executive Compensation and Management
Resources Committee, Frist became an IBM director in 1984. Hope,
53, is a senior partner in the law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky
and Walker. She is a member of IBM's Audit Committee, and has been
an IBM director since 1990. Opel, 69, was elected chief executive
officer of IBM in 1981 and served as chairman of IBM from February
1983 through June 1986. Opel is a member of IBM's Directors and
Corporate Governance Committee. He has been an IBM director since
1972.

Software vendor, The ASK Group (408-562-8482) has announced that
its board of directors had elected Paul C. Ely Jr. and Robert H.
Waterman Jr. to the positions of chairman and vice chairman,
respectively. Additionally, the board appointed Eric Carlson to the
posts of president and chief executive officer. The board also
announced that Leslie E. Wright, ASK Group chief financial and
administrative officer, has resigned. Wright will assist the company
in the search for and transition to his successor. Ely, 62, has been
a member of the ASK Group board since 1989. He is presently a
partner with Alpha Partners, a venture capital firm. Waterman, 56,
has been a member of the ASK Group's board since 1990. He is the
chairman of The Waterman Group, a research, writing and consulting
firm.

(Ian Stokell/19940228)


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

 ****Compaq Expands Houston PC Manufacturing Capacity 02/28/94
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation has announced plans to invest $20 million to expand the
PC manufacturing capability at its Houston facility.

The company said it will add seven new manufacturing lines for
desktop and portable PC production. The expansion will return
Compaq's portable PC production to Houston for the first time since
1991. That's when Compaq, citing economic pressures caused by the US
government's trade restrictions on flat panel displays, moved its
portable PC manufacturing to Singapore. Those restrictions have
recently been eased.

Four of the new lines will be dedicated to final assembly, and
three to printed circuit boards. Compaq says four of the new lines
will be installed in March, while the other three should be in
operation by June. Compaq spokesperson Linda Parsons told Newsbytes
that the staffing for the new lines would be "significant" but
declined to reveal how many employees would be hired. Parsons said
four of the new lines will operate five days a week around the
clock, while the other three will run seven days a week 24 hours a
day.

In January Compaq announced plans to expand its manufacturing
operations in Erskine, Scotland with a $10.5 million expansion which
is scheduled to be online by the third quarter. The two production
lines being added in Erskine will build printed circuit boards using
surface mount technology. The 540,000 square foot facility employs
about 800 people.

Even though its moving its portable manufacturing to Houston, Compaq
says its 360,000 square foot facility in Singapore will be expanded
this year to meet growing demand for PCs in the Asia Pacific region,
a growing market for several PC makers. Compaq also has a
manufacturing operation in Shenzhen, China where its builds PCs for
the Chinese market.

(Jim Mallory/19940228/Press contact: Linda Parsons, Compaq Computer
Corporation, 713-374-6058)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MSP)(00014)

NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 02/28/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- These are the
photos that have been digitized and correspond to stories Newsbytes
has reported recently. These photos are not available to the general
public, but are designed for use by licensed Newsbytes publishers
who log into our private bulletin board system in Minneapolis. For
information on how to become a licensed Newsbytes publisher in any
medium call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100.

Newspix weekly summaries will appear Mondays on the Newsbytes wire.
All photos are in JPEG format. Photo file names correspond to year-
month-day-story number-brief name of picture contents.

---------------------------

Week of February 28 - March 4,1994

---------------------------

94022202Altia - Color from slide, screen shot of auto dash
board design.

94020717Compaq - Color shot of Compaq Contura Aero 4/33C.

94021828AM486SX2 - Color shot of chip.

94021718R'Rabbit - Color from slide of Reader Rabbit screen.

94022420TriCoder - Color from slide of hand holding the Tricoder
device.

94022223Compton - Color from slide of space article screen from
Compton's Interactive Encyclopaedia.

94022402NewMedia - Color from slide of new plug and play card with
desktop gear (CD Rom, computer, speakers,etc.)

94020823S'Look - Screen shot from printout of Page-Views Note
Function.

94021414CpqAero - Color from slide of subnotebook computer.
Newspaper in foreground for scale.

94020305PanlBook - Demonstration with presenter using Panel
Book to project image.  Color from slide.

94021805Sanrio - That lovable kitty in color.

94021501Ofoto - Color from slide; screen shot of Ofoto app.

94021720BookWrk - Color from slide; Books That Work screen
showing how to replace a shingle on a roof.

94011412Gravis - Color from slide; array of personal piano gear,
keyboard, discs, speakers, cables, etc.

94020305LitePro - Color from slide; video projector on display
column.  Lighting is colorful, column is faux greco-roman.
94020909HPtoner - B&W of printer, toner cartridge and
remanufacturing program brochure.

94020820Netpwr - B&W of terminal and drive towers.

94020821Kodak1580 - Color from slide of copier.

94021120skel - Color from slide of workstation with skull in
foreground.

94012715ATIGWondr - Color from slide: view of ATI Technologies
windows accelerator card and product box.

94020428MTouch - B&W shot of TruePoint DS-17 flat
square touch monitor.  With hand coming off frame to touch
screen.

94012118CLIRad - Color of desk setup showcasing Compression
Labs Inc new Radiance videoconferencing system.  Product and
people shot.

94011423gore - Head and shoulders portrait vice president Al
Gore, (b&w).

94010708sumer  -  Color from slide. Wide shot
of Sumerian ziggurat courtesy Sumeria, producers of the CD-ROM
Ancient Cities  images of historical sites.

94011019nagel  -   David Nagel, senior vice
president and general manager of Apple's AppleSoft Div. Color
from slide.

94011310gryph  -  Gryphon software in action,
Mona Lisa morphs into wacky grin. Color from slide.

93111611spindl  -  Michael Spindler, Apple's
president and chief executive officer (CEO). Color from slide.

94011207mosc  -  Very wide angle, almost fish
eye, shot of Moscone center, site of recent Macworld Expo.
Color from slide.

94010428Eworld  -  View of E-world, Apple's
coming online service, screen.

(Newsbytes/19940228)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00015)

Canada: Computer Paper Buys Toronto Computes 02/28/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Canada Computer Paper,
Vancouver-based publisher of a nationwide string of monthly computer
tabloids, has announced its purchase of Toronto Computes, Canada's
oldest local computer tabloid.

Computer Paper plans to continue publishing Toronto Computes
alongside the Ontario edition of the Computer Paper, officials said.

Graeme Bennett, managing editor of the Computer Paper, said that
Toronto Computes has a strong readership among computer hobbyists,
while Computer Paper puts more emphasis on the small office and home
office market. Also, he said, Computer Paper is a national
publication with regional editions, while Toronto Computes focuses
more heavily on the Toronto area.

There will be little or no change in either publication as a
result of the acquisition, he said.

Officials said Canada Computer Paper bought all outstanding shares
of Context Publishing, which publishes Toronto Computes, from
founder and publisher David Carter effective February 21. They did
not disclose the price paid.

Computer Paper recently announced the launch of an Eastern Canada
edition, to serve Montreal, Ottawa, and the Atlantic provinces.
Editions are also published in Manitoba, Alberta, and British
Columbia. Monthly circulation is more than 400,000, according to the
publishers.

(Grant Buckler/19940228/Press Contact: Douglas Alder, Computer
Paper, 604-733-5596; Irene Grubb, Toronto Computes, 416-925-4533)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00016)

Computer Associates To Put Unicenter NT On Netpower 02/28/94
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Computer Associates
International Inc. has announced a deal with Netpower that will make
Netpower's reduced instruction set computing (RISC) servers the
first hardware to offer a version of CA-Unicenter for Microsoft
Corp.'s Windows NT operating system.

Unicenter is systems management software that Computer Associates
provides for a variety of versions of the Unix operating system. The
company had earlier announced plans to offer Unicenter for NT, but
the Netpower systems will be the first hardware for which the
software becomes available, company spokesman John Schoutsen told
Newsbytes.

The two firms said that a version of Unicenter to run under NT on
Netpower servers based on the MIPS Computing R4400 RISC processor
will be the reference platform for Unicenter under NT.

No delivery date has been set for the port, Schoutsen said, but it
will be available some time in 1994.

Netpower will distribute a demonstration version of CA-Unicenter for
Windows NT during a special promotion period in which CA will offer
Netpower's customers a free 120-day license to the software.

Computer Associates and Microsoft announced a deal last April to
make Unicenter available for NT. At the time, they said they
expected the software to be available within 12 to 18 months.

Unicenter deals with four areas of interest to systems managers. It
provides security, control, and audit features such as user
registration, access control, and security for all systems-
management functions. It manages storage, helping ensure proper
backup and file management. It deals with production control issued
such as workload balancing and batch-queue management, and, finally,
it provides tools for data center administration and user support.

CA-Unicenter is also offered for IBM's OS/2 operating system and
Novell's NetWare local-area network operating system, both of which
are considered rivals to NT, and for a variety of flavors of Unix.

Sunnyvale, California-based Netpower makes high-powered workstations
and servers that use Windows NT.

(Grant Buckler/19940228/Press Contact: John Schoutsen, Computer
Associates, 905-676-6794; Valerie Taglio, Netpower, 408-522-5108)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00017)

Wordperfect Readies Wordperfect 3.0 For Mac PowerPC 02/28/94
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation has
announced it is on schedule with a PowerPC version of its word
processing program for Apple Computer's PowerPC-based Macintosh
computers.

The company says that the Mac PowerPC version of Wordperfect 3.0
is scheduled to ship simultaneously with the PowerPC Mac by mid-
year. Wordperfect 3.0 for Mac was released in October 1993 and
supports Powertalk, Appleevents, Applescript, Worldscript, and
Quicktime.

Wordperfect's recently appointed president, Ad Rietveld, says the
PowerPC technology will increase the computing power and speed
available to current software applications.

Mark Calkins, Wordperfect VP of corporate and strategic marketing,
sees the ship date as a marketing advantage for Wordperfect. "None
of our word processing competitors have announced plans to ship the
same day as Apple's hardware launch. It fact, most of them have
announced shipping dates of two to six months later," he said.

Wordperfect officials say Wordperfect 3.0 for PowerPC scrolling,
search-and-replace, spell checking, and other common tasks all show
"significant" speed increases. "Obviously, applications performing a
high number of floating point-intensive calculations will see the
most speed increases after porting to the PowerPC," according to
marketing director Roger Bell.

Wordperfect 3.0 for PowerPC has feature compatibility with the new
versions of Wordperfect for other platforms, including tables, the
equation editor, drag-and-drop text and document editing. It also
includes a build-in drawing package with drawing tools such a bezier
curves, polygons, and a free-rotation tool.

Other features include an integrated grammar checker, styles,
columns, text boxes, kerning, find/change, macros, borders, sort,
merge, speller, thesaurus, headers and footers and zoom editing.

Wordperfect says that exact pricing hasn't been determined yet, but
expects the PowerPC version of Wordperfect to be comparable with
versions for other platforms.

A special installation option will permit users to install the
software on either a 68K-based Macintosh or on any PowerPC-based Mac
equipped with a hard drive.

(Jim Mallory/19940228/Press contact: Dan Cook, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5014; Reader contact: Wordperfect Corporation,
801-225-5000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00018)

N&P Building Society - Photocards Cut Fraud 90 Percent 02/28/94
BRADFORD, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 FEB 28 (NB) --- The National and
Provincial Building Society has revealed that, by putting photos of
cardholders on its Visa credit card, it has cut fraud by an
astonishing 90 percent.

"With photocards we have achieved a 90 percent reduction in fraud
compared with our experience with non-photocards," the society said
in a statement just released with its annual results.

According to a spokesman for the Building Society, N&P introduced
Britain's first Visa photocard in March of last year, and by the end
of December 120,000 photocards has been issued.

The spokesman said that annual losses during 1992/93 on the Visa
card operation were around the UKP 1 million mark, but it expects
these losses to be around one tenth of this total in the current
year as a direct result of using photocard technology.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940228/Press & Public Contact: N&P Building Society
- Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00019)

Chinese Paper - Computer Crime Rife In Country 02/28/94
BEIJING, CHINA, 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- High-tech police in China have
begun country-wide checks of computer centres in a counter-attack on
what they claim are subversive software viruses and lax safeguards
that a newspaper said "threatens the nation's security."

According to the Beijing Evening News, widely regarded as a
mouthpiece for the Chinese authorities, around 80 percent of
government units and other agencies in China that use computers had
adopted no provisions to protect computer data. "There are some
units whose computers are divulging secrets through electromagnetic
radiation of serious proportions," the newspaper said.

"If important intelligence were to be leaked, it could quickly fall
into the hands of criminal factions and thus threaten the nation's
security," the daily warned, adding that computer virus programs
pose a major threat.

"Partial statistics show that viruses have infected 90 percent of
China's microcomputers. What's worse, certain domestic elements have
used computer viruses to pursue their own political designs and the
effect has been extremely bad," the paper said.

The Beijing Evening News estimates that there are around a million
PCs in use in China, but industry monitors put the total at closer
to three million and say they expect sales of one million or more
this year.

Investigators from the Public Security Ministry's computer crime
task force have launched country-wide inspections to beef up
information safeguards and educate officials and other users about
the pitfalls of lax security, the paper said.

"Recent years have seen a swift and violent acceleration of computer
crime, with criminal methods getting craftier by the day and the
criminal scope growing wider," the daily paper added.

"The amounts involved in computer swindles have grown from tens of
thousands of yuan to several million yuan," it said. One million
yuan equals UKP80,000 or $120,000, Newsbytes notes.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940228)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00020)

Budget Digital Finger Print Reader Unveiled 02/28/94
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- The National
Registry has formed a company called Biometric Sensing Corporation
to develop, produce and market low-cost, state-of-the-art, fully
integrated computerised hardware which will be designed to collect,
process, match and transmit digital finger image data.

The Florida-based organization says it intends to use the
Microreader in a wide range of potential applications that require
positive identification, including welfare fraud control, medical
insurance fraud, medical record access security, voter registration
and voting fraud control, credit card fraud control and computer
access control.

NRI expects the first prototypes of the Microreader to be completed
by the third quarter of 1994 and anticipates being able to begin
producing commercial quantities of the Microreader by the First
quarter of 1995. The company claims that the Microreader will give
it a substantial competitive advantage in selling and implementing
its finger image identification systems.

Announcing the system, Anthony Forstmann, the Co-Chairman of NRI,
said: "The completion of the Microreader will help The National
Registry implement its finger imaging technology in potential
markets that have so far been unpenetrated due to cost and
technology barriers. The world-class team of scientists that we have
assembled to develop and produce the Microreader indicates The
National Registry's commitment to sell and install a wide range of
finger imaging systems in the near future."

According to Forstmann, the Microreader will be designed to, among
other things (1) take an analogue picture of a finger presented for
identification, (2) convert the analogue picture of such finger into
a digital finger code and (3) apply NRI's finger image
identification software to the digital finger code.

The resulting digital finger code can then be stored in a database
and retrieved and matched against other digital finger codes that
are already on file in a database or which may be created in a
similar manner on site directly from an individual's finger.

The Microreader will enable a user to quickly and positively
determine an individual's identity solely using such individual's
finger. NRI has agreed to provide $1.2 million to fund the initial
design and development of the Microreader, and intends to commit
additional funds as needed as the project progresses.

(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19940228/The National Registry - Tel:
813/573-3353)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

PCSI Working On Japanese PCS Project 02/28/94
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- In a move that
could accelerate the development of so-called Personal
Communications Services, or PCS equipment in the US, Cirrus Logic's
PCSI unit joined an effort to create new phones for Japan in the 1.9
GHz frequency range.

PCSI said that it has signed a strategic alliance with with DDI and
Kyocera of Japan for the technology and chipsets which will be used
in a major trial of the technology, called the PHP or Personal Handy
Phone, in Japan. The company said it had been working with DDI and
Kyocera for almost three years on designing the system, the chip-
set, and public base stations.

Unlike the Digital European Cordless Telephone standard, called
DECT, which was adopted primarily for wireless office applications,
the Japanese PHP standard is focused on residential cordless and
public telepoint applications. That makes it competitive with the
CT-2 phones which failed in most markets, with the notable exception
of Hong Kong.

Because they're aimed at a broad market, PCSI said, the company had
to create highly integrated chip-sets and hand-sets which are low in
cost, take little power, and are small in size compared with existing
cellular and analog cordless telephones. Because PHP uses a very
high frequency, power requirements are low, just 2.7 volts, but the
signal doesn't travel far before dissipating, so base stations must
be close together.

DDI has conducted field trials of the system in Sapporo, the fifth
largest city in Japan, with 30 Public Base Stations and 2,000
handsets. DDI plans to conduct several experiments in other major
cities. The complete effort required the work of 10 companies on
three continents, however.

The new frequencies are part of a worldwide allocation of
frequencies by the World Administrative Radio Conference, or WARC.
That means the resulting systems could be applied to both European
and US market, PCSI said. PHP has also demonstrated that extremely
low-cost PCS is achievable, the company said.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940228/Press Contact: Pacific Communication
Sciences, Kim Fedderly-Gower, 619/535-9500)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00022)

Executives Worry Over Out-Of-Control Computer Spending 02/28/94
MANHASSET, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Top computer
professionals are worried over the fact that low-cost desktop
systems are being purchased throughout large companies, eluding
centralized efforts to monitor and control spending, according to a
new survey by InformationWeek.

Asked about spending on computers, software, networks, and related
technology, top-ranking computer professionals at 154 of the largest
corporations in the US said they expected the amount to increase.

The corporate officials also expressed anxiety over whether
companies will get the maximum advantage such spending might
provide, citing ubiquitous computer buying as the reason for their
concern.

Not long ago, virtually all IT (information technology) spending was
controlled by executives experienced in purchasing and deploying
information technology (IT), according to Scott Leibs, the
InformationWeek editor who wrote the article detailing the new
trend.

"But now, with virtually every `knowledge worker' in a company
requiring ever more sophisticated desktop technology, various
departments in large organizations are buying these systems by the
thousands, often with little regard for obtaining the best prices or
making sure the machines are used," he noted.

Half the respondents to this year's poll told InformationWeek that
they expect this trend to continue. Fewer than one-fifth expected
any rollback.

Survey respondents also foresaw increased resources being channeled
into the desktop, particularly to technologies "that can tie
powerful PCs into networks." Fully 85 percent anticipated spending
more on servers in 1994 than in 1993. Exactly 80 percent said they
would be spending more on desktop PCs, and 67 percent on PC
software.

In all, the number of companies experiencing double-digit decline in
their central IS (information systems) budgets was down, from 23
percent in 1993 to 17 percent in 1994. The number seeing their
budgets rise by 10 percent or more was up, to 19 percent from 13
percent a year ago.

The survey, which is detailed in the February 28 edition of
InformationWeek, also includes predictions from analysts that, over
the next five years, total corporate spending on IT will rise from
5.5 percent of revenues to 8.3 percent.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940228/Press and reader contacts: Scott Leibs,
InformationWeek, 617-487-7500; Peter Krass, InformationWeek, 516-
562-5696)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00023)

 ****Aldus Says Patent Infringement Suit Without Merit 02/28/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has said that a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it and
another company "is without merit and the company will defend itself
vigorously."

That's the terminology that has become commonplace in an industry
that is becoming increasingly litigious as technology becomes more
complex and publishers seek to protect the computer code their
worked so hard to develop.

The suit against Aldus, which also named V.I.P. Systems as a
defendant, was filed in US District Court for the Eastern District
of Virginia, Alexandria Division, by Scitex America Corporation and
Printing Technologies Associates.

The complainants allege that Aldus infringed on a patent held by
Printing Technologies Associates for technology that aids in
electronically "trapping: digital files for four-color process
printing. Trapping is a quality control process. Aldus publishes
Trapwise, a software program designed to trap digital files on a
Macintosh computer or an IBM-compatible PC running Microsoft
Windows.

Aldus spokesperson Barbara Burke told Newsbytes that no damages were
specified in the suit. Aldus officials see the suit as pressure to
keep it from threatening its competitor's market position.

"We find it interesting that this lawsuit was filed a week after the
announcement of Aldus' pending acquisition of Compumation. Clearly
we are being viewed as a competitive factor in the digital prepress
marketplace," explained Aldus President Brian Brainerd. He said
Scitex has declined offers to met and discuss the problem.

(Jim Mallory/19940228/Press contact: Barbara Burke, Aldus
Corporation, 206-628-6594)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00024)

Stac Electronics President Reacts To Court Awards 02/28/94
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Stac Electronics
President Gary Clow says that his company has no problem with the
distribution of Microsoft DOS 6 as long as Microsoft removes the
data compression technology a court ruled last week violates Stac's
patents.

A federal court ruled last week that Microsoft's Doublespace data
compression technology included in MS-DOS 6 violates Stac patents.
Following the ruling Microsoft said it would immediately remove the
data compression feature of DOS 6 and would distribute MS-DOS 6
without data compression until it could provide the feature without
violating a patent.

"We aren't trying to stop DOS 6 and we're not trying to stop the PC
industry from going forward. We are just trying to stop Microsoft
from using our technology in doublespace," Clow told Newsbytes.

Asked if the two companies could still work together to develop a
data compression technology for MS-DOS, Clow said it has been Stac's
objective all along to work with Microsoft. "Unfortunately a couple
of years ago when we tried to negotiate a license deal the two
parties were so far apart on the value they placed on the technology
that we weren't able to come to terms. Hopefully now having had an
independent third party place a value on it, there is a basis for us
to sit down and talk again."

The victory against Microsoft isn't the first legal victory for
Stac. In the spring of 1993 the company won a battle with IIT when
that company decided to settle a patent infringement dispute by
paying Stac an undisclosed amount of money and getting a license from
Stac to use its patented technology. The license fee was also not
disclosed.

Stac was served with a new lawsuit last week that was reportedly
filed by an individual who bought Stacker, the Stac Electronics data
compression software program. Clow characterized the filing as "a
nuisance suit." He said the plaintiff charges that Stacker doesn't
double the disk capacity of a personal computer as claimed in Stacker
advertising.

Stacker officials haven't seen the suit yet, but the British news
service Reuters reports that the complaint seeks restitution in the
form of the Stacker price paid by consumers, attorney's fees and an
injunction against running further such advertising. Clow said his
company offers a money back guarantee for any purchaser who isn't
satisfied, and pointed out that the Stacker literature states that
some users will reclaim more disk space than others.

As reported earlier by Newsbytes, Stac Electronics laid off a
significant portion of its staff after its trouble with Microsoft
started. "(Microsoft's) infringing activity by releasing DOS 6 with
Doublespace significantly impacted our sales to the point where we
laid off about 20 percent of the company. We lost substantial
momentum, we lost important employees, suffered hard to our
reputation, and spent about $7 million for litigation," Clow told
Newsbytes.

He said that the $120 million award represents lost profits to Stac
Electronics for sales it would have made had Microsoft not been
infringing, a reasonable royalty on those sales Microsoft made above
and beyond the sales Stac would have made, and compensation for
convoyed sales. Clow explained that convoyed sales are those
facilitated by Microsoft's infringing activity.

Clow said that Stac obtained Microsoft internal memos from Microsoft
employees that talked about the importance of getting data
compression into the operating system to free up disk space so
Microsoft could sell more applications.

Software suites such as Microsoft Office that include several
functions like word processing, database, spreadsheet and graphics
require a large amount of disk space. "Having infringing compression
in Doublespace actually enabled some of these application sales,"
according to Clow.

While not willing to be specific, Clow told Newsbytes that Stac
expects to release a new product by the end of 1994. He did say
that the product would probably use data compression. "Our goal is to
be spending at least half of our research and development dollars on
a non-Stacker product."

(Jim Mallory/19940228/Press contact: Gary Clow, Stac Electronics,
619-431-7474; Reader contact: Stac Electronics, 619-431-7474)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00025)

Radio Shack Apologizes, Withdraws Game With Swastika 02/28/94
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Radio Shack has
apologized for selling an electronic pinball game that includes an
image of a swastika and is offering refunds to offended customers.

The company said it didn't notice the symbol that appears randomly
at various levels of the Pinball Master game, and has cancelled all
future orders of the device from the manufacturer. The swastika was
the symbol used by the Nazi regime during World War II and is
considered a symbol of hate by many, particularly Jews who survived
the infamous period of mass executions and imprisonment in
concentration camps of many of their countrymen.

The swastika is a cross of four equal length arms. The version used
by the Nazi's has the arms bent at a 90 degree angle clockwise, and
is also reportedly a good luck symbol in the Buddhist religion. A
similar symbol but with the arms bent counter-clockwise, is an
ancient symbol used by one of the American Indian tribes.

Radio Shack said it learned of the problem when it was contacted by
the Anti-Defamation League, which said it had received complaints
about the game from all over the country. The League fights
anti-Semitism.

Radio Shack sold the $19.99 games as a Christmas item, but a Tandy
Corporation spokesperson said she didn't know how many had been
sold. Tandy is Radio Shack's parent company.

The company reportedly originally purchased 55,000 Pinball Masters,
but Radio Shack officials could not verify that figure. The name of
the game's manufacturer was not immediately available, but the
spokesperson said it came from a private-label supplier in the Far
East.

(Jim Mallory/19940228/Press contact: Fran McGehee, Tandy
Corporation, 817-390-3487)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00026)

 ****ICL, EDS Sign Security Software Development Agreement 02/28/94
RESTON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- In the United
States (US) alone, losses through computer fraud, hacking, sabotage,
and other security breaches are estimated at over $5 billion a year.
Now European computer services company ICL announced a development
agreement with US computer services supplier EDS to enhance ICL's
Access Manager product to further address the problem of computer
security.

Under the agreement, ICL will lead a joint development agreement
focused on enhancing the Access Manager security system for
controlling user access to applications and services on computer
networks. EDS says its role is to validate and implement the
product during its evolution in its own 100,000 user enterprise
network as well as outside the company. The joint agreement
announcement was made by ICL Enterprises, the UK company's
Reston, Virginia-based operation.

Access Manager, launched in the United Kingdom (UK) in April of
1991 under the European Commissions SESAME (Secure European System
for Applications in a Multivendor Environment) project, is described
as a product for maintaining high levels of security for networked
systems. ICL boasts the product only requires users to log onto a
system once to gain access to all appropriate services and
applications for that user.

The product currently runs in an open systems client-server
environment on ICL servers under Unix System V Release 4, and on Sun
servers under Solaris 2.3. Clients supported include industry-
standard IBM compatible personal computers (PCs) running Windows 3.1
and Sun workstations under both Motif and Openlook.

Planned enhancements under the current agreement include: more
comprehensive access controls; enhancement of security management
and administration facilities; adding interworking links with
other network products, such as Open Systems Foundation's (OSF),
DCE (Distributed Computing Environment) and Novell's Netware; and
porting the product to other server and workstation platforms such
as those from International Business Machines (IBM), Digital
Equipment Corporation (DEC), and Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Plano, Texas-based EDS (NYSE: GME) describes itself as an employer
of over 70,000 with operations in more than 30 countries. The
company is focused on the application of information technology in
business and government and reported revenues of $8.56 billion in
1993.

UK-based ICL PLC says it operates in over 70 countries worldwide,
with some 25,000 employees. Revenues in 1992 were almost $4.3
billion (in US dollars).

(Linda Rohrbough/19940228/Press Contact: Tony Cancelosi, ICL
Enterprises, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Fred Jones, EDS,
214-605-3621)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00027)

Adobe Illustrator For Mac Workbook From Adobe Press 02/28/94
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Adobe Press
has announced the another in its series of hands-on training
workbooks covering Adobe software products. This latest title,
Classroom in a Book: Adobe Illustrator for Macintosh, is aimed at
guiding new users through Adobe Illustrator version 5.0 or later.

Adobe has been moving its well-known products for the manipulation
of visual images from the Apple Macintosh computer platform to the
IBM personal computer (PC) running Microsoft Windows. To help users
master the products, Adobe Press says the workbooks provide dozens
of step-by-step lessons and projects. Those interested in the titles
will want to have a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive, as
each workbook title comes with a CD containing lessons and project
files to work through.

In addition, Adobe Press is including the Adobe Acrobat Reader
software for Macintosh computers, retail priced at $29.95. Acrobat
is focused on providing typeface information for text so users can
see the text as the document's creator intended instead of in a
generic ASCII format. Macintosh users will be able to download
Acrobat Reader software onto their computers from the CD-ROM disc
and use it to read detailed notes and user information on Adobe's
training program and the company's US training partners.

While additional instructional materials from publishers of software
titles are becoming increasingly popular, a certain segment of the
computer world considers the titles "rip-offs." There is the
argument that the user should have gotten the information with the
application to begin with and therefore should not have to pay extra
for it via additional books or teaching materials. Software
companies argue that some users need additional support and this is
the most economical way for those customers to receive the materials
they need without raising software prices for everyone.

Adobe Press, a joint book publishing venture between Adobe Systems
and Hayden press, has announced three training workbook titles
available, including Adobe Photoshop for Macintosh, Adobe Premiere
for Macintosh, and Adobe Photoshop for Windows. A fourth title,
Adobe Illustrator for Windows, is expected to be available in April
of this year.

The titles retail for $44.95 in the US and $56.95 in Canada.
Worldwide distribution is through Prentice Hall Computer Publishing
or its parent company, Simon & Schuster International, Adobe Press
added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940228/Press Contact: Patrick Ames, Adobe
Press, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

 ****SPC Cancels Superbase Development, Layoffs In UK 02/28/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Remember
that Windows multimedia database development product from the
Software Publishing Corporation (SPC) called Superbase? SPC has
announced it will discontinue further development on the product
and has also announced layoffs of 10 percent of its employees,
mostly in the United Kingdom.

SPC officials maintain the company is switching away from
products aimed at developers to products aimed at end users.
Support for the product will continue and SPC says it will also
continue to sell Superbase.

"Superbase is a great product, but it does not fit into our longer-
term plans in the areas of information presentation and information
sharing," said President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Irfan
Salim.

The company just announced an enhanced version of its
Professional Write 3.0 for DOS managerial word processor and says
it will continue development on its well-known presentation
package Harvard Graphics.

Full-time and contract workers are being reduced by 50 employees,
leaving a remaining worldwide workforce of 450. The company is
also consolidating operations from three research and development
laboratories to two, and most of the reduction will come in its
operations in United Kingdom, where most of the layoffs will
occur as well, the company added.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SPC (NASDAQ: SPCO)
reported 1993 losses of approximately $34 million on revenue of
$104 million.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940228/Press Contact: Len Filppu, Software
Publishing Corporation, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00029)

Apple's New Quadra 610 Runs MS-DOS/Windows Apps 02/28/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- Software has
been available for some time that allows MS-DOS files to be opened
under Apple Computer's Macintosh user interface. Now, however,
Apple itself is getting into the hardware act by announcing that
shipments of its new Macintosh Quadra 610 DOS Compatible
system with MS-DOS- and Windows-compatibility have begun.

Targeted at both the home office and small business user, where
"being able to work in multiple computing environments is needed,"
the new Quadra allows users to switch from the Mac environment
to DOS and back again with "just the touch of two keys."

The system uses both a Motorola 25 megahertz (MHz) 68LC040, and an
Intel 25MHz 486SX microprocessor which runs DOS and Windows-based
software. The system comes preinstalled with Microsoft's MS-DOS 6.2
operating system. The Quadra's dual processor approach reportedly
allows users to work in both the Macintosh and DOS environments at
the same time.

Announcing the shipments, Ian Diery, executive vice president and
general manager of Apple's personal computer division, said: "By
developing the most compatible personal computer, Apple intends to
provide users with all of the advantages of the Macintosh platform
while protecting their investment in both DOS and Windows-based
software."

Apple claims that, because the dual processors will work
independently, users will be able to run Macintosh and DOS or
Windows applications in tandem, and even "cut and paste" information
between the two environments.

However, Maureen O'Connell, spokesperson for Apple, told Newsbytes
that the user cannot view a Macintosh application and a Windows
application in separate windows on the same screen at the same time.
To see them both simultaneously you need two monitors. You can cut
and paste between a Mac application and a Windows application
though, she said.

As a result, there is dual monitor support, which lets the user add
a second display monitor without purchasing an additional video
card. The Macintosh Quadra 610 DOS Compatible version supports "most
VGA, SVGA and Multisync monitors" as well as the Apple 14" or 16"
Macintosh color displays, says the company.

The same hard drive runs Macintosh, MS-DOS or Windows applications.
In answer to a question from Newsbytes, O'Connell said that the hard
disk is not partitioned into a DOS part and a Mac part. All the
files are on the same hard disk together.

Apple says it also offers an optional internal CD-ROM drive designed
to run Macintosh, DOS and Windows CD-ROM discs. DOS and Windows
applications print to any Apple- or Macintosh- compatible printer
through a built-in serial port or optional Ethernet port.

The new Quadra also ships with Apple's PC Exchange software, which
allows users to manage their DOS and Windows files in the Macintosh
environment. Apple also says that users can custom configure their
Macintosh to open a DOS or Windows file with a Macintosh
application by double-clicking on the file's icon.

The Macintosh Quadra 610 DOS Compatible personal computer is
available, priced at $1,579 which includes 8 megabytes (MB) of RAM,
a 160MB hard drive and on-board Ethernet configuration. Users can
also buy the DOS Compatibility Card for Macintosh separately,
designed for both the Macintosh Quadra 610 and Macintosh Centris
610, priced at $399.

Meanwhile, Chips and Technologies says that the new DOS-compatible
Mac Quadra incorporates the company's CS4031 core logic CHIPSet,
82C450 VGA controller, and video and system BIOS (basic
input/output).

Said Dave Daetz, worldwide Macintosh product marketing manager at
Apple Computer. "To achieve full PC compatibility in the shortest
possible time, Chips brought together standard chipsets with
customized BIOS and helped us perform compatibility testing."

The Macintosh Quadra features two system cards: the first has the
68LC040 to power the Macintosh environment; the second contains the
486SX that runs DOS and Windows applications. The 486SX-based board
includes Chips' core logic chipset, VGA controller, room for up to
32MB of RAM and Apple-developed ASICs (application specific
integrated circuits). In addition to sharing the hard disk, both
environments share RAM.

Supporting a 486SX25 processor, Chips says that the CS4031 core
logic chipset combines CPU (central processing unit), DRAM, ISA
(Industry Standard Architecture) and peripheral controllers in an
integrated two chip system. The company claims that the CS4031
requires a "minimum number of discrete TTL (transistor transistor
logic) chips," which reduces "the overall complexity and cost of
implementing a PC-compatible system."

(Ian Stokell/19940228/Press Contact: Maureen O'Connell of Regis
McKenna Inc., 415-354-4492; Annie Gladue, 408-434-0600, Chips
and Technologies Inc.)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00030)

Artisoft Intros LANtastic 6.0 02/28/94
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- As the peer-to-peer
network operating system (NOS) software market becomes increasingly
competitive, with such products as Microsoft's Windows for
Workgroups and Novell's Personal NetWare trying to increase their
market share, Artisoft has announced version 6.0 of its leading
LANtastic NOS.

According to the company, the upgrade includes "significant feature
additions and enhancements," including a new universal client
technology, which is claimed to provide "seamless desktop
connectivity to Novell, Microsoft, and IBM network servers."

In addition, an integrated groupware system includes "advanced
electronic mail, network scheduling, faxing, and paging features."

Newsbytes notes that LANtastic has had a battle on its hands
recently, fending of attacks on its market share by both Windows
for Workgroups and Novell's NetWare Lite, and the new Personal
NetWare.

Newsbytes also notes that peer-to-peer networks are becoming
increasingly popular among small offices and departmental groups
within larger companies who wish to create and manage their own
local area networks (LANs). Even Microsoft's new Windows NT
operating system contains peer-to-peer capabilities. In a peer-to-
peer environment, all the computers, or nodes, on the network can
beset up as either clients, or servers, or both.

By making his or her machine a server, a user allows other users on
the network to access data on its hard disk. By being a client, a
system can access another hard disk, but does not allow its own to
be used by others on the network. As a result, peer-to-peer networks
make good use of all resources in an office -- for example, hard
disks, printers, and CD-ROMs.

However, peer-to-peer networks come with their own headaches. In the
first place, backing up important data can be problematic if it is
dispersed around all the hard disks on the network. On a network
with a "dedicated" server, i.e. a computer that acts as a
centralized holding place for data, backing up is relatively easy
because the network manager just has to save files from the one
machine. Additionally, security is also traditionally more limited
on peer-to-peer networks.

However, Artisoft claims that LANtastic 6.0 includes "improved
network performance and enhanced network management capabilities."
Said Artisoft President and Chief Executive Officer William C.
Keiper: "This upgrade represents the most significant enhancement of
any previous version of the LANtastic network operating system. Its
advanced features will help to position it as the leading networking
and communications system for small- and medium-sized businesses and
corporate workgroups."

Artisoft says that the universal client feature includes NetWare
Core Protocol (NCP) support that enables LANtastic 6.0 workstations
to access NetWare 2, 3 and 4 servers for file and print services.

Server Message Block (SMB) client support gives a LANtastic 6.0
workstation the ability to access any SMB-based server for file and
print services, claims the company. This lets version 6.0 users
access servers running Microsoft Windows NT and Windows for
Workgroups, IBM LAN Server and any other SMB version 1.0 compatible
system.

The new integrated Artisoft Exchange object-oriented system includes
"advanced" electronic-mail, network scheduling, faxing and paging
features for LANtastic 6.0 network users. The Artisoft Exchange
system allows users to address and simultaneously send a single
message to a fax address, a digital pager, another local Artisoft
Exchange mailbox and an MCI Mail user. The scheduler feature allows
users to keep track of personal and group appointments.

New management features in version 6.0 network allow users with the
management privilege to get configuration, status and performance
statistics for any LANtastic 6.0 network server. Network
administrators can reportedly monitor and receive warnings for low
server disk capacity or excessive CPU (central processing unit)
utilization. Administrators can also import or export user account
information in three different text formats into a database,
spreadsheet or word processing application.

Artisoft says that the LANtastic 6.0 network will be sold on a per
node basis with 1-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50- and 100-user kits available.
Pricing will start at $119 and upgrade pricing will begin at $39 per
node. Version 6.0 is said to be backward-compatible with
the LANtastic 5.0 network and the Simply LANtastic network.

Version 6.0 will also be available in starter kits that include two
NodeRunner/SI 2000/C network interface cards and a two-user software
license, for $519. Add-on kits will include one NodeRunner/SI 2000/C
NIC and a one-user software license for $239.

(Ian Stokell/19940228/Press Contact: Joe Stunkard, 602-670-7145,
Artisoft)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00031)

Newsbytes Daily Summary 02/28/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 FEB 28 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Australian Project Intros Commercial Mapping Into Education
02/28/94 After 18 months of collaborative work, a project involving
high school teachers and university academics has produced a Local
Area Study (LAS) for year seven junior high school students in Sydney.

2 -> Fulcrum Offers Mac C Version Of SearchTools 02/28/94 Fulcrum
Technologies has announced a version of its SearchTools text-retrieval
software for Apple Computer's Macintosh computer.

3 ->  ****Lotus Notes Is Ready To Take On Microsoft's EMS 02/28/94
Riding high on a sales surge, and with several new versions about to
emerge, Lotus Notes is in excellent shape to fend off the challenge of
Microsoft's upcoming EMS (Enterprise Messaging Service), Lotus
executives told journalists and analysts in the first of a series of
"Quarterly Update on Notes" audioconferences.

4 -> ExperComp Launches Ambra Notebooks 02/28/94 ExperComp Services,
the division of IBM Canada that sells Ambra computers in Canada, has
launched six new notebook models.

5 -> Cable & Wireless And Digital Provide INS 02/28/94 Digital
Equipment Corporation and Cable & Wireless plc (C&W) have signed an
agreement under which they will jointly provide integrated network
solutions (INS) to their customers on a worldwide basis.

6 -> Screensavers React To Audio Input, More Sound Files 02/28/94
Animotion Development Corporation (ADC) has announced two new products
to enhance the sound capabilities of personal computers running
Microsoft Windows. The company has introduced MCS Soundsavers, screen
savers that oscillate in reaction to audio input; and MCS Soundrevue,
a library of 300 PC sound effects combined with a special effects
editor.

7 -> Kodak Announces Photo Digital Enhancement Stations 02/28/94 Kodak
is boasting about its Digital Enhancement Stations for retail use in
reproduction of color photos from its Photo compact disc (Photo CD)
format or existing prints. The company has announced several different
equipment combinations for use by store personnel and even offers
self-serve kiosk-type units for consumer use in a retail environment.

8 ->  ****Motorola Announces Next Generation Cellular, PCS Products
02/28/94 Attendees at the Wireless 94 convention in San Diego next
month will get a preview of some of Motorola's lineup of new products
for the cellular and personal communication service (PCS) markets. The
show opens March 2, 1994.

9 -> Print Shop Deluxe Now Available On CD 02/28/94 Having just
announced a merger with Electronic Arts, Broderbund unveiled has two
new products -- Print Shop Deluxe CD Ensemble and a multimedia version
of Myst.

10 -> Windows Show UK - PC Software Audit Package Debuts 02/28/94 S&S
International has unveiled Dr Solomon's Audit, which the company
claims brings the benefits of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit to the
software auditing arena.

11 -> KISS Offers Solar Power Products For Newton, Powerbook 02/28/94
If you're frustrated with the battery life of your Newton Messagepad
personal digital assistant (PDA) or your Apple Powerbook notebook
computer, then the sun might be able to help. Keep It Simple Software
(KISS) has begun shipping Sunpak solar power units for operating or
recharging Newtons and Powerbooks.

12 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 02/28/94 This is a regular feature,
summarizing personnel changes at companies not covered elsewhere by
Newsbytes: Sun Microsystems Computer, Artisoft, US Robotics, Adobe
Systems, VMARK Software, Nintendo of America, Dataquest, Interlink
Electronics, Accton Technology, Adaptec, Wellfleet Communications,
MacUser, KidSoft, Conner Peripherals, AT&T's Global Business
Communications Systems, Network Computing Devices, Paramount
Technology Group, IBM and The ASK Group.

13 ->  ****Compaq Expands Houston PC Manufacturing Capacity 02/28/94
Compaq Computer Corporation has announced plans to invest $20 million
to expand the PC manufacturing capability at its Houston facility.

14 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 02/28/94 These are the
photos that have been digitized and correspond to stories Newsbytes
has reported recently.

15 -> Canada: Computer Paper Buys Toronto Computes 02/28/94 Canada
Computer Paper, Vancouver-based publisher of a nationwide string of
monthly computer tabloids, has announced its purchase of Toronto
Computes, Canada's oldest local computer tabloid.

16 -> Computer Associates To Put Unicenter NT On Netpower 02/28/94
Computer Associates International Inc. has announced a deal with
Netpower that will make Netpower's reduced instruction set computing
(RISC) servers the first hardware to offer a version of CA-Unicenter
for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT operating system.

17 -> Wordperfect Readies Wordperfect 3.0 For Mac PowerPC 02/28/94
Wordperfect Corporation has announced it is on schedule with a PowerPC
version of its word processing program for Apple Computer's
PowerPC-based Macintosh computers.

18 -> N&P Building Society - Photocards Cut Fraud 90 Percent 02/28/94
 The National and Provincial Building Society has revealed that, by
putting photos of cardholders on its Visa credit card, it has cut
fraud by an astonishing 90 percent.

19 -> Chinese Paper - Computer Crime Rife In Country 02/28/94
High-tech police in China have begun country-wide checks of computer
centres in a counter-attack on what they claim are subversive software
viruses and lax safeguards that a newspaper said "threatens the
nation's security."

20 -> Budget Digital Finger Print Reader Unveiled 02/28/94 The
National Registry has formed a company called Biometric Sensing
Corporation to develop, produce and market low-cost, state-of-the-art,
fully integrated computerised hardware which will be designed to
collect, process, match and transmit digital finger image data.

21 -> PCSI Working On Japanese PCS Project 02/28/94 In a move that
could accelerate the development of so-called Personal Communications
Services, or PCS equipment in the US, Cirrus Logic's PCSI unit joined
an effort to create new phones for Japan in the 1.9 GHz frequency
range.

22 -> Executives Worry Over Out-Of-Control Computer Spending 02/28/94
Top computer professionals are worried over the fact that low-cost
desktop systems are being purchased throughout large companies,
eluding centralized efforts to monitor and control spending, according
to a new survey by InformationWeek.

23 ->  ****Aldus Says Patent Infringement Suit Without Merit 02/28/94
Aldus Corporation has said that a patent infringement lawsuit filed
against it and another company "is without merit and the company will
defend itself vigorously."

24 -> Stac Electronics President Reacts To Court Awards 02/28/94 Stac
Electronics President Gary Clow says that his company has no problem
with the distribution of Microsoft DOS 6 as long as Microsoft removes
the data compression technology a court ruled last week violates
Stac's patents.

25 -> Radio Shack Apologizes, Withdraws Game With Swastika 02/28/94
Radio Shack has apologized for selling an electronic pinball game that
includes an image of a swastika and is offering refunds to offended
customers.

26 ->  ****ICL, EDS Sign Security Software Development Agreement
02/28/94 In the United States (US) alone, losses through computer
fraud, hacking, sabotage, and other security breaches are estimated at
over $5 billion a year. Now European computer services company ICL
announced a development agreement with US computer services supplier
EDS to enhance ICL's Access Manager product to further address the
problem of computer security.

27 -> Adobe Illustrator For Mac Workbook From Adobe Press 02/28/94
Adobe Press has announced the another in its series of hands-on
training workbooks covering Adobe software products. This latest
title, Classroom in a Book: Adobe Illustrator for Macintosh, is aimed
at guiding new users through Adobe Illustrator version 5.0 or later.

28 ->  ****SPC Cancels Superbase Development, Layoffs In UK 02/28/94
Remember that Windows multimedia database development product from the
Software Publishing Corporation (SPC) called Superbase? SPC has
announced it will discontinue further development on the product and
has also announced layoffs of 10 percent of its employees, mostly in
the United Kingdom.

29 -> Apple's New Quadra 610 Runs MS-DOS/Windows Apps 02/28/94
Software has been available for some time that allows MS-DOS files to
be opened under Apple Computer's Macintosh user interface. Now,
however, Apple itself is getting into the hardware act by announcing
that shipments of its new Macintosh Quadra 610 DOS Compatible system
with MS-DOS- and Windows-compatibility have begun.

30 -> Artisoft Intros LANtastic 6.0 02/28/94 As the peer-to-peer
network operating system (NOS) software market becomes increasingly
competitive, with such products as Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups
and Novell's Personal NetWare trying to increase their market share,
Artisoft has announced version 6.0 of its leading LANtastic NOS.

(Steve Gold/19940228)