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/mar_apr_94/nb030194

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(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00001)

Leading Edge Intros Multimedia PCs/Bundled Software 03/01/94
WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Leading
Edge has announced WinTower Entrepreneur, WinPro Educator, and
WinPro 486e Entertainer, a new family of 486 multimedia PCs with
prices starting at $1,235.

The new Leading Edge models bring multimedia features and bundled
software that are specifically aimed at the small business, home
education, and entertainment markets, respectively, a company
spokesperson told Newsbytes.

The new multimedia PCs are outfitted with hardware such as
dual-speed CD-ROM drives, audio boards, stereo speakers, and
headphones. Bundled software includes Multimedia Encyclopedia
by Grolier's; Action! SE Pack; Phonedisc USA Business; and Dr. T.'s
Sing-a-Long karaoke. The systems also come standard with
Microsoft applications that include MS-DOS, MS-Windows,
MS-Works for Windows, MS-Money, MS-Productivity Pack, and
MS-Entertainment Pack 4.

WinTower Entrepreneur is a new series of Multimedia PC (MPC)
type 2-compliant tower PCs for small to medium-sized businesses.
Priced from $1,935 to $2,415, the systems are based on Intel's
486DX2/50 megahertz (MHz) and 486DX2/66 MHz microprocessors,
and are Pentium OverDrive-ready.

Bundled software for WinTower Entrepreneur includes: Action!SE, a
package for incorporating sound, motion, text, graphics, animation,
and interactivity into presentations; and PhoneDisc USA, which
contains over 9.5 million business telephone listings, searchable
by company name, business type, and address. Also bundled is
Multimedia Encyclopedia, encompassing 21 volumes of Grolier's
American Encyclopedia with 3,000 pictures and over 250 maps and
animations.

The WinTower Entrepreneur units support VESA (Video Electronics
Standards Association) local bus, and also include a local bus IDE
(Integrated Device Electronics) hard drive interface on the
motherboard that is billed as producing hard drive transfer rate
improvements of up to 400 percent over standard IDE controller
technologies.

Also included are: a dual-speed, Kodak Photo CD-ready CD-ROM
drive; a 16-bit audio board; stereo speakers and headphones;
and a local bus Windows accelerator video controller designed to
boost video performance by off-loading processing tasks from the
central processing unit (CPU). A fax modem, with Q-Link/2
communication software and Prodigy, is optionally available.

Other features of WinTower Entrepreneur include four megabytes
(MB) of main system memory (expandable to 64MB); a 260MB or
346MB hard drive; 1MB of video memory (upgradable to 2MB); 64
kilobytes (KB) cache (upgradable to 256KB); and dual or single
floppy drives.

The tower case design offers five drive bays; one available 32-bit
VESA expansion slot; three available 16-bit ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) expansion slots; and a 200-watt power supply.

WinPro Educator, a series of MPC-compliant 486SLC/33-based PCs
priced from $1,235, is designed for families with school-aged
children. Multimedia hardware includes: a dual-speed, Kodak Photo
CD-ready CD-ROM drive from Sony; a Sound Blaster Pro audio board;
stereo speakers; headphones; and an optional fax/modem.

The new WinPro Educator models are bundled with Yearn2Learn
Peanuts, featuring real-voice narration, music, math, geography,
and reading; and Time Almanac, with over 15,000 articles,
videos, photos, charts and maps.

Also bundled with the PCs are: ChessMaster 3000; a step-by-step
chess tutorial; Multimedia Encyclopedia by Grolier's; and The
Animals, a CD-ROM disk, incorporating video and sound technology,
that provides 2,500 pages on animals and their habits, as well as
1,300 photos and the sounds of over 200 exotic animals and birds.

WinPro Educator models comes with 4MB of RAM; Super VGA video;
a 170MB or 260MB hard drive; a single 3.5-inch floppy drive; four
drive bays; three available 16-bit expansion slots; one available
eight-bit slot; one parallel port; and two serial ports.

The new WinPro Entertainer 486e series is aimed at entertaining
family members of all ages. Based on Intel 486/SX, 486/DX, and
486/DX2 microprocessors, models are MPC2-compliant, and range
in price from $1,350 to $2,260.

Bundled multimedia titles include: Audio Collection, a selection of
over 300 sound effects, a music mentor, and NotePlay for Windows,
an arcade game that teaches users to read and write music. Also
packaged with the PCs are Dr. T's Sing-A-Long karaoke game,
Multimedia Encyclopedia by Groliers, and Time Almanac.

The WinPro Entertainer provides a choice of hard drive capacities
from 170MB to 345MB; 8KB internal cache; a VESA local bus Super
VGA card with 1MB video memory (upgradable to 2MB) and "true
color" capabilities; four drive bays; one 32-bit VESA slot; three
available 16-bit ISA expansion slots; one parallel port; two serial
ports; one mouse port; and a 150-watt power supply.

Multimedia components include a double-speed, Kodak Photo
CD-ready, Sony CD-ROM drive; 16-bit audio board; stereo speakers;
headphones; and an optional fax/modem.

All systems from Leading Edge are supported by a recently upgraded
service and support warranty that offers two options: a three-year
carry-in warranty, or a one-year on-site warranty. Carry-in
service is provided at any of over 800 authorized service centers
nationwide. On-site service is performed in the US by GE Computer
Service, a division of General Electric Company. On-site warranty
extensions are available. The company's AdvantEdge program also
supplies toll-free technical support and online bulletin board
support.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940228/Reader Contact: Leading Edge,
800-874-3340; Press Contacts: Susan Zephir, Leading Edge, 508-
836-4800; Amelie Gardella or Nick Berents, Copithorne & Bellows
for Leading Edge, 617-252-0606)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00002)

Canadian Product Launch Update 03/01/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- This regular
feature, appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further
details for the Canadian market on announcements by international
companies that Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Central
Point Software's PC Tools 2.0 for Windows.

Central Point Software Inc., which has its Canadian office in
Mississauga, Ontario, announced PC Tools 2.0 for Windows
(Newsbytes, Feb. 15). The Canadian suggested retail price is
C$219, and Central Point offers a C$79 "universal" upgrade to
users of PC Tools 1.0 for Windows or any other Central Point
product, as well to owners of competing products.

While supplies last, customers who order full copies of PC Tools
2.0 for Windows will also get a copy of Connect Software's E-Mail
Connection, a universal Windows interface to electronic mail
software, Central Point said.

(Grant Buckler/19940228/Press Contact: Deanne Philips, Central
Point, 503-690-2650; Mark Wessel, Novus Communications for
Central Point, 905-564-0784; Public Contact: Central Point
Software, 800-964-6896)


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

NY Fed Reserve Bank Creates Public BBS 03/01/94
NEW YORK, N.Y., U.S.A. 1994 MAR 1 (NB) --  The Federal Reserve Bank's
New York branch has created a public access bulletin board system
(BBS), joining the federal branches in St. Louis, Minneapolis and
Dallas, which also have BBSes in place.

The New York Fed's board is called "Liberty Link" and reportedly
has a wealth of useful data online, including the daily listing of
Treasury securities bid and asked prices and yields, foreign
exchange rates twice daily (10 am and noon), short biographies
of key New York federal staff members, and news releases and
speech texts.

Running The Major bulletin board software, from Galacticom,
the BBS is standard fare for those familiar with online
communications. The first-time sign-on routine prompts the user
through the operation of names and passwords. The board supports
all major file transfer protocols, although all the data available
is in plain-vanilla ASCII.

Liberty Link's number is 212-720-2652. It will handle transmission
up to 9,600 bits-per-second (bps). Modems should be set up for
eight-bits, no parity, one stop bit, ANSI terminal emulation, full
duplex, no XON/XOFF, auto linefeed off, and a destructive backspace.
Four lines are currently available, and the service is free. The
system operator is Barton Sotnick, staff director of press and
community relations.

(Kennedy Maize/19940228/Press Contact: Steve Malin,
212-720-6141)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00004)

Martin Marietta Wins Social Security Info Contract 03/01/94
BETHESDA, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- The Social
Security Administration has awarded a second contract to Martin
Marietta Services Group to continue the upgrade of the agency's
information systems. The follow-on contract could be worth as
much as $68.1 million over five years.

Martin Marietta has been working with Social Security, part of the
US Department of Health and Human Services, since 1989 to define
the software architecture and create application systems for the
giant agency. The company has delivered more than 2.4 million
lines of computer code, according to Martin Marietta, most of it
designed to move the agency from batch procession to online
operations. Martin Marietta, headquarter in Bethesda, Md., says it
has 180 employees working on the SSA modernization.

By the turn of the century, Social Security says it plans to have in
place a distributed, client-server network, with 70,000 intelligent
workstations, 1,600 video conferencing centers, and 2,000 local
area networks, all linked with the agency's national computing
center at Woodlawn, Md., outside Baltimore. It is designed to speed
up processing of Social Security benefits and improve service.

Martin Marietta's new contract has a one-year base worth $12.7
million, and four one-year renewal options. It was the result of an
open competition. The company's service group has been very
successful in competing for federal government information
systems, holding major contracts with the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Defense Department, and the US Energy
Department's Western Area Power Administration.

The company says its services group has more than 9,000
employees working on more than 100 contracts at some 130 sites
worldwide.

(Kennedy Maize/19940228/Press Contact: Phil Giaramite, Martin
Marietta, 301-897-6121)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00005)

TV Source Book Now On CD-ROM 03/01/94
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- The
Broadcast Information Bureau has released a version of its
"Television Programming Source Book" on CD-ROM. The company
is a division of North American Publishing Company.

The text-only disk will list for $895, said spokesman Jennifer
Livingston, and $595 for subscribers to the print version of the
product. The four-volume "Television Programming Source Book"
lists at $795, but has a street price of $690. She said that the
advantage is, "You can do searches under all kinds of different
parameters. The value that's added is in searching capabilities."

The Source Book has comprehensive data on 50,327 series,
theatrical films, made-for-TV movies, mini-series and specials
available for syndication. It includes the names, addresses, and
phone and fax numbers of the programs' distributors. The Source
Books on CD also allows a variety of options for marking or
tracking data for future reference, and the ability to send the
result of a specific search to a disk file as well as a printer,
the company said.

A user can also make notes on a "note-pad" and "attach" them to a
particular listing or output.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940228/Press Contact: Jennifer Livingston,
North American Publishing Company, 215-238-5364; Customer
Contact: tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00006)

 ****MCI Buys Into Nextel 03/01/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- MCI will put $1.3
billion into Nextel in order to get into the wireless phone
business.

Nextel is in the process of using Motorola technology to
transform its Specialized Mobile Radio licenses into a
nationwide network competitive with cellular phones. Comcast
Corp., an earlier investor in NexTel, is also part of the
alliance. The resulting services will be marketed by all three
companies, but under the MCI brand name.

SMR frequencies are between 800-900 megahertz (MHz), a bit lower
than regular cellular frequencies, and they were originally licensed
for private networks on a per-channel basis, whereas cellular
systems are licensed in broad 25MHz swaths as common carriers. In
recent years a number of companies, including Dial Page, Cencall,
and Nextel have been investing in a Motorola technology called
Enhanced SMR, which basically turns the channels into digital
systems with 10 times the capacity of regular calling channels.
Motorola now calls its SMR technology Motorola Integrated Radio
System, or MIRS. The three have also been aggressive buyers of
SMR licenses, and recently bought the bulk of Motorola's
remaining SMR systems -- Motorola had been the largest licensee
for such frequencies.

In a news conference attended by Newsbytes, Morgan O'Brien of
Nextel said that, with the Motorola transaction, his company can
serve one million people in each of its major markets, and that
capacity is not a factor except in large markets. He said that
Motorola's MIRS technology is six times as efficient as analog
cellular, and also allows the offering of other services,
including paging and data services.

Nextel said that, between its own licenses and those of other
companies with which it has "interoperability" agreements, it
will be able to reach 95 percent of the US population. Its
first network is already in operation in Los Angeles and should
cover the bulk of California within the next few months. The MCI
investment will accelerate its development, Nextel said.

Under the agreement, MCI will eventually own 17 percent
of Nextel, matching the stake held by Comcast. The initial
purchases will be at $36 per share, for 22 million shares, but
15 million more shares will be picked up over the next three
years at an average price of $38. Stocks in Nextel, Comcast and
MCI were all up at the news.

While demand for wireless communications continues to grow,
it is not certain that SMR will be the big beneficiary. Existing
cellular carriers are rapidly increasing the number of callers
they can handle, using similar digital technologies, and vast new
frequencies will be opened-up over the next few years for so-
called personal communications services, or PCS. MCI has said in
the past it will participate in PCS auctions, which are expected
to take place early next year.

That gives MCI and its partners a small window of opportunity.
The three said they will quickly move to offer mobile phone
service, with an MCI brand and a single nationwide phone number.

At the news conference MCI Chairman Bert Roberts said the plan is
that "wireless services will be packaged with MCI long distance
products and a single Motorola hardware unit." He explained that
the initial stock purchase will take place this spring, $800
million worth, then five million shares will be bought each year
until MCI's stake matches that of Comcast. MCI and Comcast
entered a into Shareholder agreement with equal representation
on Nextel's board -- between them the two will own 35 percent
of Nextel.

"This catapults MCI into a leadership position in wireless far
faster than any alternative," Roberts added, although MCI will
buy other spectrum, as needed, entering the PCS auctions when
they take place. Roberts also predicted that wireless phones will
be a $40-$50 billion market by end of the century, and added that,
"By the end of this year we expect MCI branded wireless service
in a number of major cities across the country."

O'Brien of Nextel was positively ebullient. "Today I have the
feeling of getting to the top of a mountain and seeing what a
wonderful view it is. Keeping us warm is $1 billion in cash now
and another $1 billion from this transaction. We needed that
capital to do this," (i.e. create a national network). "MCI's choice of
Nextel means a truly seamless national network, with advanced
all-digital communication will quickly become a reality," he
added. "This means one-stop shopping for all wireless
communication services," as well as services like three-way
dialing and voice conferencing, unavailable now on wireless
systems, but offered on a single hand-set by MCI and Nextel.

O'Brien also touted the privacy and anti-fraud protection of
his all-digital network. He noted that during the Los Angeles
earthquake the American Red Cross' regular network was seriously
impaired, but the agency found no problems with Nextel's network
when its use was offered to them. "Obviously we're very proud to
have MCI," he added. "We always felt they would be an ideal
partner for this technology." Roberts of MCI added the deal came
together with Comcast over two months and with Nextel over a
week. But he also said O'Brien had approached MCI in 1988 and was
rebuffed within an hour. "We got smarter," he added.

In addition to its deals with MCI and Comcast, Nextel is also
working with Northern Telecom, NTT and Matsushita, in what
O'Brien called "an unassailable global network. With MCI prepared
to put $1.3 billion in cash in Nextel, nothing will interfere
with that relationship. This relationship is born of strategic
self-interest. They needed a national network, we needed strong
marketing clout. We like to think Nextel can be to wireless what
'Friends and Family' has been to long distance. We also have
similar corporate cultures."

During the question and answer session which followed their
presentations, Roberts and O'Brien made a number of jokes at the
expense of Craig McCaw, whose McCaw Cellular is being bought by
AT&T and said, in response to a reporter, that his firm has been
on the field 10 years while Nextel is still in the locker room.
"Craig is still in the locker room in terms of approval
of the deal," said Roberts. "Cellular is not the only piece of
wireless," added O'Brien. "It includes voice mail, paging,
messaging, all integrated. Our platform is the next step up in
wireless communications. It's a step up from analog cellular.

Roberts of MCI was asked again about PCS, for which frequencies
should be auctioned next year. "We think PCS fits naturally into
what we're talking about here. It's the same technology, the same
baseline. We'll be able to go after PCS licenses where necessary,
and they'll be useful for extension into local distribution
strategies. This is complementary, but it's a quick start. When
PCS is auctioned, they will represent both complementary things
to what we're announcing and alternatives. It's just not THE
vehicle for national services."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940228/Press Contact: MCI, Kevin Inda,
202-887-3000; Susan Suss, Nextel, 212-536-8770; Bill
Dordelman, Comcast, 215-981-7550)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

David Needle Leaves Computer Currents 03/01/94
EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) --
Computer Currents, the San Francisco/Bay Area bi-weekly
publication, has announced the departure of David Needle, their
editor for the past seven and a half years. David Needle will
assume the  new San Francisco position of chief of
correspondents with InformationWeek.

Speaking with Newsbytes, Stephanie Ericson, the paper's publisher,
said, "We are sorry to see David leave Computer Currents. His
contributions have been invaluable and his personality reflects the
personality of Computer Currents. He leaves on the best of terms
and until we find the right person for the position, Michael Tchong
will be the temporary editorial director. Michael was the former
publisher of MacWeek.  It is our hope to fill the position in 30 to
90 days."

Computer Currents publishes nearly 100,000 issues for distribution
in the Bay Area and with similar publications in Boston, in the
greater Los Angeles Area, and licensed publications in Atlanta,
Chicago, Dallas, and Houston.

The Publisher claimed, "We are the bible for Mac and PC users in
our area and it is our goal to make ourselves an even greater
resource."

In an interview with David Needle, Newsbytes was told, "After
seven and a half years with Computer Currents, I feel that I have
accomplished many of my goals here. When the opportunity
developed to go to InformationWeek, I felt that I had to listen to a
deal that was 'too good to say no to' and I am ready to move-on to
new challenges."

He continued: "My years with Computer Currents have been great
and I wish them continued success. The contact with Computer
Currents' readers has been one of the most rewarding experiences
I have had while being here. To know how well the publication is
received and read by so many people is a wonderful feeling."

The Manhassett-based InformationWeek, 200,000 circulated, is a
corporate business news weekly with a small West Coast office.
Needle will assume the new position on March 7.

"I intend to be the eyes and ears on the west coast for the New
York office. With my background, I will be introduce more
computer news to the publication," said Needle.

Computer Currents claims no major changes will occur with
change of guard. According to Ericson, "The new editor will bring
a separate personality which we expect to reflect in the
publication, but we will remain very much the same publication."
The company is looking for applicants with at least five years of
senior editorial experience (no phone calls accepted).

(Patrick McKenna/19940301/Press Contact: Michael Tchong,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00008)

Japan - Mini-disk & Handheld Terminal For PC 03/01/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Sony has announced that it
plans to release a Mini-disk for the personal computer (PCs)
platform in April. The version will be compatible with the
music Mini-disk, which is currently available.

Meanwhile, Toshiba has developed an upgraded version of the
firm's hand-held business organizing device called the Extend.
It has a telecommunication feature that allows it to be hooked
into a telephone and a desktop personal computer.

Sony's PC version of the Mini-disk is called the MD Data drive,
and will cost 100,000 yen ($1,000). Each MD Data disk costs
3,000 yen ($30) each, and are just as small as a regular 3.5-inch
floppy disk, but it can hold 140 megabytes (MB) of data. The data
is erasable and can be re-written onto the disk.

The disk drive is only one-inch thick, and is just about the same
size as that of the existing 3.5-inch floppy disk drives. The MD
Data drive may become the main competition to 3.5-inch optical
disk drives. However, the MD Data drive and disks are claimed to
be cheaper than optical disk drive. One apparent drawback of the
MD Data disk is speed -- the data read/write speed is inferior to
that of optical disks.

Toshiba's advanced version of Extend is called the Extend PN20,
and comes equipped with an RS232-C port for telecommunication.
The device is also equipped with a maximum 1.44 MB 3.5-inch
floppy disk drive and a backlit display. Toshiba is targeting the
device towards securities and insurance firms. It will cost
138,000 yen ($1,380) and will be available on March 15.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940301/Press Contact:
Sony, tel [phone], fax [phone], Toshiba,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00009)

NEC In Chip/Workstation Deals With Korea/China Firms 03/01/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- NEC has signed a basic
agreement with Korea's major conglomerate Samsung, concerning
the joint development of "next-generation" semiconductor chips.
The agreement includes the development of a 256-megabit (Mb)
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and logic integrated
circuits (ICs).

NEC is also hammering out a deal with a Chinese firm concerning
a joint venture business on workstations in China.

Both NEC and Samsung plan to exchange technical information
concerning the development and the production of the chips. NEC
has already established the development technology of 256Mb
DRAM, while Samsung is working on it. However, NEC needs
to further improve the manufacturing technology to reduce the
production costs. Samsung is a rapidly growing semiconductor
firm in Asia, and some observers view it as a good partner for
NEC to improve this technology.

The major advantage of the chip alliance is the reduction of
development and manufacturing costs. It will reportedly
cost about 100 billion yen ($1 billion) for the development
of the commercial product. It is expected that both firms will
share the manufacturing technology and facilities in the future.

Meanwhile, NEC has been talking with China's Choko-shudan
Konsu in Shanghai concerning the production of workstations.
An NEC spokesman says the agreement is expected to include the
production of workstations, personal computers, printers and
POS (point-of-sale) devices. Currently, both firms are talking
about creating a joint venture firm in Shanghai. The deal is
expected to be official by August.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940301/Press Contact: NEC,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00010)

 ****Are Electric Utilities Best Access To Info Highway? 03/01/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Some analysts
argue that electric utilities will provide the best access to
the so-called Information Highway of the future.

And Jack King, an executive with Entergy Corp., a giant electric
utility holding company based in New Orleans and serving
Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas, would agree.
"It is the electric utilities that can best provide us with the
great information superhighway into every home," he said. "And
we can do it faster, cheaper, with less harm to the environment.
Yet our industry has been largely ignored. The debate has focused
on telephone and cable companies as the competition."

King appeared at a meeting of the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the Washington trade group that
represents state electric and telephone regulators, to make his
case for the electric utility providing the information pipe to
the home. Electric utilities can save so much money by using the
broadband capabilities of fiber optics to control use of home
energy that it will pay for the fiber network, said King. "It
doesn't require new dollars and new markets," he told the
somewhat skeptical state regulators.

Entergy has been experimenting with a fiber connection and
its Powerview software in a small, ritzy suburb of Little Rock,
Arkansas, called Chenal Valley. Based on that, King says, Entergy
can save 1.5 kilowatts per home, enough to pay for the fiber
connection. Powerview turns houses into smart homes that can
buy electricity based on real-time pricing. "Your house and the
electric company can chat with each other, even if you are
asleep or out of town," he said.

But the Powerview energy saving technology only uses a small
percentage of the bandwidth of the fiber cable. That gives the
opportunity for Entergy to lease the excess capacity to cable and
telcom companies. "It's icing on the cake," said King.

King got support at the NARUC panel discussion from Steven
Rivkin, a Washington lawyer who has been pushing the idea that
electric utilities are the ideal backbone for the national
information infrastructure for years. Until recently, he was a
fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, the research arm of
the Democratic Leadership Council, the moderate Democratic
Party lobby that was founded by, among others, Bill Clinton. Today,
he is advising the Edison Electric Institute, the utility trade
group, on telecommunications issues.

"I've been impressed by the synergies of electric power and
telecommunications," Rivkin says. "There are enormous savings
from wide area, real time pricing of power. Twisted pair
(telephone wiring) can't do it. Cable could, but won't."

Electric utilities are also the way to get closer to the goal of
"universality" that Vice President Al Gore stressed in his national
information infrastructure proposal, according to Rivkin. In the
US, 96 percent of all homes are connected to an electric
utility. That is two percent higher than the case with telephones
and 30 percent higher than those homes with cable television.

In Rivkin's vision of the information superhighway, electric
utilities will be the common carriers. "It will be a one-wire
world, and the electric utilities will be the wire," he says,
"while the telcos and cable companies become programmers only."

That is also the way Pacific Gas and Electric, the San Francisco-
based utility sees it. PG&E is in a partnership with TCI, the
Denver-based cable TV company, and Microsoft, to test information
services to electric customers through the electric hookup. PG&E
is providing the customers, TCI is providing the TV top box and
information services, and Microsoft is providing the system
software.

But two representatives from the Baby Bells were distinctly
uncomfortable with the vision of the future outlined by Rivkin
and King. "We look at all the talk about the information
superhighway," said Steven Dimmitt of Southwestern Bell, "and
it's a mess. There is so much hype right now, but no one knows
whether there really is a demand for the kinds of things people
are talking about."

Dimmitt derides the talk about wiring everyone in a nationwide
fiber optic web as "fiber to the cows," saying his company
prefers to go slow and see the market develop. Critics of the
regional bell operating companies describe this approach as
"cream skimming" the market, taking the high volume, high profit
markets and letting the rest sit on the "onramp" or the "shoulder."

On February 1, Southwestern Bell announced a trial of services in
Richardson, Texas, using a combination of fiber and coaxial cable
to offer customers telephone and dialup video. "Let's see if
there is a demand for this," he said.

Ray Albers of Bell Atlantic largely echoed Dimmitt, suggesting
that the telephone companies were best situated to provide the
national linkages, given time. Bell Atlantic has been a leader in
installing fiber, with over 1.5 million miles on its system.

Bell Atlantic started with the interoffice traffic, now 85
percent fiber, then adding the feeder lines, now 68 percent
fiber. But the distribution lines down the street and to the home
are less than one percent fiber on the Bell Atlantic system,
Albers told the regulators. "That's our area of focus. We hope to
have 1.25 million houses on fiber by the end of 1995 and add 1.5
million houses per year after that."

Bell Atlantic is now testing what it calls "video dailtone" in
selected neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. It
combines voice and access to movies with the convenience of a
VCR.

Albers claims that the kind of energy management services
Entergy is looking at can be done through conventional copper
wire, using integrated services digital networks (ISDN).

But King disagrees. "We looked at ISDN," King told Newsbytes.
"There isn't enough capacity. We found it was far more costly
than building the fiber."

(Kennedy Maize/19940301/Press Contact: Tom Choman,
NARUC, 202-898-2206)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00011)

Zenith Slashes Sub-Notebook Prices 03/01/94
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Zenith Data
Systems has announced price reductions on its Z-Lite 425L
sub-notebook PCs. The company will also bundle a data/fax modem
with all of the subnotebook computer's models.

Effective immediately the Z-Lite 425L Model 120W+ powered by a
486SL 25 megahertz (MHz) central processing unit (CPU) with a 120
megabyte (MB) hard drive, 4MB of memory, an external 3.5-inch
floppy drive and a 2,400/9,600 PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory
Card International Association) data/fax modem is now $1,599.
That is $600 less than the 120W+ was priced without a modem.
PCMCIA data/fax modems are a credit-card sized device that are
inserted into a slot conforming to the PCMCIA standard.

The Z-Lite 425L Model 170W+ with a 170MB capacity hard drive has
been reduced as much as $800, depending on whether you buy it with
a 2,400/9,600 or a 14,400/9,600 data/fax modem. With the
2,400/9,600 data/fax modem the unit now sells for $1,699; add
$100 for the faster modem. The numbers represent the speed at
which data and faxes are sent and received. The old price did not
include a modem.

All of the 3.9-pound Z-Lite 425L models have a 8.5-inch liquid
crystal display (LCD) monochrome screen, two PCMCIA type II slots,
a built-in external connection for a Super VGA monitor and one for a
PS/2-type mouse, allowing it to be used as a desktop system without
the need for a docking station. ZDS says the computer will run for a
full three hours on its nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery between
charges.

(Jim Mallory/19940301/Press Contact: Steve Bosak, Zenith Data
Systems, 708-808-4848; Reader Contact: Zenith Data Systems,
800-553-0331)


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

Wireless Laplink With AirShare Shipping 03/01/94
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Traveling
Software is now shipping Laplink Wireless with Airshare, an
combination hardware and software product that allows
wireless transfer of files between computers.

Developed jointly by Traveling Software and National
Semiconductor, Laplink Wireless with Airshare uses radio
frequency (RF) technology to connect two computers and
synchronize directories without using cables.

Suppose you take your laptop computer on the road, updating your
files as you work. When you return to the office, just set your
portable PC somewhere within 30 feet of your desktop system.
Laplink Wireless with Airshare will update the files you select
on the two computers. Your updated files get copied to the desktop
system, any files on that system that were changed during
your absence are updated on your laptop.

The files to be synchronized are selected by the user, and can
range from a single file to everything on the hard drives of the
two systems. The process is automated by Synchro Plus, a Windows-
based application that synchronizes the pre-selected files on the
two computers whenever it detects a connection.

Laplink Wireless with Airshare also includes Traveling Software's
Laplink Remote Access software which allows DOS and Windows
users to share drives and printers between the two connected PCs.

The Laplink Wireless with Airshare module weighs three ounces and
measures 2.25-inches by 3.5-inches by 0.5-inches and can be
fastened to the PCs. A switch allows the user to select among radio
frequencies to assure a clear channel. Power supply options include
a mouse port pass-through connector, a battery pack that uses one
nine-volt battery, or an AC adapter. The product has a suggested
retail price of $299.95.

(Jim Mallory/19940301/Press Contact: Marci Maule, Traveling
Software, 206-483-8088 or Margaret Mehling, National
Semiconductor, 408-721-2639; Reader Contact: Traveling
Software, tel [phone] or fax [phone]; National
Semiconductor, tel [phone] or fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(MSP)(00013)

Personal E-Mail Offers Networking Without LANs 03/01/94
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) --  AmerCom Inc., has
developed an electronic mail (e-mail) program called Personal-E
Mailbox that lets you send and receive e-mail on a direct PC-to-PC
basis. Personal-E answers the phone, switching any voice callers to
an operator or answering machine/voice mail system, and stores all
e-mail messages for later reading and response.

The idea behind Personal-E is to provide a means of setting up a
cheap network that is easy to use and maintain. You can also
upload/download small files (up to 30 kilobytes), although file
transfer is a minor function of the dedicated e-mail software.
The program will also run from a floppy, for users on the road
who might use another's PC.

When you call someone using Personal-E Mailbox, there is no
usual modem sounds. Instead, both sender and receiver hear
normal ring tones. Personal-E Mailbox works with virtually any
PC, a 2,400 bits-per-second (bps) or faster Hayes-compatible
modem, and any answering machine.

Personal-E Mailbox is considered a "light" version of what will be
newer, more powerful personal e-mail programs, says AmerCom
Chief Executive Officer Judge Schonfeld. Schonfeld called the
product a "no brainer."  That's why they are sticking with widely-
used 2400 bps modems.  Even if you use a 14,400 bps modem,
Personal-E lowers the speed down to 2400 bps during
transmissions.

AmerCom will donate a free copy to any US Senator/Congressperson,
major media organization or public library that requests one. So far
there have been no takers from politicians, Schonfeld said.

Personal-E Mailbox does not replace your usual communications
software, bulletin board system (BBS) and online services, but
rather aims to serve a growing niche market -- small, personal
networks.  Schonfeld said that some of those now using Personal-E
include US Navy recruiting offices, public schools, universities,
realtors, small businesses and home users. Personal-E Mailbox
costs $29.95, or $49.95 for a Twin Pack.

(David Batterson/Press Contact: John P. Davis, JP Davis & Co.,
tel [phone], fax [phone], MCI Mail: 609-2177;
Public Contact, AmerCom Inc., tel [phone],
fax [phone] ext 2884; AOL: CochJim.

(David Batterson/19940301)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MSP)(00014)

RAM Mobile Data Out To Win Wireless Race 03/01/94
WOODBRIDGE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- RAM Mobile
Data is gearing up to take on the cellular phone Goliaths over the
coming billions of dollars in revenue from wireless messaging. Its
biggest competitor is McCaw Cellular (now in the process of
being taken over by AT&T.)

The cellular companies are pushing CDPD (cellular digital packet
data), the digital packet-switched technology to be laid on top of the
existing analog cellular phone infrastructure. RAM claims advantages
over CDPD, including free nationwide roaming, cheaper rates, fewer
packet retransmissions due to errors, and better data security.

Although the CDPD specification allows for 19,200 bits-per-second
(bps) speed, versus 8,000 bps for RAM, both deliver an electronic-
mail (e-mail) message in about the same time (two to five seconds
per packet). RAM claims that is due to CDPD granting voice messages
priority over data, so "channel hopping" is required for all message
transfers.

RAM offers a flat monthly rate that is claimed to be cheaper than
nationwide alphanumeric paging -- $25 for up to 100 kilobytes (KB)
of messages. "A leading nationwide paging service charges $100 per
month for sending only 2,000 characters," said Martin S. Levetin, a
senior vice president at RAM. "The affordable low-end pricing will
encourage individuals to try wireless mail," Levetin added.

RAM charges $75 a month for up to 400KB of messages, with
additional messages at $0.20 per KB. A "power user" plan offers
unlimited messaging for $135 a month.

The major local area network (LAN) e-mail programs -- Lotus
cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, WordPerfect Office, DaVinci EMAIL, and CE
Software -- now support the RAM wireless system. "These top
LAN-based products, as well as AT&T Mail and RadioMail, give
today's mobile professionals a range of connectivity choices,"
Levetin said.

RAM claims it now services more than 6,300 cities and towns, or
"over 90 percent of the US urban population." Their current
capacity can reportedly serve some one million users. Due to its
modular design, the RAM net can expand easily to allow for rapid
growth, claims the company.

Two radio modems now make use of RAM -- the Intel Wireless
Modem and the Mobidem AT wireless modem from Ericsson GE Mobile
Communications. The RAM network uses the MOBITEX architecture,
reportedly an open, international standard for two-way wireless
data communications, originally developed by LM Ericsson in Sweden.

RAM's hierarchical network consists of subscriber units, base
stations, local switches, and long distance provider switches. Like
CDPD, the RAM net uses TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/
Internet Protocol). It also works with the X.25 protocol (now used
by retailers for credit card processing), and SNA (Systems Network
Architecture).

RAM Mobile Data USA Limited Partnership is a joint venture of
BellSouth and RAM Broadcasting Corp. BellSouth owns 49 percent
of the company.

(David Batterson/Press Contact: Leslie Schroeder, Leslie Schroeder
PR & Marketing, tel [phone], fax [phone], Internet:
[e-mail]; Public Contact, RAM Mobile Data,
800-662-4839, 908-602-5267, Internet: [e-mail].)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MSP)(00015)

GTE Spacenet Helps Emerging Nations Enter Info Age 03/01/94
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Slowly but surely,
the developing nations of the world are joining the worldwide
telecommunications, computer, and information grid.

A good example of this is Vietnam. With the end of the 19-year
trade embargo against Vietnam, that country is pushing feverishly
to emerge from obscurity into an international trading partner with
the rest of the world.

One of the major players helping this occur is GTE Spacenet Corp.
As GTE Spacenet Vice President Ray Marks put it, "Developing
nations everywhere must upgrade their national telecoms
infrastructures or risk being left behind by the information
revolution that is transforming the world."

At present, Vietnam has a low density telephone penetration.
Their goal is to reach 10 phones per 100 persons in the country.
By contrast, the US has 55 phones per 100 population. Another
emerging nation -- the Republic of the Philippines -- currently
has only 1.6 telephones per 100. But that is changing rapidly
with the country's new Philippines Satellite Communications
Network -- PHILSAT -- which has GTE Spacenet as a partner.

PHILSAT will provide phone and data communications services to
rural locations throughout the island nation, via two-megabit-per-
second, multichannel, digital satellite links. While perfect for
countries in the West, a fiber optic voice/data network is simply
not feasible in places like the Philippines, which consists of
thousands of small islands.

Two products that are part of GTE Spacenet's Skystar Network
Services are Skystar Plus and Skystar Advantage. These are VSAT
(very small aperture terminal) satellite-based telecommunications
networks that use a VSAT terminal, antenna and compact indoor
electronics.

Skystar Plus is aimed at high-volume users like banks, financial
services companies and retail. Skystar Advantage is for
organizations with light-to-moderate data traffic, such as retail
sales transactions. Use of these services in emerging trading
nations is also a goal of GTE Spacenet.

Many TV news organizations today make use of GTE Spacenet
services for transmittal of their video, voice and data. It is likely
that countries like Vietnam will soon be telecasting news the
same way, as well as allowing their fast-growing population to
send/receive electronic-mail and data.

(David Batterson/Press Contact: Barbara Petersen, 703-848-1512,
or Bill Stern, 703-848-1000; MCI Mail: 267-6799; Public Contact,
GTE Spacenet Corp., 800-535-5375.)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

Spain Wins Peruvian Phone Auction 03/01/94
LIMA, PERU, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Peruvian President Alberto
Fujimori had a big reason to smile as Spain's Telefonica de
Espana won the auction for a 35 percent stake in Peru's two phone
companies for over $2 billion. That was four times the base price
of $535 million set by the government and over $1 billion higher
than competing offers from groups headed by GTE and
Southwestern Bell of the US.

The move extends Telefonica's operations in Latin America,
joining operations in Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rico
and Colombia.

The winners also include three Peruvian companies - a brewery,
bank and computing group. The government will hold the other 65
percent of the company. Specifically, Telefonica is buying 20
percent of CPT, which serves Lima, another 15 percent in CPT
through an expansion of capital, and a 35 percent stake in Peru
Entel, which serves the rest of the country. Another 10 percent
of Entel will be offered to employees, who must hold the stock
at least a year, and the plan is to ultimately take the company
public on the local exchange.

The auction continues a trend in Latin America of privatizing
phone companies, and previous moves have generally gone well.

Mexico's privatization of Telmex and Argentina's privatization of
its EnTel company, in two parts, both helped their markets rise.
The jury remains out on Venezuela's sale of part of CANTV, and
voters in Uruguay rejected a move to sell that country's Antel
network, considered one of the best run on the continent. In all
cases, however, newly-privatized phone networks increased
the number of phone lines available to the public.

Brazil's leaders continue to work toward privatizing that country's
Telebras network, the continent's largest, but remain stymied by
leftist and labor opposition. Critics charge that governments are
selling "the people's" assets in privatization schemes. Supporters
say they are attracting much-needed capital.

One reason Venezuela's move has not gone further may be political
instability. Fujimori headed the least stable government on the
continent until he took control through a Presidential coup,
suspending civil liberties. A turning point in his effort came
with the capture of the head of the Shining Path guerilla
movement, and Fujimori himself was recently able to visit
Ayacucho, the center of that movement.

But his actions have drawn the enmity of the US government, which
critics argue condemns the means, while applauding the results of
his action. Policy-makers fear that other troubled governments,
including Venezuela's, might consider emulating Fujimori's methods,
setting democracy back. In Peru, however, Fujimori appears popular
and assured of re-election.

Under terms of the contract, Telefonica will triple the number
of phone lines in Peru, and put public phones in every village.
Peru currently has the poorest network in the region, with just
2.6 lines for every 100 people, compared to over 50 lines per 100
people in the US. In exchange for its investment, Telefonica's
Entel and CPT will maintain a monopoly over wired phone services
for five years. The deal is expected to close in about a month.

The successful sale may spur action not only in Brazil but in
Honduras, where the army continues to control that nation's
Hondutel network. The new president, Carlos Roberto Reina, wants
to privatize Hondutel, and the army remains on record opposed to
a sale, but it may accept a government decision to sell now.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940301)


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

Ziff Buys SandPoint 03/01/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Ziff Davis'
Information Access Co. unit bought SandPoint Corp., which makes
an "information agent" called Hoover that works in conjunction
with Lotus Notes. No figures were available -- both companies are
privately-held.

Newsbytes discussed the impact of all this with spokesman
Greg Jarboe. "Information Access has been in the electronic
information business for over 12 years. They primarily provide
information to libraries -- public, corporate, academic. What
Hoover does is strengthen their position in the corporate market.

"Hoover offers an easy-to-use front-end that allows even casual
corporate users to access information without having to know
Boolean searching" -- operators like "and," "or," and "with" that
confuse many users. "Hoover gets information from a wide variety
of places," added Jarboe. "It will not only use Information Access'
databases, but also government databases, the 'Wall Street Journal,'
and other Ziff-owned databases."

Newsbytes asked why the deal was done. "What's behind this is that
we're surfing a wave Lotus Notes created. Lotus said last week
they had over 750,000 licenses as of the end of 1993, and
estimated they'll sell another 600,000 in 1994. That's fairly
dramatic growth. Hoover has been shipping since 1991 and we
think it will see similar growth this year."

He continued: "That's either following behind Notes, as an add-in,
or leading Notes -- SandPoint is a value-added reseller of Lotus
Notes. Whether we're first or second in the door doesn't matter.
We think Hoover provides Lotus Notes with a 'killer' application,"
much as Lotus 1-2-3 became a killer application spurring sales
of the IBM PC in the early 1980s. "Notes by itself is terrific, and
Hoover opens the door to outside information, so it can be easily
incorporated."

Newsbytes also asked Jarboe where Hoover got its name -- from
the FBI director, the 31st President, or the vacuum cleaner? "This
is a cross between having intelligent agents in the field, FBI-like,
and being able to vacuum all the information on a particular
subject," he said. But that hasn't come out in advertising. "I
don't think they've advertised -- the marketing process is a
direct sale, because you have to support it as well as sell."
Hoover is currently sold only directly, through SandPoint, which
remains as a free-standing unit within Information Access.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940301/Press Contact: Greg Jarboe,
Ziff-Davis, 617-393-3313)


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

Control Data Provides Graphical X.500 03/01/94
ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Control Data
said it became the first to offer a graphical user interface to
X.500 through a directory user agent on its Mail-Hub product, its
electronic messaging integration software under Unix. The new
module is called aXess500.

The X.500 standard defines a way under which companies can create
mailing lists of electronic mail addresses on remote systems,
which are transferred under the X.400 standard. X.400 defines a
set of domains, groups, and routing controls which can be used to
send messages between mail systems that are otherwise
completely different.

Using X.500 and X.400, companies can create custom mailing lists
which employees can use to work collaboratively with people in a
variety of companies, or outside the company. Most major online
services and the global Internet can handle the X.400 standard.
X.500 is implemented locally, by each member mailing system.

In a press statement, Control Data explained that, while an X.500
directory can store enormous numbers of addresses in a single
location, using the directory as a database has been limited
because users found the structure confusing. The graphical tool
makes such directories more usable. The directory can include
such things as enterprise-wide electronic-mail addresses, phone
numbers, fax numbers and facility codes. Updates are available
immediately across the network providing real-time access.

The software also lets individual users update selected fields and
maintain their own records, so corporate administrators do not
have to do it. Another feature is the ability to link such things
as personnel files, fingerprints, financial and credit history,
photos, even medical images such as x-rays to the X.500
directory, allowing it to be used to streamline corporate-wide
operations.

Control Data has developed versions of aXess500 for a variety of
major desktop hardware platforms, including Unix-based
workstations, PCs and Apple Macintosh computers. Among the
networking environments supported are Windows, TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and IPX
(Internetwork Packet Exchange).

Pricing is based on the product being an option for purchasers of
Mail-Hub, a "backbone" electronic-mail product announced in 1993.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940301/Press Contact: Nancy Harrower,
Control Data Systems, 612-482-4319)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00019)

Claris Scraps Resolve Spreadsheet For Mac 03/01/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Claris, the
software application development arm of Apple Computer, has
announced it will not longer continue development on the Claris
Resolve spreadsheet application for the Macintosh computer. The
company is encouraging users to switch to its Clarisworks
product, which includes a spreadsheet application.

Support for Claris Resolve users will continue for a full year,
ending March 31, 1995. Claris also said it will continue to sell
the product through the end of March of this year.

As to why Claris is discontinuing development of its spreadsheet
application, Steve Pollock, vice president of worldwide product
marketing said: "Claris Resolve was unable to garner the
necessary market acceptance to be a sustainable long-term
competitor in the Macintosh spreadsheet market."

Chris LeTocq, an analyst for market research firm Infocorp said
the market share held by Resolve was tiny.

However, for $29, Claris is offering its Clarisworks 2.1 product
to Resolve users. Clarisworks, a word processor, spreadsheet, and
database all rolled into one product, carries a suggested retail
price of $299 and will be available at the special price to US
Resolve users until September 30, 1994. A special toll-free order
number has been set up for orders and users need to have their
Resolve serial number handy, company officials said.

As for what other choices serious Macintosh spreadsheet users
have, LeTocq said there is: "Excel, Excel, and Excel," referring
to the spreadsheet product for the Macintosh from software giant
Microsoft. Most all-in-one products have reduced functionality,
but LeTocq said if a user was sophisticated enough to want a
powerhorse spreadsheet application on the Macintosh, they
probably would have been using Excel and not Resolve anyway.

However, Claris claims "generalist" users are the fastest-growing
segment of the software applications market and claims its growth
is due to its focus on products for these users. The Santa Clara,
California-based company reported fiscal 1993 revenues up 48
percent to $154.4 million and 16 percent revenue growth in its
most recently reported first quarter 1994 earnings.

Claris is the second company this week to announce it was
abandoning continued development of a major product. Software
Publishing Corporation (SPC) also announced it would
discontinue further development of multimedia database product
Superbase, the company's only tool aimed at applications
developers. The publisher of the popular Harvard Graphics
presentation package said it has decided to focus on end user
tools instead.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940301/Press Contact: Ines Anderson, Claris,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact, Claris,
800-325-2747, Resolve to Clarisworks Orders, 800-544-8554)


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

MicroTouch Adds 2 Models To Flat Touch LCD Line 03/01/94
METHUEN, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- MicroTouch
has rounded out its line of PC-compatible flat touch LCD (liquid
crystal display) panels, introducing a mid-range dual scan passive
color model and a "value-priced" monochrome to join the high-end
active matrix TruePoint SP-30 debuted last fall.

The new TruePoint-FPD (Flat Panel Display) Dual Scan Passive Color
Touch Monitor and the monochrome version from MicroTouch are
smaller, thinner, and less expensive than the previously released
TruePoint SP-30. But, like the SP-30, the new panels use
capacitive-sensing, a technology billed as providing greater
accuracy and durability than competing infrared and "resistive
membrane" touch methods.

The LCD flat panel displays are targeted at use in kiosks, point-
of-sale cash registers, voting machines, machine control, executive
information system, and other applications where space, durability,
and ease-of-use are all concerns.

Experts predict the value of the LCD touch market to reach $8.4
billion in 1995 and $15.2 billion by the year 2000, according to a
recent article in Business Week magazine.

"For example, TruePoint-FPDs will be used in 'smart homes' to
control lighting, security and entertainment systems," said Jeff
Sandler, product manager for MicroTouch.

Theaters are another place where touchscreen panels can be
especially useful, according to Chris Sayre, president of Prism
Technologies, a developer of theater management systems including
integrated box office, concession and teleprocessing systems.

"Counter space is at a premium in theaters. There's no room for
(the) big, bulky CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors and keypads (that
are) often used as input devices for point-of-sale systems.
Theater personnel need an easy-to-use interface for taking orders
quickly, and can't be worried about the reliability of the system
if a drink spills on the screen," he noted.

Each of the new monitors from MicroTouch measures 11.32-inches
long by 9.84-inches wide by 1.5-inches deep, in contrast to the
12.5-by-9.56-by-2.31 dimensions of the SP-30.

Both monitors provide 640-by-80 VGA (Video Graphics Array)
resolution, 0.30 millimeter (mm) dot pitch, a wide viewing angle,
and a flicker-free image for reduced eye strain, according to the
company. Touch screen resolution for each monitor is 1,024-by-
1024.

The dual scan passive color monitor offers an 20:1 contrast ratio
and up to 256 colors, while the monochrome version supplies an
18:1 contrast ratio and 64 shades of gray.

Each monitor comes with an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
bus video card, a touch screen serial connection, and software
drivers.

The monitors are available immediately direct from MicroTouch.
Single-piece pricing is $1,960 for the dual scan passive touch
model and $1,190 for the monochrome version. Volume discounts
are available. A one-year monitor warranty and five-year touch
sensor and controller warranty are included with every TouchPoint
FTD monitor.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940301/Reader Contact: MicroTouch,
800-642-7866; Press Contacts: Janet Pannier or Annette Petagna,
MicroTouch, 508-659-9000; Mirena Reilly or Janice Rosen, The
Weber Group for MicroTouch, 617-661-7900)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00021)

Creative Technology Intros Awe32 PC Sound Card 03/01/94
SINGAPORE, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Creative Technology has
announced its new Awe32 sound card, which it claims is the most
advanced audio card on the market. The card combines capabilities
from its flagship Sound Blaster 16 Advanced Signal Processing card
and those from E-mu Systems' Emu800 integrated audio digital
signal processing.

The card includes a programmable digital signal processor (DSP)
chip that offers the ability to compress and decompress audio
files on the fly. Two compression modes -- Fastspeech 8 and
Fastspeech 10 -- are available. Fastspeech 8 compresses the audio
file to eighth of its original size while Fastspeech 10 crunches
the audio down to one-tenth its former size. Real-time
compression means users do not need to conduct off-line
processing.

Also included is the new Textassist voice synthesizer product for
text-to-speech conversion. Creative claims Textassist includes
five Windows-based applications and includes Digital Equipment
Corporation's (DEC's) Dectalk technology. Company officials say
they expect the Textassist technology to become popular for
business applications such as proofreading, remote talking
electronic-mail, talking scheduling for appointment reminders,
and talking faxes. Nine voices, one child, four male, and four
female, are included, though users can create their own voices as
well.

Qsound, 180-degree virtual audio sound localization technology
for advanced special effects has been added to the Awe32 sound
card package as well.

Creative's Voiceassist speech recognition software for Windows
is also includes as is the wave file editor Wavestudio, HSC's
Interactive SE, the sequencer software program Cakewalk
Apprentice, and the Creative Ensemble. Creative describes the
Ensemble as a home "hi-fi" system consisting of a set of software
applications for playback of wave, CD, and MIDI (musical
instrument digital interface) files.

Patented digital sample playback technology, gained from E-mu's
Emu8000 audio DSP, is incorporated into the Advanced Waveffects
synthesis, featuring compact disc (CD) quality, real instrument
sounds better than the audio quality produced by wave table
synthesis technology, the company asserts.

The new card supports multi-timbral musical instrument digital
interface (MIDI) channels with 32-voice polyphony as well as
independent control of advanced special effects (reverb, chorus
or QSound), vibrato (pitch oscillation) and tremolo (volume
oscillation) for each of its 32 voices. Additional advanced audio
features include pitch-shifting techniques, resonance filters
that control the timbre of each instrument when played at
different dynamic levels, a six-part amplitude envelope, and a
six-part auxiliary envelope for independent controlling of pitch
and timbre. Creative claims these are features that have been
available previously, but only in sound cards costing thousands
of dollars more than the Awe32.

The new sound card is fully compatible with applications that
work with the Sound Blaster 16-bit audio family of sound boards,
Creative said. The company also said the card is compatible with
General MIDI, Sound Canvas, and MT-32 specifications and also
supports compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drives from
Sony, Mitsumi, as well as its own CD-ROM drive.

Creative Technology announced retail pricing for the Awe32 is
$399.95 and the card will be available in the retail channels in
mid-March. Those with Sound Blaster 16 cards with Advanced
Signal Processing can upgrade to the Textassist application only
for $29.95. An Advanced Signal Processing upgrade with Textassist
will also be available to Sound Blaster 16 owners $99.95. Upgrade
information in the US is available by calling Creative's toll-free
support line, company officials said.

As of March 15, Creative is launching a Textassist application
programming interface (API) developer kit in the form of a
dynamic link library (DLL), which can be used to integrate text-
to-speech capabilities into Windows applications. The developer
kit will include a royalty-free license for developers to
distribute the Textassist API DLL with their applications,
Creative said.

Based in Singapore, Creative Technology purchased sound company
E-mu Systems last year. The company's other US subsidiaries
include Creative Labs and Sharevision Technology.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940301/Press Contact: Steffanee White,
Creative Labs, 408-428-6600; Diana Iles, Cunningham
Communication, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact, Creative Technical Support, 800-998-5337)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00022)

Software Publishing Intros Pro Write 3.0 For DOS 03/01/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Software
Publishing Corp. (SPC) has announced Professional Write 3.0
for DOS. The new version of the DOS-based word processor
features hypertext, a streamlined user interface, and expanded
mouse support, officials said.

"Software Publishing continues to see DOS word processing as a
viable market. We're seeing many users who are comfortable with
DOS, and have no plans to switch as long as they continue to get
support. Furthermore, DOS word processing is one of the most
widely used applications in rapidly growing niche markets such as
small business and home office," noted Chris Randles, VP of
marketing for SPC.

Professional Write users can create an online address book with
2,000 names; print form letters from databases or the address book;
perform simple mathematical calculations; and merge information
into documents from databases, spreadsheets, graphs, or text files,
according to the company.

The DOS-based word processing package from SPC also includes a
built-in 77,000-word spell checker, a 5,000-word dictionary, a
22,000-word thesaurus, and Grammatik IV, a built-in grammar
checker.

The new hypertext capability in Professional Write 3.0 is designed
to let users navigate through On-Line Help more quickly by
highlighting key words and jumping to specific related sections,
officials maintained.

The new user interface offers a range of new view options aimed at
helping users to review and revise their work more quickly. A new
"layout mode" lets users edit and view documents from the next
preview screen. Working in layout mode, users can display fonts,
type styles, and text justifications as they will print.

Through four view levels in the layout mode, users can enlarge
their documents up to twice their normal size, or shrink them up to
80 percent. The new layout mode also supports full page view.

Also in version 3.0, users can choose from three different screen
resolutions in text mode. Expressed as the number of columns times
the numbers of rows, screen resolution determines the amount of
text visible on the screen at any point in time. Depending on the
video adapter, users can select from three line displays:  80-by-
25, 80-by-43, and 80-by-50.

The new edition also allows users to specify margins, true tabs,
true line, and page breaks in inches. The available point size
range has been expanded, to a choice of point sizes from six
to 144.

Also new in version 3.0 is scalable font support for the HP
LaserJet Series III & 4, IBM Laser Printer 4029, and PostScript
printers. Users can now print from multiple trays and take
advantage of duplex printers. The new version also supports four
standard sizes of papers, and automatically adjusts the printer
for custom paper and label sizes.

Professional Write 3.0 permits peripherals to be shared across
Microsoft LAN Manager, Artisoft LANtastic, and Novell NetWare
Lite networks, in addition to the Novell, IBM and Banyan network
operating systems previously supported.

Professional Write 3.0 is expected to ship this month at a
suggested retail price of $249. Users of previous versions of
Professional Write for DOS and other DOS-based word processing
products can upgrade to version 3.0 for $65.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940301/Reader Contact: Software Publishing
Corporation, 800-336-8360; Press Contacts: Dorothy Meunier, SPC,
408-450-7637; Viki Page, SPC, 408-450-7316)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00023)

Individual Software Intros Integrated Training Bundles 03/01/94
PLEASANTON, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Seeing the
success and popularity of integrated software bundles from
Microsoft, Borland, and Lotus, Individual Software has developed
three integrated computer-based training (CBT) suites which offer
business and home users a combined training package for
developing word processing and spreadsheet skills.

As a developer of interactive training software since 1981,
Individual has produced a steady series of software which provides
real-screen replication of the program the user is learning,
according to the company.

The first of the suites -- Professor Office -- is a "training
companion" for Microsoft Office. Professor Office combines
training for MS Word 6.0 for Windows and Excel 5.0, and includes
a copy of Individual's recently released organizer, AnyTime 2.0.
Professor Duo, the second suite, provides training for Wordperfect
6.0 and Lotus 1-2-3 release 4.0 for Windows. The third suite --
Professor Suite -- provides training for AmiPro 3.0 for Windows
and Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows.

Individual says its three suites offer lessons, hands-on exercises,
quizzes and short-cuts, as well as a "thorough review" of features
and tools.

Diane Dietzler, vice president of sales and marketing, told
Newsbytes, "To meet the demands of a changing market in which
people in business and the home office need to have their own
skills as they become more self-reliant, we have developed our
integrated training suites. Our simulated environment is the
fastest and easiest way to learn skills for a program. We see
ourselves as a valuable adjunct to all of the books on the market.
We do not compete with them so much as complement and take
the training to a more direct level."

Individual's training suites are shipping now and should be on
retail shelves for under $30. The Suites require 286 or higher
processor, 480 kilobytes (KB) of RAM, VGA or higher, a mouse, and
six megabytes (MB) of hard disk space (4MB of hard disk for
Professor Suite).

The company also has announced the release of Professor
WordPerfect 6 for Windows at a suggested retail price of $39.95.
Professor WordPerfect 6 for Windows requires Windows 3.1 or
higher, 3MB hard disk space, a graphics adapter card, 2MB RAM,
and WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows.

Diane Dietzler, also informed Newsbytes, of the upcoming
Professor Windows which will include training and tips for both
the novice and the power-user.

(Patrick McKenna/19940228/Press Contact: Kathleen Turnbull,
Individual Software, 510-734-6767)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00024)

Microsoft To Sponsor 1994 US Cycling Championships 03/01/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Microsoft
plans to sponsor the 1994 US Cycling Championships this
summer.

The event, to be held the third weekend of June in Seattle,
Washington, is described by Seattle Deputy Mayor Bob Watt as
"an extraordinary free event for thousands of spectators." Watt
says the race will draw 300 of the top bicycle racers in the
country.

According to Mike Flynn, spokesperson for the Greater Seattle
Chamber of Commerce, the race will draw thousands of visitors
to the city and add hundreds of thousands of dollars to local
businesses, particularly the restaurant and hotel industry. "Events
such as cycling show it doesn't have to be a Superbowl game or
a final-four (college basketball championship) to bring a healthy
chunk of money to an area," he said.

Three national championships will take place: the Microsoft Grand
Prix; the Fresca National Cycling Championships; and the Fresca
Junior Cycling Championships.

"Microsoft's sponsorship was the key to bringing this event to
Seattle," according to Sports and Events Council of King County
President Michael Campbell.

Microsoft spokesperson Erin Carney could not provide the exact
amount of money being provided to support the event but called it
"substantial." Carney said one of the reasons Microsoft selected
the races over the hundreds of projects proposed is because it is
a high-tech sport. "Its equipment intensive, its high tech, and it
relies on individual and group participation," said Carney. She said
biking is popular with Microsoft employees, some of whom could
qualify for the race. Carney said the race will have a total purse
of $10,000 to $15,000 to be divided between men and women
racers.

The race will be in Seattle for the next three years, and could be
the Olympic qualifying event for the 1996 Olympic team.

Microsoft's Community Affairs division distributed $17 million
in cash and products donated by Microsoft and its individual
employees to various causes it considered worthy in 1993.
This year it committed a minimum of $500,000 over the next five
years just to the University of Washington through its Microsoft
Endowment for Excellence program at the university.

(Jim Mallory/19940301/Press contact: Microsoft Public
Relations, 206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00025)

Zylab Intros Zyimage 2.0 Document Imaging & Retrieval 03/01/94
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Zylab
Corporation has announced the release of Zyimage 2.0, the
company's latest version of its document imaging and retrieval
software.

Document imaging and retrieval is the electronic version of the
office filing system, storing documents on computer after they
are created on a computer or are scanned by an optical character
recognition (OCR) system. Documents can also be received
electronically from another computer system. A typical example of
the use of document imaging and retrieval is the insurance industry,
where some companies process claims, affix electronic signatures
and print the check without ever handling a piece of paper.

Zyimage 2.0 uses Wordscan and Wordscan Plus OCR technology
from Calera Recognition Systems that the company says can often
overcome problems such as degraded source documents, faxes,
or photocopied originals.

Version 2.0 of Zyimage has added a fuzzy search logic option to aid
in the retrieval of poorly recognized documents, OCR errors, and
misspellings. Zylab says the feature can also help find errors due
to OCR run-ons, joined characters, and other common problems.

The company has also added Relevance Ranking and Results Sorting.
The first prioritizes documents in order of interest, while the latter
allows the user to display and sort documents based on file name,
file path, creation date, document comment, or hits per file. Ranked
or Sorted documents can be displayed in ascending or descending
order and can be re-sorted or displayed after the search is done.

Zyimage 2.0 also supports the Eclipse Fax and Microsoft Mail
programs. Eclipse Fax allows users to send images directly from
their desktop. It converts the TIFF Group 4 images that Zyimage
stores files as to TIFF Group 3 format for faxing. Zylab says
Eclipse can convert images at a rate of three to five seconds per
page.

Microsoft Mail support allows users to send images with the
Zyimage viewer to other users via electronic mail. The Zyimage
viewer lets the recipient to view, zoom, invert, pan, and scale
images.

The software includes batch processing that allows multiple files
to be processed with minimal operator intervention using Wordscan's
automatic collating. Blank page file separators, automatic comment
extraction, and delayed file index building are supported in the
batch processing. Delayed OCR and index building allows users
to do the computer-intensive parts of data conversion during
non-productive times.

Zyimage 2.0 can now search data stored on CD-ROM disks faster
than the earlier version of the program. An advanced CD-ROM search
algorithm automatically senses free space on local hard drives and
pre-loads specific index files.

Zylab spokesperson Erica Swerdlow told Newsbytes Zyimage 2.0
has a suggested retail price of $995.

(Jim Mallory/19940301/Press Contact: Erica Swerdlow, EBS
Public Relations for Zylab, 708-5250-3301; Reader Contact:
Zylab Corporation, 708-459-8000)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00026)

Gandalf Cuts 274 More Jobs 03/01/94
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- In its second
job-cutting announcement in two months, Gandalf Technologies Inc.,
said it is eliminating 274 jobs in various functions around the
world. The move will leave the maker of networking equipment with
about 1,000 employees.

At the same time, Gandalf is doing away with separate sales and
marketing subsidiaries in the United States and Canada, replacing
them with a single North American operation, company spokesman
Rod Wilson told Newsbytes.

A new North American vice-president of sales and marketing
operations, Bill McKenzie, replaces former heads of sales and
marketing in the Canadian and US operations. The move further
downgrades the importance of Gandalf's office in Cherry Hill,
New Jersey, where a distribution center is being eliminated. In
January, about 60 engineering and sales positions were cut in
Cherry Hill.

Wilson said the lost jobs are spread across many functions within
Gandalf, with the largest cuts coming in marketing. Research and
development is virtually untouched, he said. He described the
reductions as "laser surgery" meant to fine-tune the company's
infrastructure.

Of the jobs being cut, 128 are in the United States, 100 in
Canada, and the rest in other countries, Wilson added.

Gandalf is working with a consulting firm to improve its sales
performance in the United States and increase the market for its
wide-area network products, Wilson said. Doing these things may
involve forming a strategic partnership with another company that
can help Gandalf achieve those goals, he said.

In January, Gandalf said its revenues for the third quarter,
ended Dec. 31, will be C$30 million -- down from C$35 million in
the second quarter and below the company's expectations. Gandalf
lost C$2.3 million in the second quarter, and expects its
third-quarter loss will be worse, said Walter MacDonald, chief
financial officer.

(Grant Buckler/19940301/Press Contact: Rod Wilson, Gandalf,
613-723-6500)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00027)

 ****IBM Offers Options For Other Vendors' PCs 03/01/94
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Not satisfied with
its improving performance as a vendor of personal computers, IBM
Personal Computer Co. has set out to make money out of PCs
from rival vendors as well -- by selling options for them.

In the past, IBM only sold options such as storage devices and
expansion cards to owners of its own PCs. Now, through a new
product line called Options by IBM, the company will make those
products -- and some new ones -- available to anyone.

IBM cited industry estimates saying the PC peripherals and
accessories category is worth $10 billion and growing in the
United States alone.

Options by IBM products are to be offered for both Industry
Standard Architecture (ISA) and Micro Channel computers. The
product line has five categories: accessories,  communications,
memory, multimedia, and storage. The more than 300 products in
the line include disk and tape drives, Personal Computer Memory
Card International Association (PCMCIA) devices, memory cards,
sound cards, networking adapters, modems, keyboards, and mice.

About 30 of the Options by IBM products are entirely new, company
spokeswoman Allison Jacobi told Newsbytes. The rest have been
available for IBM PCs in the past. All products in the line are
available right away, she added. IBM will sell them directly and
through dealers, officials said.

Options by IBM has been launched initially in the  United States,
Canada, and Latin America, and will be launched in  other parts
of the world later this year, the company said.

The announcement marks the first time that IBM's Storage Systems
Division will make its storage products widely available to
customers served by commercial distributors. IBM Storage Systems
products were previously used in IBM's own systems and sold to
other vendors for use in their systems, but not sold directly to
consumers.

All Options by IBM products include a limited warranty, the
length of which varies with the product, Jacobi said. All the
products also come with a 30-day money-back  guarantee. Some PC
configurations may not be compatible with all  Options by IBM
products, the company warned.

(Grant Buckler/19940301/Press Contact: Allison Jacobi, IBM
PC Co., 914-766-1317; Carol Keslar, IBM Storage Systems,
408-256-9451)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00028)

Smart WriteBoard Feeds Data To Computer 03/01/94
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Smart
Technologies Inc., has announced the Smart WriteBoard, a touch-
sensitive electronic whiteboard that when connected to an Intel-
based personal computer or SPARC workstation will transfer
markings made on the board into the computer's memory.

The WriteBoard for PCs and SPARCstations follows a Macintosh
version which Smart Technologies launched in early January, David
Martin, president of the company, told Newsbytes.

Unlike some such devices, the Smart WriteBoard works with
ordinary dry-erase markers, the company said. To use the board,
you write on an actual whiteboard surface with the markers.
Electronics in the three-by-four-foot panel sense the movement of
the markers and translate this into an image which is fed to the
computer through its serial port. The image can be stored as a
bit-map file for later use, or printed using the computer's
printer.

So it can deal with multi-colored pens, the board comes with a
special pen tray. Blue, black, green, and red pens are placed in
slots in the tray. Each slot has a switch that detects when a pen
has been picked up. For example, if the red pen has been removed
from the tray, the board records all markings on the board in red
until that pen is replaced.

The pen tray also has built-in buttons for saving or clearing the
computer screen. The board itself has no built-in storage, so the
computer must be connected while the board is being used, Martin
said.

According to Martin, the board eliminates the need to take notes
or transcribe information and then re-enter it all into a
computer.

Priced at US$2,995, the WriteBoard is available now for IBM
and compatible PCs, and due to be available in March for the
SPARCstation. Software-only packages to link additional platforms
to the WriteBoard cost US$195. The Writeboard is sold through
value-added resellers in the United States and Canada, and
through value- added distributors in Australia, Japan, Israel,
and Europe, the company said.

(Grant Buckler/19940301/Press Contact: David Martin or Nancy
Knowlton, Smart Technologies, 403-233-9333; Jennifer Fox,
McClenahan Bruer Communications for Smart Technologies,
503-643-9035, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00029)

UK - Video Image On Magnetic Stripe Card Intro'd 03/01/94
ESHER, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Government social
security and Post Office officials in the UK are evaluating a video
ID card that may cut the current high level of benefit fraud. The
cards, which can be used in ATMs (automatic teller machines) and
other electronic dispensing systems, contain a digitized image
of the cardholder encoded on the magnetic stripe.

Swiping the card through a special reader allows it to convert
the digital code back into an image and readable text. For extra
security, the digital code can be scrambled.

According to the system's developers, Datastrip, the system has
a massive anti-fraud potential, not just in tackling postal and
benefit fraud, but also in rendering passports and similar
documents more difficult to forge.

The system is being compared to a smart card technology. Although
Datastrip is cheaper than smart card systems, John Watt, Datastrip's
CEO, has played down the comparisons. He has said, however, that his
company's system can carry the same amount of information on a
card at a much lower cost.

Newsbytes notes that card system manufacturers have attempted
to compress digital image data down before onto a card's magnetic
stripe. Previously, the best technology available compressed the
data down by a factor of five.

Datastrip's system, Newsbytes understands, compresses the
data down to around three percent of its original volume. This
compression level has been achieved by fractal compression
techniques.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940301/Press & Public Contact:
44-372-471122)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00030)

UK - Lotus Announces Business Partner Program 03/01/94
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- Lotus
Development Corporation has announced a new business partner
program. The aim of the program, according to the company, is to
help resellers and other business partners to build and support
its products in the growing corporate marketplace.

Unusually, the UK is a very much a test area for Lotus as far as
this scheme is concerned. If it is a success, then Newsbytes
understands it will be extended into Europe on a country by
country basis and, eventually, into the US.

According to Lotus, the market for its communications products is
growing. As a result, many third-party companies looking to get into
the business, but lack the expertise to "get up to speed' quickly
enough. The company claims that customer demands are greater for
a higher proportion of value-added services for networking and
workgroup applications in comparison with traditional desktop
applications -- hence the business partner program.

"We are committed to building and expanding the range of products
and services available from our business partners. The goal of this
new program is to make it as easy as possible for our partners to
do business with us, so they can simply pick and choose from 'a la
carte' menu of program benefits according to their needs,"
explained John Master, Lotus UK's marketing manager.

"We expect that companies focusing on the desktop market will be
most interested in the sales and marketing support, for example,
whereas training, technical support and early access to new
product releases will be critical to our Notes and cc:Mail systems
integrators, consultants and professional developers," he said.

So, which resellers qualify for the program? According to Lotus,
it is open to companies which can provide products or services
related to Lotus' software. Because of the symbiotic nature of
the relationship, Lotus is not making any up-front charge for its
services to the business partner.

Lotus requires that six points are fulfilled by the business
partner: reselling, systems integration, consulting, professional
development, training, and support.

(Steve Gold/19940301/Press & Public Contact: Lotus UK,
44-784-455455)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00031)

Newsbytes Daily Summary 03/01/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 1 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Leading Edge Intros Multimedia PCs/Bundled Software 03/01/94
Leading Edge has announced WinTower Entrepreneur, WinPro Educator,
and WinPro 486e Entertainer, a new family of 486 multimedia PCs with
prices starting at $1,235.

2 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 03/01/94 This regular feature,
appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the
Canadian market on announcements by international companies that
Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Central Point Software's PC
Tools 2.0 for Windows.

3 -> NY Fed Reserve Bank Creates Public BBS 03/01/94  The Federal
Reserve Bank's  New York branch has created a public access bulletin
board system (BBS), joining the federal branches in St. Louis,
Minneapolis and  Dallas, which also have BBSes in place.

4 -> Martin Marietta Wins Social Security Info Contract 03/01/94 The
Social Security Administration has awarded a
second contract to Martin  Marietta Services Group to continue the
upgrade of the agency's  information systems. The follow-on contract
could be worth as  much as $68.1 million over five years.

5 -> TV Source Book Now On CD-ROM 03/01/94 The Broadcast Information
Bureau has released a version of its "Television Programming Source
Book" on CD-ROM. The company  is a division of North American
Publishing Company.

6 ->  ****MCI Buys Into Nextel 03/01/94 MCI will put $1.3 billion
into Nextel in order to get into the wireless phone business.

7 -> David Needle Leaves Computer Currents 03/01/94   Computer
Currents, the San Francisco/Bay Area bi-weekly publication, has
announced the departure of David Needle, their editor for the past
seven and a half years. David Needle will assume the  new San
Francisco position of Chief of Correspondence with InformationWeek.

8 -> Japan - Mini-disk & Handheld Terminal For PC 03/01/94 Sony has
announced that it plans to release a Mini-disk for the personal
computer (PCs)  platform in April. The version will be compatible
with the  music Mini-disk, which is currently available.

9 -> NEC In Chip/Workstation Deals With Korea/China Firms 03/01/94
NEC has signed a basic  agreement with Korea's major conglomerate
Samsung, concerning the joint development of "next-generation"
semiconductor chips.  The agreement includes the development of a
256-megabit (Mb) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and logic
integrated  circuits (ICs).

10 ->  ****Are Electric Utilities Best Access To Info Highway?
03/01/94 Some analysts argue that electric utilities will provide the
best access to  the so-called Information Highway of the future.

11 -> Zenith Slashes Sub-Notebook Prices 03/01/94 Zenith Data Systems
has announced price reductions on its Z-Lite 425L sub-notebook PCs.
The company will also bundle a data/fax modem with all of the
subnotebook computer's models.

12 -> Wireless Laplink With AirShare Shipping 03/01/94 Traveling
Software is now shipping Laplink Wireless with Airshare, an
combination hardware and software product that allows  wireless
transfer of files between computers.

13 -> Personal E-Mail Offers Networking Without LANs 03/01/94
AmerCom Inc., has  developed an electronic mail (e-mail) program
called Personal-E  Mailbox that lets you send and receive e-mail on a
direct PC-to-PC  basis. Personal-E answers the phone, switching any
voice callers to  an operator or answering machine/voice mail system,
and stores all  e-mail messages for later reading and response.

14 -> RAM Mobile Data Out To Win Wireless Race 03/01/94 RAM Mobile
Data is gearing up to take on the cellular phone Goliaths over the
coming billions of dollars in revenue from wireless messaging. Its
biggest competitor is McCaw Cellular (now in the process of  being
taken over by AT&T.)

15 -> GTE Spacenet Helps Emerging Nations Enter Info Age 03/01/94
Slowly but surely,  the developing nations of the world are joining
the worldwide telecommunications, computer, and information grid.

16 -> Spain Wins Peruvian Phone Auction 03/01/94 Peruvian President
Alberto Fujimori had a big reason to smile as Spain's Telefonica de
Espana won the auction for a 35 percent stake in Peru's two phone
companies for over $2 billion. That was four times the base price  of
$535 million set by the government and over $1 billion higher  than
competing offers from groups headed by GTE and  Southwestern Bell of
the US.

17 -> Ziff Buys SandPoint 03/01/94 Ziff Davis'  Information Access
Co. unit bought SandPoint Corp., which makes  an "information agent"
called Hoover that works in conjunction  with Lotus Notes. No figures
were available -- both companies are privately-held.

18 -> Control Data Provides Graphical X.500 03/01/94 Control Data
said it became the first to offer a graphical user interface to X.500
through a directory user agent on its Mail-Hub product, its
electronic messaging integration software under Unix. The new module
is called aXess500.

19 -> Claris Scraps Resolve Spreadsheet For Mac 03/01/94 Claris, the
software application development arm of Apple Computer, has announced
it will not longer continue development on the Claris Resolve
spreadsheet application for the Macintosh computer. The company is
encouraging users to switch to its Clarisworks product, which
includes a spreadsheet application.

20 -> MicroTouch Adds 2 Models To Flat Touch LCD Line 03/01/94
MicroTouch  has rounded out its line of PC-compatible flat touch LCD
(liquid crystal display) panels, introducing a mid-range dual scan
passive color model and a "value-priced" monochrome to join the
high-end active matrix TruePoint SP-30 debuted last fall.

21 -> Creative Technology Intros Awe32 PC Sound Card 03/01/94
Creative Technology has announced its new Awe32 sound card, which it
claims is the most advanced audio card on the market. The card
combines capabilities  from its flagship Sound Blaster 16 Advanced
Signal Processing card  and those from E-mu Systems' Emu800
integrated audio digital  signal processing.

22 -> Software Publishing Intros Pro Write 3.0 For DOS 03/01/94
Software Publishing Corp. (SPC) has announced Professional Write 3.0
for DOS. The new version of the DOS-based word processor features
hypertext, a streamlined user interface, and expanded mouse support,
officials said.

23 -> Individual Software Intros Integrated Training Bundles 03/01/94
Seeing the  success and popularity of integrated software bundles
from  Microsoft, Borland, and Lotus, Individual Software has
developed  three integrated computer-based training (CBT) suites
which offer  business and home users a combined training package for
developing word processing and spreadsheet skills.

24 -> Microsoft To Sponsor 1994 US Cycling Championships 03/01/94
Microsoft plans to sponsor the 1994 US Cycling Championships this
summer.

25 -> Zylab Intros Zyimage 2.0 Document Imaging & Retrieval 03/01/94
Zylab Corporation has announced the release of Zyimage 2.0, the
company's latest version of its document imaging and retrieval
software.

26 -> Gandalf Cuts 274 More Jobs 03/01/94 In its second job-cutting
announcement in two months, Gandalf Technologies Inc., said it is
eliminating 274 jobs in various functions around the world. The move
will leave the maker of networking equipment with about 1,000
employees.

27 ->  ****IBM Offers Options For Other Vendors' PCs 03/01/94 Not
satisfied with its improving performance as a vendor of personal
computers, IBM Personal Computer Co. has set out to make money out of
PCs from rival vendors as well -- by selling options for them.

28 -> Smart WriteBoard Feeds Data To Computer 03/01/94 Smart
Technologies Inc., has announced the Smart WriteBoard, a touch-
sensitive electronic whiteboard that when connected to an Intel-
based personal computer or SPARC workstation will transfer markings
made on the board into the computer's memory.

29 -> UK - Video Image On Magnetic Stripe Card Intro'd 03/01/94
Government social  security and Post Office officials in the UK are
evaluating a video ID card that may cut the current high level of
benefit fraud. The cards, which can be used in ATMs (automatic teller
machines) and  other electronic dispensing systems, contain a
digitized image  of the cardholder encoded on the magnetic stripe.

30 -> UK - Lotus Announces Business Partner Program 03/01/94 Lotus
Development Corporation has announced a new business partner
program. The aim of the program, according to the company, is to
help resellers and other business partners to build and support  its
products in the growing corporate marketplace.

(Ian Stokell/19940301)