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/nb030394

Text File | 1994-03-03 | 82KB | 1,788 lines

(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00001)

Motorola's PowerPC Powers Parsytec Supercomputer 03/03/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Motorola has announced
that its new PowerPC 601 microprocessor, slated to be the brains
of new Macintoshes expected soon, is also to be the processing
muscle in the Powerxplorer massively parallel processing (mpp)
supercomputer from Parsytec.

An mpp system relies on distributing computing tasks across many
processors to complete sets of complex instructions and currently
the world most powerful computers work in this manner. The
Powerxplorer will have between four to 64 computing nodes,
each equipped with one 80 megahertz (MHz) PowerPC 601
microprocessor, according to Parsytec.

The PowerPC is a reduced instruction-set computing (RISC)
processor with 2.8 million transistors designed by a cooperative
effort between Motorola, Apple Computer, and IBM.

IBM has already delivered a workstation computer based on the
microprocessor and Apple has announced its new Macintosh
computers will be PowerPC-based. Canon as well as Taiwanese
manufacturers have also adopted the processor, Motorola added.

Part of the PowerPC's claim to fame is its cost, which is lower
than its main competitor, Intel's top-of-the-line Pentium chip.
Intel's x86 and Pentium processors are the basis of IBM and
compatible personal computers (PCs) and Intel currently has the
lion's share of the microprocessor market worldwide. Motorola
hopes to move in on that market with the PowerPC.

Motorola is pointing to the use of the PowerPC in a mpp system
as proof of the versatility and scalability of its new processor.
Intel has developed mpp supercomputers used mostly for
scientific applications, but none use its Pentium chip.

However, some analysts are saying that, while Motorola has a good
chance of garnering more than its present market share, Intel is
expected to continue a wide lead because of the broad base of
software applications that work with its microprocessors.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940302/Press Contact: Steve Hopley,
Cunningham Communication for Motorola, tel [phone],
fax [phone]; Dean Mosley, Motorola, 512-891-2839;
Cindy Hankenfrers, Parsytec, 708-293-9500/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00002)

Toshiba & Motorola To Produce 16Mb DRAM 03/03/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Toshiba and Motorola will
jointly produce a 16-megabit (Mb) dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) at their joint venture firm -- Tohoku
Semiconductor -- in northern Japan.

Both firms have already started the construction of the new
production line at Tohoku Semiconductor, and are cooperating
to produce memory chips at the plant.

The new plant site is about 47,000 square meters. Both firms
will spend about 70 billion yen ($700 million) on the site, which
is expected to be completed in the spring of 1995. The actual
production of the 16Mb chip will begin around May, 1995, using
Toshiba's DRAM production technology. Shipments will begin
around August.

About three million units per month will be shipped from the
plant. The 16Mb chips will be supplied to both Toshiba and
Motorola. The plant will be able to produce 64Mb DRAM in
the future.

Meanwhile, Toshiba will shift the production of its 16Mb DRAM
chips to its overseas plants. To start, the firm will produce a
half-processed chip at the plants in Japan, and ship it to plants
in the US and Europe. In the US, the firm will complete the
half-processed chip and ship it through Toshiba America
beginning this summer. In Germany, Toshiba will ship it through
Toshiba Germany beginning in April. It will reportedly be the
first time Toshiba has produced a 16Mb chip in its overseas
plants.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940228/Press Contact:
Toshiba, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TYO)(00003)

Japan - Thin Modem Card & LAN Adaptor For Mac Debut 03/03/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Mitsubishi Electric has
developed an extra-thin modem card for Apple Computer's
Macintosh platform, which is based on both Japanese and
American industry standards. It will cost 70,000 yen ($700).

Meanwhile, Netone Systems, Tokyo, is preparing to release a
high-speed LAN (local area network) system through an
agreement with US-based Sonic Solutions. The LAN card will
be sold for 399,000 yen ($3,990).

Mitsubishi's latest modem card is only five millimeters (mm)
thick. It is called the MFOB-002A1F, and is based on the PCMCIA
2.0 (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
type 2) standard. The modem card supports a data transmission
speed of 2,400 bits-per-second (bps). It also supports a fax
data transmission speed of 9,600 bps.

Meanwhile, Tokyo-based software dealer Netone Systems will
release an adaptor card for local area network systems. The
adaptor card reportedly supports one million megabits data
transmission on a Macintosh LAN. It supports both fiber
distributed data interface (FDDI) and conventional copper CDDI.

Netone Systems will import the card and sell it in Japan
beginning April. The company is reportedly planning to target
mainly printing firms.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940228/Press Contact:
Mitsubishi Electric, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Netone Solutions, 81-3-5476-4120)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00004)

Netherlands - Stockbroking Fraud Uncovered 03/03/94
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- The Dutch
Fraud Squad has arrested the three former directors of bankrupt
Amsterdam stockbroking firm Nusse Brink. The three men -- Rob
Nusse, Eric Brink and Herman Misdorp -- are suspected of
fraudulent securities dealings using their computer system and
culpable bankruptcy.

According to reports in the Dutch press, the three men appeared
before the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (ASE) regulatory body last
Friday, accused of contravening the bourse's code of conduct.
Newsbytes understands that Nusse Brink is also alleged to have
misinformed the bourse's supervisory body on its positions in
shares.

According to the police, searches of the three directors' homes last
December revealed that part of Nusse Brink's computerized
administration records were missing. Press sources suggest that
the alleged fraud may run to a million Dutch guilders or more.

As reported in the Dutch press last year, Nusse Brink hit the
headlines amidst allegations of money laundering for a drug-dealing
network run by computer. The allegations were prompted by an
investigation of Nusse Brink by the ASE, after the broker was
unable to cover its dealings.

As a broker, Nusse Brink was declared bankrupt last August.
According to the stockbroker's administrator, R Schimmelpenninck,
the three directors are likely to be held liable for the debts of
the company, which now total around six million guilders.

(Steve Gold/19940303)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00005)

Telephone Banking In Austria Gets Thumbs Down 03/03/94
VIENNA, AUSTRIA, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- According to three Austrian
banks -- Creditanstalt-Bankverein (CA), Bank Austria (BA), and
Oesterreichische Postsparkasse (PSK) -- which have launched
telephone banking services known, respectively, as Teleservice,
Kontofon and Telefonservice, the services are not gaining
acceptance among customers.

The banks claim that the phone banking services are being accepted
only gradually by their customers, because of worries that dealing
with the bank by phone can lead to a greater incidence of mistakes,
as well as a greater possibility of fraud.

Because of the slow take-up of phone banking, the banks claim that
they will be unable to cover their costs this current year as was
originally projected. Instead, they reckon that their services will
only be able to break even by the end of next year, despite a
campaign by the Dutch government and telephone authority to
persuade bank customers of the benefits.

As a short term measure, the banks say they will be introducing a
range of value-added and consultancy services on their networks to
defray the costs of operations. The banks are also undertaking a
major campaign to allay customers' worries about potential fraud.

(Steve Gold/19940303)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00006)

Compuserve UK Launches Travel Guides Online 03/03/94
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Compuserve UK,
the UK operation of the giant US online service, has announced it is
offering four travel guides compiled by the Automobile Association
on its system.

The guides, which include details of accommodation, restaurants,
golf courses and "days out" in the UK and Ireland, can be searched
by a range of criteria, including "location," "AA rating" and "type of
establishment."

To access the service, subscribers to Compuserve should type "GO
UK" which will take them to the online area. Compuserve officials
claim that information on more than 8,000 establishments is online
on Compuserve.

According to John Sims, head of AA Information Research, which
compiles and updates the databases, the tie-up with Compuserve
is a major step for the motorist's organization.

"The AA and Compuserve are the number one disseminators of
information in their respective fields. Not only will Compuserve's
UK membership appreciate the convenience of having the AA's
databases online, but so will its 1.7 million members worldwide
who are considering travel to Great Britain," he said.

(Steve Gold/19940303/Press & Public Contact: Compuserve UK,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Is Microsoft An Uninterrupted Success Story? - Report 03/03/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- According to Ovum, the
research and consultancy service, Microsoft's annual report for the
year ending June, 1993, predicted that the company does not expect
1994 revenue growth to be as high as in 1993. Ovum has revealed
that the company's prediction was correct, as growth in the second
quarter ended December 31, 1993, was 20 percent compared with
31 percent a year prior.

Ovum's interest in Microsoft's results stems from the fact that the
company has just covered the software house in Software Product
Markets Europe (SPME), its continuous information service. The
profile claims to examine the reasons behind the fall in Microsoft's
growth rate and predicts which of the company's new strategies are
likely to be most successful in stimulating growth in the future.

According to Ovum, three shifts in the structure of sales have
caused Microsoft's slowdown: more use of the lower profit margin
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) channels; more sales to
large accounts with volume discounts; and more software suite
sales.

These three tactics, Ovum asserts, have been used by Microsoft as a
method of achieving the company's strategic aim of dominant market
share. However, these tactics, the report claims, have caused
Microsoft to sacrifice revenue to gain that market share.

Ovum claims that Microsoft needs to sustain its growth to
maintain its position in the market. Last year, the report notes,
Microsoft heralded Windows NT as a new leader in its product
portfolio. Ovum noted that, even prior to its release, Windows NT
had achieved an "astonishing vaporshare prior to its release, with
numerous IS (information system) departments considering it for
their strategic operating system platform."

Heather Stark, SPME's managing editor, said that MIcrosoft has found
it difficult to sell each step in the medium term evolution of its
systems software family. "The direction is sensible, but developers
and purchasers do not necessarily want to buy tickets at every stop
along the way," she said, adding that "Version fatigue is a real
problem for Microsoft."

SPME is a continuous information service that is updated on a
monthly basis. A subscription to the service, which claims to focus
on strategic market developments, and gives forecasts of eight
different software products in seven European countries, costs
$2,775 in the US and UKP1,495 in Europe.

(Steve Gold/19940303/Press & Public Contact: Ovum,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00008)

"TaxCut Final" Software For PC Adds Multimedia 03/03/94
NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- "The home
office deduction is a very sweet deduction. You get to deduct for
things that you would have spent money on anyway," said Dan
Caine, speaking to Newsbytes from video running on a notebook PC.

At the same time, Caine, noted tax expert and chief developer for
MECA's TaxCut tax preparation software, was seated across the
table from Newsbytes in "live" form, describing the newly
introduced Windows-based CD-ROM (compact disk - read-only
memory) and floppy desk versions of TaxCut Final, sequels to the
Headstart Edition that shipped last fall.

The "live" Dan Caine explained that both Windows-based versions
of TaxCut Final feature "tax tips" that he himself has written.
Further, MECA has added animated icons, a "Find" feature, and a
"personal assistant" to The Navigator, the new user interface
(UI) that debuted in Headstart.

In the CD-ROM version of TaxCut Final, Caine offers his tips via
video, whereas on the Windows-based floppy disk version, the advice
is text-based only. For the meeting with Newsbytes in Newton,
Massachusetts, Caine copied the CD-ROM on to the hard drive of the
notebook, so he was able to display the video without bringing a
CD-ROM drive along.

Before demonstrating his own online tips, Caine showed
Newsbytes the personal assistant and other new features of
TaxCut Final. "With a tax preparation program, it's very important
for people to feel productive right away," noted the Harvard Law
School graduate. With this objective in mind, Caine and his cohorts
at MECA have enhanced The Navigator to take users through the
process as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Like TaxCut Headstart, TaxCut Final begins with a simple "Q&A,"
or interview, that asks questions about personal finances. The
program then chooses the appropriate forms and worksheets for the
return. At each step, TaxCut performs all necessary calculations,
assigns imputed data to the appropriate sections, and makes
suggestions about possible deductions, according to Caine.
Ultimately, the program audits the entire return and highlights any
sections with missing, incomplete or questionable data.

As in past years, TaxCut Final adds the final Internal Revenue
Service tax forms and instructions that are unavailable when TaxCut
Headstart comes out in the fall. TaxCut Final users can skip over
any sections that do not apply, or that they have already completed
in the optional Headstart Edition.

The Windows-based versions of the new TaxCut Final, though, are
the first releases ever to boast a personal assistant, according to
Caine. "Philosophically, there are two kinds of personal assistants:
'wizards,' who do things for you, and 'tutors,' who teach you how to
do things. Our assistant is a tutor," he elaborated.

The TaxCut tutor guides the user through the various sections
of the program, "speaking" in auditory manner on the CD-ROM
edition, and talking through "text balloons" on the floppy version.
The sections are selected by clicking on a set of icons, situated
on the left-hand side of the UI, which made their first appearance
in this year's TaxCut Headstart.

In the Windows edition of TaxCut Final, MECA has animated these
icons. The icon for "returns," for instance, shows a shower of
cash "raining down" on the lucky recipients.

The icon for "import" depicts checks flowing from one software
program to the next. You can import data into TaxCut Final from
TaxCut Headstart, or from Quicken, Managing Your Money, TurboTax,
or any other program that supports the tax exchange format.

Also new in the Windows versions of TaxCut Final is "Find," a
feature that lets you find information on topics of interest by
browsing through alphabetical lists and clicking on the
appropriate entry. To locate facts on "charitable contributions,"
for instance, you call up the "C" list.

Finally, there are Caine's "tax tips," arranged in sections
covering everything from depreciating assets, to filling out a
Schedule C form, to special advice for the self-employed.

TaxCut Final is also available for Macintosh and DOS. The Mac and
DOS editions offer the new Navigator interface, but are not yet
being produced for CD-ROM, and do not yet include video, animation,
or the personal assistant, a spokesperson said. Suggested retail
pricing is $89.95 for the Windows-based CD-ROM version, and
$79.95 for all other versions.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940302/Reader Contact: MECA Software,
203-256-5000; Press Contacts: Lydia Trettis, Bob Bogard, or
Samantha Rubin, Connors Communications for MECA,
212-995-2200)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TYO)(00009)

Canon Sets Up PowerPC Firm In US 03/03/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Canon says it has created a
subsidiary in the US to develop computers based on the PowerPC
architecture.

The firm has already signed an agreement with IBM concerning
the licensing of PowerPC, and claims it will release a PowerPC-
based computer within a year.

Canon's new firm is called Powerhouse Systems and is located
in California. The new firm will develop the computer, which is
based on the PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP). Canon recently
signed an agreement with IBM's Power Personal Systems Division
concerning the licensing of PReP. The agreement also covers
the joint development and an OEM (original equipment
manufacturing) deal.

The new firm will develop a variety of PReP-based products,
including personal computers, personal digital assistants
(PDAs), and consumer-oriented office equipment.

Interestingly, Canon's new Powerhouse Systems was created by
the company along with former engineers of Next Inc., which was
set up by former Apple founder Steven Jobs.

Canon reportedly wants to get IBM, Motorola, and Apple Computer
involved in the new firm. Currently, Powerhouse Systems has 45
employees -- with 10 of them coming from Canon. Canon's board
director Hideyo Kondo is the company president. Canon hopes to
increase the number of employees to 70 by the end of the year.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940303/Press Contact: Canon,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00010)

Japan - Fujitsu In 21 University LAN Purchase Deals 03/03/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Fujitsu says it has signed
deals with 21 Japanese universities to provide local area
network (LAN) systems.

Analysts contend that the LAN and computer markets involving
Japanese universities still have considerable potential. As a
result, many computer firms are targeting the niche.

Fujitsu signed LAN deals with 10 universities recently, with
the other 11 coming earlier this year. The deals are reportedly
worth about 3.5 billion yen ($350 million).

Fujitsu's LAN system is based on Ethernet with a transmission
speed of 10 megabits-per-second (Mbps), and fiber distributed
data interface (FDDI) with a transmission speed of 100 Mbps.
Each university will be linked to the Internet.

The Japanese Ministry of Education is planning to install a
LAN system at all of the national universities within a year or
so. Some 30 national universities are not yet equipped with
LAN systems.

Other Japanese computer makers, including NEC, have been
developing low-cost LAN systems, and are targeting them
at universities as well as the corporate market.

Meanwhile, Apple Computer is planning to sell its Macintosh
products to university students at special discount prices -
with savings as much as 10 to 30 percent.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940303/Press Contact:
Fujitsu, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)

Teachers' Union Trialing AOL, Prodigy 03/03/94
WASHINGTON, D.C, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- The American
Federation of Teachers (AFT) has signed deals with both Prodigy and
America Online and will encourage its 835,000 members to try both
services. The AFT, a unit of the AFL-CIO, is the nation's second
largest teachers' organization after the National Education
Association (NEA).

Newsbytes discussed the arrangement with AFT spokesman Jamie
Horwitz. "We feel teachers are isolated in their classroom, and
have more to gain from online communications than any other
group," he explained. "So many get frustrated by the isolation,
they give up. We're hoping that, by coming up with an online
partnership and partnerships with computer companies, providing
members with computer models that might work, loading them
with software, and having a forum online with other teachers,
then initially at home then later at school. they'll be able to share
lesson plans with other teachers. We think this would create a
feeling of collegiality."

Both Prodigy and AOL, however, already have education-related
sections. AOL has the Scholastic Network, Prodigy has Classroom
Prodigy. Horwitz responded that those two systems are designed
for use in classrooms, by students. The AFT's deals are designed
for teachers who need to correspond with other teachers.

Newsbytes also asked why only two of the three largest online
services were selected. Horwitz noted that, while the union wants
to leverage the chief online competitors against each other,
prices at CompuServe were deemed too high.

All this is part of a broader effort by the AFT to encourage a
movement toward proper use of computers in education. "In
November we started a partnership with IBM and Apple, offering
four models, from portables to multimedia models, our members can
get at a special purchasing plan, through the Amalgamated Bank of
New York. They pay no money down and eight percent interest. The
computers come loaded with software. And KPMG Peat Marwick
came in as a consultant for the project. We're planning on
restructuring our own computer system so everything we do
goes online. They have a department of computer consultants."

Horwitz also discussed the work of the union's school reform
advocates. "We ask school districts to keep this in mind as they
restructure. It's great to take the wiring into the schools, but
without phones, tools and training not much happens. Most schools
aren't ready to take the technology to our vision. So we want to
put computers into members' homes, give them an online service
and Internet link, and have them develop materials to take to
school. Once large groups of teachers work this way they'll be
grass roots pressure to move this into schools."

The formal announcement was made at a conference in New York
City, where thousands of teachers were given demonstrations of
the two services, and reporters were urged to conduct interviews.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940303/Press Contact: Jamie Horwitz,
202-879-4458)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00012)

Georgia State Univ Using Cable Network As Testbed 03/03/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Georgia State
University won new support for its use of a cable television
network in testing new concepts in communications.

Fore Systems of Pittsburgh gave the school $300,000 in "matching
in-kind support" for the "Mixed-MAN" project, first suggested as
part of the master's degree studies of Hal Trebes, and later
proposed by him to faculty members as a research concept around
which the proposal was later developed.

The testbed being used is the network of Advanced
Telecommunications Interconnect, which in turn is the Competitive
Access Provider unit of Wometco Cable, the Atlanta area's largest
cable operator. Wometco bought-out Prime Management's Atlanta
area systems a few years ago, operating them under the name GCTV,
and like many other operators it links its head-ends with fiber
cable. Fiber needs no repeaters and has enormous capacity -- far
more than Wometco's TV signals need. So it resells the excess
capacity, acting as a competitive access provider to Southern
Bell and taking calls from office parks to long distance
switches, for instance.

The Mixed-MAN project, started with a $300,000 grant from the
Georgia Research Alliance and Georgia Center for Advanced
Telecommunications Technology, will use the SONET (synchronous
optical network) standard and ATI's network as a backbone for
deploying a variety of equipment for use by a variety of different
kinds of businesses. The project's overall objective is a platform
for research into multimedia-based collaborative workgroup
systems.

The project links the GSU campus' research network to ATI's
metropolitan area network and a remote long distance switch
based on the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) standard from
Fore Systems. The ATM transmission protocol utilizes cells,
small fixed-length packets, and provides the architectural basis
which will allow the mixing of voice, video and data over a
variety of transmission speeds.

In addition to testing equipment, the network will study the
applications needed to support collaborative work in
geographically separated participants, such as multimedia
groupware, computer-mediated meeting support, cooperative
workgroup tools development, group decision support, distance
imaging, and distance learning. Once the applications are on the
network, the impact of all this on the network will be closely
monitored, since users will be dynamically reconfiguring their
use of the resource in real-time.

Principal investigator for the project is Dr. Martin Fraser,
professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
The school's Computer Information Systems department, rated a
few years ago by "ComputerWorld" magazine as the best in the
nation, is also be used in the study.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940303/Press Contact: Georgia
State University, Nancy Stanford, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00013)

Education RoundUp 03/03/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Both Houses of
Congress moved to re-authorize Chapter One, the main vehicle by
which many public schools purchase computers and software,
following an angry debate over home schooling.

The House resumed debate on the bill and is expected to pass it
soon, but a Senate committee has begun work on its version,
In the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, the discussion
has returned to funding formulas. The Clinton Administration has
said that, since the money is designed to go to poor districts
but, since 93 percent of districts are now getting it and some
poor districts are getting nothing, the formulas under which the
money is given out should be changed.

The House rejected this argument, at least for current funding.
Education Secretary Richard Riley pressed on with the Senate
Committee, saying that the greatest problems in US education
remain in high poverty schools. But senators representing rural
states, like Republican Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas and Democrat
Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, questioned whether changing the
formula might short-change poor rural districts.

Secretary Riley said his views are based on five principals:
high standards; more teacher training; concentrating funds in
poor districts; giving principals and teachers more control of
how the money is spent; and increased parental and community
involvement.

Outside Washington, debates on education remained raucous, and in
most cases teachers' unions are arrayed against Republicans and
the religious right. The California Teachers' Association, which
was called "an unwelcome organization" by the state's Republican
Party for giving too heavily to Democrats, launched a $2 million
ad campaign promoting its school reform agenda. The ads call for
smaller classes, more technology, use of police for greater
security, extension of English classes to adults, and more time
for teachers to prepare lessons.

In Massachusetts, a commission of the state's Board of Education
drafted a 39-point program of higher standards for schools and
students which includes requirements for a second language and
community service. After hearings this month, the "Common Core
of Learning" standards will be revised, and could be in place by
the next school year, covering graduates of the class of 1999.

In Illinois, Republican Governor Jim Edgar, who faces a tough re-
election campaign, appointed a 14-member "school to work
transition task force," headed by his lieutenant governor,
which will use $460,000 in US government money to create
recommendations aimed at increasing job opportunities for
students that do not go on to college.

In industry, Education Alternatives Inc., which seeks contracts
to run public schools, defended its accounting practices. The
company's stock has been falling on US markets because the firm
has allegedly booked all the income gained from contracts as soon
as it starts work, not just administrative funds which flow
directly to the company. A class action suit has been filed by
two investors against the company's accounting practices, but
Chairman John Golle said he will defend his firm vigorously.

Davidson & Associates, one of the leading educational software
firms, bought Chaos Studios and signed a letter of intent to
acquire LearningWays. The former is best known for entertainment
titles, while the latter has developed titles for the in-school
market. Davidson was called an "edutainment" software firm in a
recent "Business Week" cover story, and stock of such firms has
become hot lately as sales for many have grown at nearly 50
percent in the last year, spurred by new home computer owners
with children.

Davidson also announced that shipping has begun on its new
"Spell It 3," designed for students age six and up. The program
concentrates on 3,600 commonly-misspelled words, using such
things as a crossword puzzle and proofreading game. The new
version includes: a talking spelling tutor that reads words aloud,
an online spelling bee; an editor function to add more words or
customize word lists; and the capability to run from DOS or from
a Windows icon. It retails for $49.95, and comes available in
teacher packs, lab packs and site licenses as well as single-user
versions. The program requires VGA graphics, only 640 kilobytes
of memory, DOS 3.3 or higher (with version 5.0 recommended), and a
12 MHz 286-based machine or faster with a hard drive containing
at least five megabytes of available storage. If you want it to
talk, add a sound card.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940303/Press Contact: Linda Duttenhaver,
Davidson & Associates, 310-793-0600 ext 230; Alan Safran,
Massachusetts Department of Education, 617-388-3300 ext 116;
Lory Sutton, Education Alternatives, 800-326-3354)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00014)

Republican Lawyer Nominated To FCC 03/03/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- President Clinton
has finally moved to fill an open Republican seat on the Federal
Communications Commission, naming San Francisco lawyer
Rachelle Chong for the post.

Chong, 34, would be the first Asian-American and one of the
youngest to serve on the commission. The President still must
fill an open Democratic seat on the panel.

Clinton's first nominee to the FCC, Chairman Reed Hundt, has
already left a mark on the commission by pushing through cable
rate rules which were blamed for the collapse of a merger between
Bell Atlantic and TCI. Hundt has also maintained the collegiality
of the panel, as seen in a hearing televised by C-Span which
approved the new cable rules.

The other members of the FCC are James Quello of Michigan, a
Democrat first named in 1974 by President Nixon, and Andrew
Barrett, an Illinois Republican. Quello was interim chairman of
the panel between the resignation of former Chairman Al Sikes,
now with Hearst Corp., and Hundt's approval this year. Hundt's
nomination had been held up by Senate Republicans in part because
of Clinton's delay in making a Republican appointment to the
panel.

Chong's name had been in the rumor mill for some time, a process
known as "public vetting." The idea is that if there are problems
with a rumored nominee they will appear before the nomination is
made. Clinton's first reported nominee for Hundt's post, in fact,
was Antoinette Cook, a Senate staffer and stepdaughter of advisor
Vernon Jordan. She took herself out of the running after she had
a child, but criticism had arisen about her role in the challenge
of a Washington, D.C. radio station's license. In that case,
"public vetting" avoided a potentially embarrassing nomination
fight.

Chong is not expected to have any problem clearing the Senate,
but her clients may raise some eyebrows. A litigator with the
firm of Graham and James, her clients include McCaw Cellular,
which is in the process of being acquired by AT&T. She has
already received approval from Senate Minority Leader Robert
Dole and leading Democrats in the California delegation.

The leading candidate for the remaining open Democratic
seat on the panel remains Susan Ness, an investment banker.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940303/Press Contact: The White House,
202-456-1414)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00015)

Unitel Wants Long-Distance Balloting In Canada 03/03/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Unitel
Communications Inc., a near-nationwide long-distance telephone
carrier, has called for telephone subscribers across Canada to
vote for their long-distance carriers.

Unitel, which offers long-distance service in eight of the 10
Canadian provinces, wants a nationwide ballot in which customers
would choose to buy long-distance service from Unitel, from the
Stentor consortium of regional telephone companies, or from other
long-distance carriers or resellers.

Each individual customer would be asked to choose a carrier and
would be switched over to the carrier chosen, Unitel spokeswoman
Carleen Carroll told Newsbytes. Those who did not return their
ballots would remain with the carrier already serving them -- in
most cases, the local Stentor company. "We're not proposing
random allocation," Carroll said.

However, in any area where fewer than 65 percent of customers
responded to the first ballot, Unitel wants a second ballot sent to
those who have not responded, to try to get more to make a
choice. That would obviously be a second chance for Unitel and
other Stentor rivals to take customers away from the established
carriers.

The procedure is similar to one used in Australia, Carroll said.
The United States also used a balloting procedure when
long-distance competition was introduced there.

Unitel has filed its request with the Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), a federal regulatory
body, and hopes that balloting will begin in early 1995.

Unitel offers long-distance service to customers in most parts of
British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, and in Winnipeg and
Brandon, Manitoba. Regulatory oddities prevent the company from
serving Saskatchewan at present, and Unitel recently said it will
not offer service in Alberta, except to branch offices of its
national business customers, because of payments the CRTC said it
must make to AGT Ltd., the Alberta member of Stentor, if it does
so.

A statement issued by Bell Canada, largest of the Stentor
companies, said the balloting would be unnecessary and costly.
"Competition and free choice are already here in Canada," Bell
said. "Consumers can pick up the phone and select any alternate
long distance carrier they want today." Bell claimed the
balloting process would cost some C$15 million in mailing costs
alone.

(Grant Buckler/19940303/Press Contact: Carleen Carroll, Unitel,
416-345-2114; Ken Stewart, Unitel, 416-345-2094)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00016)

Corel Offers Flowcharting Package For PC 03/03/94
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Corel Corp., best
known for its CorelDraw graphics software, has announced a
diagramming and flowcharting package called CorelFlow. The
software is intended for business users who need to create
diagrams and flowcharts quickly, the company said.

Users will drag-and-drop shapes, lines, and curves to create
organization charts, schematics, flowcharts, and system diagrams
with CorelFlow, according to company officials. Features include:
a library of style palettes, hundreds of drag-and-drop symbols;
support for Microsoft Corp.'s Object Linking and Embedding 2
standard, which allows applications to call other applications;
hierarchical diagrams, smart links; on-screen text and line
editing; 100 TrueType fonts; and 10 drawing layers.

The package also comes with Corel Gallery, a library of more than
10,000 clip-art images with a clip-art manager.

Although Corel has built a wide variety of graphics-related
functions into its flagship CorelDraw software, the company
decided to sell CorelFlow as a stand-alone package to compete
with low-priced flowcharting packages, company spokeswoman
Julie Galla told Newsbytes. She said Corel has no plans to
incorporate the software, or a subset of its functions, into
future releases of CorelDraw.

CorelFlow is due to ship in June, with a suggested list price
of US$99 or C$129.

(Grant Buckler/19940303/Press Contact: Julie Galla, Corel,
613-728-8200 ext 1672)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00017)

Cray Research Intros Deskside Simulation Server 03/03/94
EAGAN, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Cray Research has
introduced a deskside simulation server supercomputer that the
company claims has twice the performance of its predecessor.

Cray Research has announced the Cray EL94, the smallest, lowest-
priced system in its supercomputer product line. The EL94 is
available with two to four central processing units (CPUs).

Derek Robb, Cray Research VP of marketing says the EL94 in its
smallest configuration is about the same price as two high-end
single processor workstations. EL94 pricing starts at $150,000.

The new supercomputer provides more than 500 magaflops peak
system performance and is available with six or 21 gigabytes (GB)
of disk storage. It is air-cooled and operates on standard 50 hertz
or 60 hertz power. Memory configurations of up to 512 megabytes
(MB) are available and the system runs Cray's Unix-based, Posix-
compliant Unicos operating system.

The company says more than 600 commercial software applications
that run on its high-end systems are available for the EL94. Robb
calls the EL94 "an entry point into Cray's supercomputer product
line." It can be ordered with the Cray T3D Emulator, a software tool
that helps programmers use the Cray Fortran 77 programming
environment to develop and test applications for the Cray T3D
massively parallel processing (mpp) system.

Cray Research has also announced a program designed to make it
easier for colleges and universities to acquire an EL94, offering
special pricing for a system that bundles several software
development tools with the supercomputer.

Cray Research spokesperson Mardi Larson told Newsbytes the
academic pricing starts at $140,000. While that may not seem a
big price break for academic institutions, Larson pointed out that
the price includes Cray Fortran 90, CF 77, and Cray Standard C
and C++ programming. Those tools are not included in the retail
version of the EL94.

(Jim Mallory/19940303/Press Contact: Mardi Larson, Cray
Research, 612-683-3538)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00018)

 ****Motorola Cuts PowerPC Chip Pricing 03/03/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Motorola has announced
a 15 percent price reduction for its PowerPC 601 microprocessor.

Motorola spokesperson Steve Hopley told Newsbytes that effective
immediately PC builders can purchase the 50 megahertz (MHz)
version of the chip for $238. The 66MHz version carries a $318
price tag, while the 80MHz chip sells for $425. However, do not
expect to run out and get one for your PC at those prices. They
apply to purchases in quantities of 20,000.

Several PC makers including Apple, Canon, Parsytec, IBM and some
Asian PC manufacturers have already announced adoption of the
PowerPC 601. The chip's superscalar design enables it to execute
multiple instructions in parallel using RISC (reduced instruction-set
computing) technology.

The soon-to-ship PowerPC version of Apple Computer's Macintosh PC
will reportedly be able to run Windows, albeit slowly. As reported
earlier by Newsbytes, the PowerPC Mac equipped with the
recommended 16 megabytes (MB) of system memory will reportedly
run Windows applications at about the same speed as on a 80286-
based PC.

Microsoft has also said it is working with Motorola to port Windows
NT to PowerPC, but no date has been announced for the shipment of
that product. Wordperfect Corporation has also said it is preparing
a version of Wordperfect 3.0 to run on the PowerPC Macintosh
platform, and hundreds of software developers are reportedly
preparing software for the competitor to Intel's Pentium
microprocessor.

According to Les Crudele, vice president and general manager of
Motorola's RISC Microprocessor Division, the price and performance
of the 601 will make it popular in PCs from notebooks to
workstations. Motorola says other PowerPC microprocessors will
be available for a full range of embedded control and computing
applications including handheld, portable and desktop computers,
midrange workstations and servers, and fault-tolerant and
supercomputing systems.

The chip uses 2.8 million transistors and an advanced bus interface
that supports a range of computer systems.

(Jim Mallory/19940303/Press Contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola,
512-891-2839)


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

Apple PowerPC Rollout Open To Public In North-West 03/03/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Apple Computer
has invited the public free of charge to two simultaneous
sessions in the Pacific Northwest, where it will officially roll-
out the PowerPC-based Macintosh. Some analysts argue that the
company is trying to get the attention of software giant Microsoft,
headquartered in Redmond, Washington, as well as other software
companies there.

The two events are to occur at 10 am to noon on Monday, March 14.
One will be in Seattle, Washington, at the Meydenbauer Center and
the other in Portland, Oregon, at the Portland Marriott. Both
locations will feature a satellite hook-up with Apple Computer
headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Attendees can expect demonstrations of the new reduced
instruction-set computing (RISC)-based Macintosh as well as
future product announcements, support details, and upgrade
specifics. Apple has already announced Macintosh users can expect
their current software applications to run on the PowerPC
Macintosh and some models of the new computer will reportedly
also include Insignia's Softwindows PC-compatibility software
so MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications can also be used.

The PowerPC has been developed through a cooperative effort on
the part of Apple Computer, IBM, and Motorola and is being marketed
as a direct competitor to Intel's high-end Pentium microprocessor.
While the PowerPC chip is faster than any Macintosh microprocessor
currently available, users can expect slower 386 to 486
performance from applications run in the Softwindows environment.

Motorola, IBM, and Apple are currently after the market share
heavily dominated by Intel's microprocessors and Microsoft's
applications software and operating systems. Analysts are saying
that while the PowerPC microprocessor is expected to gain market
share. But Intel's domination of the microprocessor market is
expected to continue because of the wide range of application
software products available for computers based on its
microprocessors, despite the higher price tag carried by the
Pentium processor.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940303/Press Contact: Ed Steenman,
Steenman & Associates, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00020)

 ****Apple Cuts High-End Powerbook Prices 03/03/94
CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Apple Computer
is again announcing price cuts on its popular line of Powerbook
notebook computers. The reductions of between nine and 14 percent
are mostly in the company's high-end monochrome Powerbooks and
in both color and monochrome models of the Powerbook Duo product
line.

Jim Buckley, president of Apple USA, said: "We want customers to
know they no longer have to pay a premium to enjoy the benefits
of Macintosh. They can have all the ease-of-use, power and
productivity of Macintosh at a price comparable to what they
would pay for a DOS or Windows machine."

The Powerbook 180 with four megabytes (MB) of random access
memory (RAM) and a 120MB hard disk drive has been reduced 11
percent from $2,499 to $2,219. The same model with an express
modem has been cut 10 percent from $2,749 to $2,479. The
Powerbook 180 is powered by a Motorola 68030 processor running
at 33 megahertz (MHz).

The 68030-based Powerbook Duo notebook "docks" with a desktop
station that also uses the processing power and hard disk drive
of the notebook computer, allowing users both desktop and
portable computing. The station may be connected to a local area
network (LAN), have additional hard disk drives or other
peripherals, and a full-size monitor. The price cuts were
announced for the Duo notebooks only and users can expect to pay
about $1,000 more for the desktop station.

The Powerbook Duo 250 with 4MB of RAM and a 200MB hard (4/200)
disk drive has been marked down 14 percent from $2,269 to $1,959.
The 250 model with 12MB of RAM instead of four (12/200), which
also includes an express modem was dropped 11 percent from $2,789
to $2,479. The Duo 270c color version 4/240 was cut 10 percent
from $3,099 to $2,789 and the same model with an express modem
was reduced nine percent from $3,619 to $3,299.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940303/Press Contact: Jayme Curtis, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone]/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00021)

HP Intros New 600 dpi Deskjets, Colorsmart Drivers 03/03/94
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Hewlett-
Packard has announced it is discontinuing four of its popular
Deskjet printers and replacing the models with Deskjets that
deliver higher print quality at twice the print resolution.

The new 600 by 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) Deskjet 520 printer
replaces the company's 300 dpi Deskjet 500 model for the IBM and
compatible personal computer (PC) platform. A Macintosh model,
the Deskwriter 520, offers the same print quality to Macintosh
users replacing the Deskwriter printer model. Both models are
$365.

Color versions of the new printers -- the DeskJet 560C for PCs
and the DeskWriter 560C for Macintosh -- offer the same print
resolution as their black printer counterparts. The Deskjet 560C
replace the company's Deskjet 550C model. The new models are
retail priced at $719.

The new HP models work with both plain paper and a wide
variety of other types of media, including glossy paper and
transparencies.

The printers also feature HP's new Colorsmart technology, which
automatically makes color choices that enhance the quality of
text, charts and photographs, optimizing the color for the
printed page. Using object identification and automation
technologies, the printer analyzes the page to recognize text,
graphic and photographic elements, then sets its own controls to
perform optimally for each element. HP says the end result is
more vivid graphics, including more lifelike photographic images,
while keeping the crispness desired for color text. Colorsmart is
also compatible with application-based and operating-system-based
color management systems, such as Apple Computer's Colorsync.

In black printing models, Colorsmart also can convert color to up
to 256 levels of grayscale, to optimize contrast and clarity for
black-and-white reproduction of color graphics and images. Users
may also take advantage of a manual override function to create
custom effects.

HP is also offering the Colorsmart technology to owners of its
other color printers via software drivers for color printing
under Microsoft Windows. The drivers are available now for owners
of Deskjet 500C, 550C, and 1200C printers and PaintJet XL300
color printers. A Macintosh version of the ColorSmart driver also
is available for Deskwriter C and 550C printers. Users may order
an upgrade kit from the HP Forum on Compuserve or directly from
HP by calling toll-free.

HP officials said the company plans to announce Colorsmart
products for Adobe's Postscript page description language with
Adobe later this year as well as Windows and Macintosh software
drivers for other Deskjet and Deskwriter printers this fall. A
Colorsmart Windows driver for the Designjet 650C color inkjet
plotter has already been announced for availability this summer.

For PCs, the Deskjet 520 and 560C printers include Centronics
parallel interfaces and ship with drivers for Windows 3.1. The
drivers shipped with the printers are compatible with Windows
Print Manager, which reduces lock-out time so users can return to
their applications quickly after sending a print command.

For Macintosh users, the Deskwriter 520 and 560C printers include
Appletalk and serial interfaces and are compatible with Systems
6.07 and above. Another $249 buys the Postscript option adding
Postscript Level 2 printing capability, HP said.

Palo Alto, California-headquartered Hewlett-Packard is the
leader in the world of inkjet printers selling approximately 57
percent of all the black printing inkjet printers and 80 percent
of all color inkjet printers worldwide in 1993. The company
said it shipped more than five million Deskjet printers worldwide
last year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940303/Press Contact: Cathy Plant, Hewlett-
Packard, tel [phone]; Jeri Flinn, Copithorne & Bellows, Jeri
Flinn, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact: HP
Sales, 800-752-0900; Colorsmart Printer Driver Order Line, HP,
tel [phone], fax [phone]/PHOTO)


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

SystemSoft Ships "Plug And Play" Tools For PC Set-Up 03/03/94
NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- SystemSoft
is now shipping a product suite billed as the "first complete set of
software tools" to comply with the Plug and Play Initiative, a
standard aimed at easing PC set-up and simplifying the use of add-
in devices such as PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association) and ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
cards.

Announced in conjunction with Microsoft and Intel, the new suite
from SystemSoft consists of three components, targeted at original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for use in desktop and portable PCs,
said John Newman, VP of the Platform Business Unit, and Karen
Cummings, marketing manager for the SystemSoft business unit,
in an interview with Newsbytes.

"(Plug and Play) will take away the need for end users to have to
delve through manuals and set jumpers and switches whenever
they want to add something -- a sound card, for example -- to the
system. You'll be able to simply open up your system, add a new
card, and close the system," Cummings told Newsbytes.

SystemSoft expects that the first PCs to use its new Plug and Play
products will come to market in 45 to 60 days, the marketing
manager added.

"We're shipping much earlier than people had anticipated. A lot
of the industry has tended to think that they have to wait for
Microsoft's Chicago to start enabling Plug and Play systems.
But the truth is, they can start enabling it today with our new
software suite," she asserted.

The new suite includes Plug and Play (PnP) BIOS and PnPView for
Windows 3.1, a pair of software products developed by SystemSoft,
and the PnP Software Utilities, two modules, constituting a
Configuration Manager and an ISA Configuration Utility, that have
been licensed from Intel Corp. and customized by SystemSoft.
The PnP BIOS will allow PCs to perform as Plug and Play systems now
as well as in the future, when Chicago becomes available, Cummings
said.

PnPView is an interactive Windows application designed to let end
users determine the status of add-in devices in their systems.
Users can also obtain printouts of the configuration status.

If problems do arise with devices, OEM support staff can use phone
discussions with end users employing PnPView, and printouts of the
configuration status, to quickly rectify the situation, thereby
saving on support costs, she noted.

Of the utilities produced by Intel, Configuration Manager is a
module for allocating proper system resources to add-in devices.
ISA Configuration Utility is meant to ease installation of "legacy
ISA cards." Both modules are intended to enhance Plug and Play
capabilities for users currently running either DOS or Windows 3.1.

Newman told Newsbytes that the Plug and Play Initiative is
receiving strong backing from a variety of players in the PC
market, including Microsoft, Intel, and PC manufacturers such as
Compaq.

Assertions by Apple Computer that the Macintosh is easier to set-up
and reconfigure were a major factor in the PC industry's formation
of the specification, he maintained.

In addition to working with newer add-in devices, Plug and Play
products will also eliminate the need to set jumpers and switches
on ISA cards, according to Newman.

Plug and Play can also be used with EISA (Extended Industry
Standard Architecture) add-in devices, but compliance between
EISA and Plug and Play is not entirely automatic, he added.

"EISA is really a hybrid of the old ISA cards and the new cards
coming out today. By its nature, EISA is already somewhat 'plug
and play,'" the vice president said. "We can make EISA cards much
easier to install. But you'll still have to run a separate utility
to software-configure the EISA card."

SystemSoft is in "excellent position" to offer Plug and Play
products, as a result of the company's wide experience in
developing socket and card services and value-added
components for PCMCIA, according to Cummings.

PCMCIA is a "microcosm" of the Plug and Play Initiative, Newman
explained. "Both (specifications) deal with dynamic allocation of
resources. With PCMCIA, you're only concerned with the PCMCIA
bus. In a Plug and Play environment, you're concerned with not
just the PCMCIA bus, but all the other buses on the machine,"
Newsbytes was told.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940303/Reader Contact: SystemSoft, 508-651-
0088; Press Contacts: Paul Sereiko or Karen Cummings, SystemSoft,
508-651-0088; Tim Hurley or Narina Sippy, Copithorne & Bellows
for SystemSoft, 617-252-0606)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

 ****MS-DOS 6.21 Without Doublespace "In The Mail" 03/03/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Microsoft
says MS-DOS 6.21, the latest version of its operating system but
with the data compression feature removed, is on its way to PC
makers and will be available later this month to consumers.

The compression technology, called Doublespace, was removed
after Microsoft lost a patent infringement with Carlsbad,
California-based Stac Electronics and was directed to pay
Stac $120 million.

So far the only people to receive MS-DOS 6.21 are about 1,300
computer makers for shipment with new PCs sold. The company
said European language versions of the software will be winging
their way across the Atlantic within a few days, with other
language versions to follow shortly.

Microsoft spokesperson Madeline Cox told Newsbytes current
users will have to wait until mid-March to get the new version.
Cox said current MS-DOS 6 users will be able to upgrade to
version 6.21 for $9.95. If you use an earlier version of MS-DOS it
will cost $77.95 to upgrade.

(Jim Mallory/19940303/Press Contact: Madeline Cox, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Reader Contact:
Microsoft, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


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

Wordperfect Implements New Support Programs 03/03/94
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Wordperfect has
rolled out two of its new technical support programs for small-
to medium-sized businesses and workgroup applications. The
company says Silver Support and Priority Service programs are
designed to provide access to senior and certified technicians
on an annual contract or per-incident basis.

Wordperfect says Silver Support was developed to serve the
estimated 62 percent of U.S. businesses that have from 50 to
499 personal computers and are already using any Wordperfect
software.

Silver Support provides a single point of contact at each account
for preferred access to technicians during the hours 7am to 6pm
Mountain Standard Time, Monday through Friday. Customers also
receive a subscription to Wordperfect's customer support database
on CD-ROM and to Wordperfect Magazine or Wordperfect for
Windows Magazine. All current and most earlier versions of
Wordperfect products on all platforms are covered. Annual cost
is $2,500.

Wordperfect says Priority Service was developed for registered
users who need customer service beyond the six month toll
free warranty period covered by its free Classic Service. The
warranty period begins with the user's first support call.

Priority Service levies a per-incident charge of $150 on the user's
credit card for Wordperfect Office administration, gateways and
Wordperfect Informs. For each Wordperfect Office client feature of
Dataperfect support incident, the service fee is $25. Priority
Service for workgroup applications is available during the same
hours as Silver Support. Priority Service for business applications,
including Wordperfect, Wordperfect Presentations, and the Borland
Suite, will be available beginning April 4, 1994.

(Jim Mallory/19940303/Press Contact: Lyle Ball, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5060; Reader Contact: Wordperfect,
801-225-5000 or 800-228-9926)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00025)

 ****Undocumented Newton "Easter Eggs" 03/03/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- "Easter eggs"
are hidden and undocumented frivolous functions programmers put
into applications. The Newton has five documented Easter Eggs so
far, including one that puts a stealthy lizard (a Newt) on the
opening screen instead of the familiar drawing of a light bulb.

To get the Newt, Newton users need to go to the Extras drawer,
tap Preferences, then tap Personal. For the country option, which
is highlighted by a diamond, type "Graceland." The next time the
Newton starts, the Newt will appear on the opening screen.

In the notes section, another egg can be found by typing "find
Elvis," highlighting the words by holding the pen down a second
then drawing across, then tapping the permanent Assist option at
the bottom of the screen. By watching carefully, the user will
see "The king was last seen in" and a city picked at random.

To see a list of the developers on the Newton, including a
memorial to Ko Isono, a member of the team who passed away
during the project development, type "about Newton," and press
Assist.

Another egg can be found immediately after pressing the reset
button in the back under the battery compartment cover. To see
it, tap the permanent Undo icon at the bottom of the screen until
an error message appears, then tap the circle between the two
permanent arrow buttons at the bottom (sometimes referred to
as the "belly button"). Two Newton messages will be displayed.
Double tapping on the first makes the time and date appear that
astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon.

One last egg can be found by typing "schedule happy hour Friday"
and then tapping Assist, which suggests a 2:52 pm meeting the
next calendar Friday with Apple Assurance.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940303/Press Contact: Sara Fiola, Fiola Davis
PR for Apple Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00026)

 ****White House Steps Carefully On Japan Trade 03/03/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- The White House is
moving carefully as it tries to nudge Japan toward trade
concessions, hinting that the President may reimpose the Super
301 trade retaliation program by executive order, but so far not
taking that step.

Administration officials, cloaked by anonymity, told both the New
York Times and the Washington Post that reimposition of Super
301 was imminent, but the President himself was noncommittal.

"We haven't made a final decision about how exactly to proceed,"
President Clinton told reporters who asked about the swirling
rumors about Super 301. "We have to figure out what our options
are to proceed now," he said.

On Capitol Hill, US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor told a
House committee that the administration "Will be making
announcements in the near future." Even the threat of beginning
the Super 301 process has been effective in the past. In 1989
the White House rattled the Super 301 saber and Japan agreed to
buy more US telecommunications satellites and supercomputers.

The provision, which Congress added as Section 301 of US trade
law in 1988, allows the administration to identify the worst
offenders of trade law and negotiate with them directly to correct
abuses. If negotiations fail, the president could impose punitive
trade sanctions.

President Reagan agreed to accept the provision only if it had a
limited lifetime and it expired after two years. But the law
contained a provision allowing the president to reinstate it by
executive order, which is the action the White House is now
considering.

During the 1992 campaign, Clinton said he would reinstate Super
301. Some of his aides, including Laura D'Andrea Tyson, chairman
of the Council of Economic Advisers, have backed the use of the
Super 301 trade hammer.

Most agree that Super 301 is largely symbolic, although it is a
potent symbol. "It has the great virtue of being useless," former
deputy USTR Julius Katz told Peter Behr of the Washington Post.
"It doesn't add anything to the arsenal the president now has. All
it does is force you through a process."

But the trade weapon can backfire. If it actually gets invoked, it
could harden Japanese resolve to resist the trade pressure. In
Tokyo, for instance, a top trade official told reporters that "such
a unilateral approach to solving trade disputes will result in a
shrinkage of world trade," and threatened to take the issue to the
GATT, or General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) if Washington
tries to impose the Super 301 process.

"Our dilemma is that it is inherently difficult to calibrate these
things carefully," a trade official who requested anonymity told
Newsbytes. "We want to push Japan, particularly on the cellular
phone issue, but we don't want to push them over the edge."

(Kennedy Maize/19940303)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00027)

IBM Federal Systems Lands Big Contract & New Owner 03/03/94
GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- IBM Federal
Systems has landed a major new contract and a new owner, all in
the span of two days.

First, IBM's very successful unit that targets the computer needs
of the federal government landed a $1.3 billion, 15-year contract
to help the Internal Revenue Service turn your tax returns into
digital images. The next day, Loral Corp., closed its $1.58 billion
purchase of the business from Big Blue.

The names on the building have changed, but the nameplates at the
desks are the same. Loral Chairman Bernard Schwartz wrote a
letter to the Federal Systems' employees, promising to keep the
current management and asking employees to stay on.

IBM announced last November that its federal division was for
sale and picked New York City-based Loral as the buyer on December
13.

Under the IRS contract, Loral will head a team to design a system
to scan completed IRS forms and then subtract the image of the
form itself, leaving the information. That information, including
handwriting, would be covered to data and stored electronically.
The system should mean faster refunds and dispute resolution and
better tracking of tax cheaters. Today, the IRS converts returns to
computer-accessible data by manually entering the data by
keyboard, a system the service says is slow and error-prone.

"This contract is one of our largest," Loral spokesman Mark Root
told Newsbytes. "It is extremely significant for us." According to
Root, Loral is also working with the IRS to replace its nationwide
data communications system and is installing new mainframes
and software upgrades at its Martinsburg, W.Va., data center.

The company is also doing imaging work at the Environmental
Protection Agency, providing global positioning system software
for the Air Force, and working with the Health and Human
Services Department.

Loral also has a major contract with the Federal Aviation
Administration to modernize the air traffic control system. But
that contract has run into problems, including cost overruns,
prompting FAA Administrator David Hinton to initiate a "top to
bottom" review of the contract last month. The results have not
been announced.

The new IRS cost-plus-award contract began with an initial
payment of $66 million. "We started work immediately," Root said.
Subcontractors on the job include Eastman Kodak and a Washington
computer firm, Kendrick & Co. Installation of the new system is
scheduled to begin in 1995 in Austin, Texas.

(Kennedy Maize/19940303/Contact: Mark Root, Loral,
301-240-7277)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00028)

AEA Says Business Values Will Drive Info Superhighway 03/03/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- It is not the 500
channels of television that turns on US high-tech executives when
they look at the information superhighway. Instead, it is the
business competitiveness and jobs they believe the national
information infrastructure will create that grabs their attention.

That is the conclusion of a survey of its 3,000 members by the
American Electronics Association, the Washington trade
association for the high-tech industries.

More than eight out of 10 business leaders surveyed said increased
business efficiency is a top reason for constructing an information
superhighway. More than half said their business would become
more responsive to customer needs and find new strategic
applications from the information infrastructure.

"This survey's results should recalibrate public perception of the
information superhighway," said Eric Benhamou, president of 3Com
and head of AEA's task force on the infrastructure. "High technology
companies are sending a clear message that business
competitiveness - and the resulting job creation - should be the
force driving development of the NII. Five hundred channels of
television and multimedia entertainment are secondary benefits."

Nine out of 10 executives surveyed by the University of Southern
California's Center for Telecommunications Management said they
believe the information superhighway will benefit education,
with 70 percent seeing benefits to health care, national defense,
and law enforcement.

"Our members are on the cutting edge of this initiative," said
Richard Iverson, president of AEA, "supplying most of the
construction workers on the information superhighway. It will
create whole new industries, much like the interstate highway
system spawned Holiday Inns, McDonalds, and UPS."

What role should government play in creating the information
superhighway? More than 90 percent said government should
remove legal and jurisdictional barriers on the information
highway, and 70 percent said government should protect
intellectual property on the infopike.

But 65 percent said they did not want the government to invest
in actually deployment of the network, although 41 percent said
government should invest in pre-competitive technology and
research.

The Southern Cal researchers sent one survey form to each of AEA's
3,000 members last December. Through mid-January, nearly 400
were returned. This, said AEA, "Constitutes a statistically valid
sample with an overall margin of uncertainty of about five percent
on the tabulation of any particular answer."

Companies responding included 68 with one to 20 employees, 97
companies with 21 to 100 employees, 122 with 101 to 500
employees, 51 companies with between 501 and 2,500 employees,
29 with between 2,501 and 10,000 employees, and 18 companies
with more than 10,000 employees.

(Kennedy Maize/19940303/Press Contact: Jon Englund, AEA,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

Software Development '94 Expo Set For San Jose 03/03/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- San Jose
Convention Center finishes with Intermedia today and prepares for
the next computer industry conference and exhibition. More than
100 new products are expected to be announced at Software
Development '94 & Business Software Solutions Conference &
Exhibition, scheduled for March 14-18.

The conference is designed to exhibit the latest development tools
and techniques for professional developers and IS (information
systems) managers on the language, development and client/server
tools arena.

At the show, sponsored by Miller Freeman Inc., major software
companies will make announcements regarding their latest
strategies and products. The show consists of a conference
section which begins on March 14  and the exhibits/trade show
section opening on March 15. Attendees with the trade show pass
will be allowed to attend four hours of educational sessions.

Microsoft will provide details of their object strategy and OLE
(object linking and embedding) and provide information to aide
developers working with Chicago and Cairo. Their line of 1994
Visual C++ products will be announced March 15 in the ball room.
Oracle will announce their latest server product and Borland
will demonstrate a new version of Borland C++.  Symantec plans
to announce a new Macintosh compiler -- Symantec C++ for
Macintosh 7.0.

Entry to the trade show is free for those with show passes or by
pre-registering and completing a telephone questionnaire. The
entry fee at the door is $50 for the three-day trade show.
Conference fees vary from $1,195 for a VIP pass, to three and
two-day passes at $895 and $795 respectively.

Miller Freeman expects approximately 15,000 attendees for the
trade show and 1,200 for the conferences.

(Patrick McKenna/1994/Press Contacts: Jim Adams, Adams &
Assoc., 408-436-2345; Fern Leaf, Miller Freeman Inc.,
415-905-2540; Pre-registration, 214-245-6358 or
415-905-4928)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00030)

Lotus Extends Organizer PIM To Mac 03/03/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- Lotus is
shipping Organizer Release 1.1 Scheduling for the Macintosh, a
product designed to provide group scheduling in cross-platform
Lotus cc:Mail environments that include Mac clients.

The first edition of Organizer for Macintosh shares a common file
format with Organizer 1.1 for Windows, allowing Mac as well as
Windows users to view or update Organizer files regardless of the
platform where the files were created, officials said.

Billed as the largest selling PIM (personal information manager) in
the industry. Organizer crossed the one million user mark on
February 15.  The new release represents the vendor's first step in
extending the product's scheduling capabilities to environments
other than Windows, according to a spokesperson.

Organizer 1.1 for Macintosh does not include all the capabilities
available on the Windows side, but does provide the same scheduling
and calendaring, and also adds a new feature, "30-day Calendar
View," not available in Organizer for Windows.

The notebook metaphor on the Macintosh scheduler includes
Calendar and To Do modules, as well as the ability to "double-book"
appointments or meetings.

For cross-platform scheduling, the Organizer user employs the mail
system's directory services to choose meeting attendees, the
company said. The user is then able to view the availability of
all those being invited, regardless of whether they are Windows or
Macintosh users.

Once the meeting request is sent, attendees are notified via
cc:Mail of the meeting's time, location, and subject matter.
Message recipients can respond to the meeting invitation by
clicking "accept," "decline," "delegate," or "defer."

Meeting responses are handled by the Lotus Organizer Scheduling
Agent, which acts as a process running on networked PCs. The agent
delivers meeting information to a user's cc:Mail inbox and also
manages automatic updating of meeting status and calendars for
Organizer users.

When a user accepts a meeting invitation, the originator's
scheduling agent automatically updates the meeting status for the
meeting chairperson, officials added.

Organizer 1.0 for Windows shipped in August 1992, and Organizer 1.1
for Windows in August, 1993. The product is also a key component
in Smartsuite 2.1, a suite of five applications from Lotus for
individuals, small offices, home businesses and corporate users.

The PIM has earned a number of industry awards, including a 1993
Technical Excellence Award from PC Magazine, a 1993 World Class
Award from PC World, a "Best Buy for 1993" selection from Computer
Shopper, and two "Editor's Pick" selections -- in 1993 and 1994 --
from Home Office Computing.

Lotus Organizer 1.1 Scheduling for the Macintosh is available
immediately. Pricing is $149 for a single user, and $116, $99, $83
and $66 per user, respectively, for 10, 20, 50- and 100-user multi-
license packs.

The product requires an Apple Macintosh running System 6.0.8 or
higher, including System 7, as well as Lotus cc:Mail for Macintosh
2.0 or higher. MultiFinder is a requirement if System 6.0.8 is
being used.

Memory requirements are three megabytes (MB) minimum and
4MB recommended for System 6.08 environments and 4MB
minimum and 5MB recommended for System 7 environments.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940303/Reader Contact: Lotus, 617-577-
8500; Press Contacts: Dan Chmielewski or Victor Cruz,
McGlinchey & Paul for Lotus, 617-862-4514)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 03/03/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 MAR 3 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Motorola's PowerPC Powers Parsytec Supercomputer 03/03/94
Motorola has announced  that its new PowerPC 601 microprocessor,
slated to be the brains  of new Macintoshes expected soon, is also to
be the processing muscle in the Powerxplorer massively parallel
processing (mpp) supercomputer from Parsytec.

2 -> Toshiba & Motorola To Produce 16Mb DRAM 03/03/94 Toshiba and
Motorola will jointly produce a 16-megabit (Mb) dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) at their joint venture firm -- Tohoku  Semiconductor --
in northern Japan.

3 -> Japan - Thin Modem Card & LAN Adaptor For Mac Debut 03/03/94
Mitsubishi Electric has developed an extra-thin modem card for Apple
Computer's  Macintosh platform, which is based on both Japanese and
American industry standards. It will cost 70,000 yen ($700).

4 -> Netherlands - Stockbroking Fraud Uncovered 03/03/94 The Dutch
Fraud Squad has arrested the three former directors of bankrupt
Amsterdam stockbroking firm Nusse Brink. The three men -- Rob  Nusse,
Eric Brink and Herman Misdorp -- are suspected of  fraudulent
securities dealings using their computer system and  culpable
bankruptcy.

5 -> Telephone Banking In Austria Gets Thumbs Down 03/03/94 According
to three Austrian banks -- Creditanstalt-Bankverein (CA), Bank Austria
(BA), and Oesterreichische Postsparkasse (PSK) -- which have launched
telephone banking services known, respectively, as Teleservice,
Kontofon and Telefonservice, the services are not gaining  acceptance
among customers.

6 -> Compuserve UK Launches Travel Guides Online 03/03/94 Compuserve
UK,  the UK operation of the giant US online service, has announced it
is offering four travel guides compiled by the Automobile Association
on its system.

7 -> Is Microsoft An Uninterrupted Success Story? - Report 03/03/94
According to Ovum, the  research and consultancy service, Microsoft's
annual report for the  year ending June, 1993, predicted that the
company does not expect  1994 revenue growth to be as high as in 1993.
Ovum has revealed  that the company's prediction was correct, as
growth in the second  quarter ended December 31, 1993, was 20 percent
compared with  31 percent a year prior.

8 -> "TaxCut Final" Software For PC Adds Multimedia 03/03/94 "The home
office deduction is a very sweet deduction. You get to deduct for
things that you would have spent money on anyway," said Dan  Caine,
speaking to Newsbytes from video running on a notebook PC.

9 -> Canon Sets Up PowerPC Firm In US 03/03/94 Canon says it has
created a subsidiary in the US to develop computers based on the
PowerPC  architecture.

10 -> Japan - Fujitsu In 21 University LAN Purchase Deals 03/03/94
Fujitsu says it has signed deals with 21 Japanese universities to
provide local area  network (LAN) systems.

11 -> Teachers' Union Trialing AOL, Prodigy 03/03/94 The American
Federation of Teachers (AFT) has signed deals with both Prodigy and
America Online and will encourage its 835,000 members to try both
services. The AFT, a unit of the AFL-CIO, is the nation's second
largest teachers' organization after the National Education
Association (NEA).

12 -> Georgia State Univ Using Cable Network As Testbed 03/03/94
Georgia State  University won new support for its use of a cable
television  network in testing new concepts in communications.

13 -> Education RoundUp 03/03/94 Both Houses of  Congress moved to
re-authorize Chapter One, the main vehicle by  which many public
schools purchase computers and software,  following an angry debate
over home schooling.

14 -> Republican Lawyer Nominated To FCC 03/03/94 President Clinton
has finally moved to fill an open Republican seat on the Federal
Communications Commission, naming San Francisco lawyer  Rachelle Chong
for the post.

15 -> Unitel Wants Long-Distance Balloting In Canada 03/03/94 Unitel
Communications Inc., a near-nationwide long-distance telephone
carrier, has called for telephone subscribers across Canada to vote
for their long-distance carriers.

16 -> Corel Offers Flowcharting Package For PC 03/03/94 Corel Corp.,
best known for its CorelDraw graphics software, has announced a
diagramming and flowcharting package called CorelFlow. The software is
intended for business users who need to create diagrams and flowcharts
quickly, the company said.

17 -> Cray Research Intros Deskside Simulation Server 03/03/94 Cray
Research has introduced a deskside simulation server supercomputer
that the company claims has twice the performance of its predecessor.

18 ->  ****Motorola Cuts PowerPC Chip Pricing 03/03/94 Motorola has
announced  a 15 percent price reduction for its PowerPC 601
microprocessor.

19 -> Apple PowerPC Rollout Open To Public In North-West 03/03/94
Apple Computer has invited the public free of charge to two
simultaneous sessions in the Pacific Northwest, where it will
officially roll- out the PowerPC-based Macintosh. Some analysts argue
that the  company is trying to get the attention of software giant
Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, as well as other
software companies there.

20 ->  ****Apple Cuts High-End Powerbook Prices 03/03/94 Apple
Computer is again announcing price cuts on its popular line of
Powerbook notebook computers. The reductions of between nine and 14
percent are mostly in the company's high-end monochrome Powerbooks and
in both color and monochrome models of the Powerbook Duo product line.

21 -> HP Intros New 600 dpi Deskjets, Colorsmart Drivers 03/03/94
Hewlett- Packard has announced it is discontinuing four of its popular
Deskjet printers and replacing the models with Deskjets that  deliver
higher print quality at twice the print resolution.

22 -> SystemSoft Ships "Plug And Play" Tools For PC Set-Up 03/03/94
SystemSoft  is now shipping a product suite billed as the "first
complete set of software tools" to comply with the Plug and Play
Initiative, a standard aimed at easing PC set-up and simplifying the
use of add- in devices such as PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association) and ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
cards.

23 ->  ****MS-DOS 6.21 Without Doublespace "In The Mail" 03/03/94
Microsoft says MS-DOS 6.21, the latest version of its operating system
but  with the data compression feature removed, is on its way to PC
makers and will be available later this month to consumers.

24 -> Wordperfect Implements New Support Programs 03/03/94 Wordperfect
has rolled out two of its new technical support programs for small- to
medium-sized businesses and workgroup applications. The  company says
Silver Support and Priority Service programs are designed to provide
access to senior and certified technicians  on an annual contract or
per-incident basis.

25 ->  ****Undocumented Newton "Easter Eggs" 03/03/94 "Easter eggs"
are hidden and undocumented frivolous functions programmers put into
applications. The Newton has five documented Easter Eggs so far,
including one that puts a stealthy lizard (a Newt) on the opening
screen instead of the familiar drawing of a light bulb.

26 ->  ****White House Steps Carefully On Japan Trade 03/03/94 The
White House is  moving carefully as it tries to nudge Japan toward
trade  concessions, hinting that the President may reimpose the Super
301 trade retaliation program by executive order, but so far not
taking that step.

27 -> IBM Federal Systems Lands Big Contract & New Owner 03/03/94 IBM
Federal  Systems has landed a major new contract and a new owner, all
in  the span of two days.

28 -> AEA Says Business Values Will Drive Info Superhighway 03/03/94
It is not the 500  channels of television that turns on US high-tech
executives when  they look at the information superhighway. Instead,
it is the  business competitiveness and jobs they believe the national
information infrastructure will create that grabs their attention.

29 -> Software Development '94 Expo Set For San Jose 03/03/94 San Jose
Convention Center finishes with Intermedia today and prepares for  the
next computer industry conference and exhibition. More than  100 new
products are expected to be announced at Software  Development '94 &
Business Software Solutions Conference &  Exhibition, scheduled for
March 14-18.

30 -> Lotus Extends Organizer PIM To Mac 03/03/94 Lotus is  shipping
Organizer Release 1.1 Scheduling for the Macintosh, a product designed
to provide group scheduling in cross-platform  Lotus cc:Mail
environments that include Mac clients.

(Ian Stokell/19940303)