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/nb040794

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(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00001)

Signature Verification System 04/07/94
FROME, SOMERSET, ENGLAND, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Peripheral Vision has
developed PenOp, a signature verification system that it claims can
be used in a variety of security situations.

According to the company, the package can be used in situations such
as prescription verification, credit card and bank loan
applications, as well as in the insurance trade, in addition to the
more traditional banking applications.

Company officials claim that the software designed to interface with
third-party software packages such as home banking or even a login
system for a company network. In use, the package requires a pen-
based computer or a computer digitizing pad, in order to record the
shape, stroke order, direction and velocity of the pen.

This information is checked against a database, which is updated as
the customer uses the system regularly, in order to return a
probability level of authenticity. This probability level can be set
by the user, or by the software itself.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940406/Press & Public Contact: Peripheral Vision -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00002)

Japan - Digital Camera Links To Computer 04/07/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Japan's Olympus has
developed a digital still camera that transmits its photographs
directly into a PC.

At Communications Tokyo, a trade show, Olympus linked with Fujitsu
to demonstrate the unit's ability to transfer its photo data
on Fujitsu's digital cellular phone to its personal computer.

The digital still camera, called the VC-1100, is equipped
with a PC card based on the Japanese standard called
JEIDA. The data compression and expansion technology is based
on the a world graphics standard called JPEG.

The VC-1100 has a color LCD (liquid crystal display) viewfinder,
and also an instant replay feature which will enable the user
to check the pictorial data before transmission. The camera
has an auto-dial feature, as well.

At the show, the camera was connected to Fujitsu's digital phone
called the Digital Mova-F and the data was transmitted
through Fujitsu's personal computer-based telecommunication
network Nifty-Serve. A connection with a personal computer was
also made, and the digital data was transmitted to the
personal computer via modem. The camera supports a 2,400bps data
transmission rate.

This digital still camera will be released on June 1.
The retail price will be 348,000 yen ($3,480). The battery kit,
the IC memory card, and cable will be sold for an extra
95,000 yen ($950).

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940406/Press Contact: Olympus, +81-3-
3340-2174, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00003)

Japan - Workstation Sales Up 15% 04/07/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- IDC Japan, a subsidiary of
International Data Corporation in the US, has released a report
on sales and shipment of workstations in the Japanese
market in 1993. Shipments and sales have increased 15.3% over
those of 1992.

According to IDC Japan, 145,5910 workstations were
shipped in Japan in 1993, a 15.3-percent increase over 1992.
Sales were 505.4 billion yen ($5.54 million), which was
10.6 percent increase over 1992.

IDC Japan contends that demand for the business workstation
segment of the market had the largest increase. In 1992,
37,000 business workstations were shipped. However, in 1993,
55,000 business workstations went to market, a whopping
48.6-percent increase over 1992.

Among workstation makers, Sun Microsystems Japan gained
the No.1 position in sales of workstations in Japan. The firm
sold 39,700 workstations in 1993 and has a 27.7 percent share
in the workstation market in Japan. Sun Microsystems Japan
also had first place in 1992. The firm's SPARC Classic, the
Classic Server and the Server 10 are selling well, says IDC Japan.

In second place, Yokogawa Hewlett-Packard sold 24,300 units,
and has a 16.7-percent share. In third place is Fujitsu, which
made 19,700 sales and has a 13.5-percent share. In fourth place
is NEC, which gained 16.300 sales and has an 11.2-percent
share. The rest had the following shares: Hitachi (5.8 percent),
IBM Japan (4.7 percent), Japan Digital Equipment (4.1
percent) and Sony (3.5 percent).

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940406/Press Contact: IDC Japan, +81-
3-5467-4304, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00004)

Japan's NTT Seeks 18% Rate Rise, Links With Motorola 04/07/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Japan's major domestic telephone
carrier, NTT, wants a huge hike in basic phone rates of 18 percent.
If approved, however, the rise would be the first basic fee
hike in 17 years. The matter is before Japan's Posts &
Telecommunication Ministry. Meanwhile, NTT will receive a
supply of Personal Handy Phones from Motorola in an effort
to avoid criticism about Japan's partly closed market by the US
trade representatives.

According to the NTT plan, an 18-percent raise is sought in
the monthly basic phone fee. The monthly basic fee for a home phone
user is currently 1,550 yen ($15.50), which would go up by
200 yen ($2) if the rate hike is approved. NTT wants to
increase rates by October.

The major reason for this hike is to offset lost profits
from NTT's long distance service due to competition
from other phone firms, so the company claims. NTT had
to lower long distance rates several times in the past in order
to stay competitive.

Meanwhile, NTT has welcomed Motorola to its Personal Handy
Phone project currently underway. The Personal Handy Phone
is a digital internal phone, which functions as a
quasi-cellular phone. This phone come with a "parent" phone,
which is located at home. The user with the auxiliary unit
will be able to make phone calls away from home within a
radius of about 200 meters of the parent unit.

NTT has conducted experiments with this Personal Handy
Phone in Sapporo, Hokkaido in Japan, and now will start
the same tests on April 5 in Tokyo. Ground relay bases and
phone units are already supplied by Japanese phone makers
including NEC and Matsushita Telecommunication. This means
that enough units are in place to conduct the experiments.
Motorola will need to start from scratch to create additional
units. Industry analysts are speculating that the only
reason for the Motorola alliance at this late date is to
avoid criticism from the US.

On the other hand, the Personal Handy Phone market is seen
as potentially lucrative. Projections have 40 million units
being sold within 15 years.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940404/Press Contact: NTT, +81-3-
3509-3101, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TYO)(00005)

Japan's Info Superhighway Update 04/07/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Japan's information
superhighway project is underway with the backing of the
Japanese Posts & Telecommunication Ministry. Meanwhile, the
Ministry has linked with the Korean government in an
experimental next-generation telecommunication project in the
Kansai area in Japan.

Three major Japanese electronics firms, NEC, Fujitsu
and Hitachi, have created the "Super-fast Network
Computer Technology Institute." Located in Tokyo, the
organization has seventy percent its total funding of
30 million yen ($300,000) from the Basic Technology Laboratory
Development Center, an affiliate of the Posts & Telecommunication
Ministry. NEC, Fujitsu, and Hitachi paid 10 percent each for
their shares of the new firm.

A member of NEC's board of directors, Seijiro Yokoyama, has
assumed the presidency of this new firm.

The new firm will develop computer and network systems
including protocol and real-time multimedia data
transmission technologies. The goal is to create 2.4 gigabit
data transmission technology within 3 to 4 years.

Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and
Korea's President Kim Yong Sum have reached an agreement
concerning Korea's participation in Japan's telecommunication
project in the Kansai area. The New Generation Telecommunication
Network Pilot Model Project already has the participation of
100 firms including UK Cable & Wireless and Northern Telecom
of Canada.

The project aims to create next generation telecommunication
technologies including "video-on-demand." The network
will be linked with home users in Korea. It is expected that these
new technologies will be shared by each participating firm.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940404/Press Contact: Posts &
Telecommunication Ministry, Press Bureau, [phone], Fax,
 [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00006)

Computervision to Market Indian CAD SW Abroad 04/07/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- The CAD software
originally developed for use in the Indian light combat
aircraft project by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA)
will be marketed abroad by Computervision Corp. At the same
time, ADA will provide technical support for CADDS 5 software from
Computervision, which has appointed Advanced Synergic Microsystems
Ltd., as its master distributor in India.

The software developed by ADA is designed for sheet metal design,
aerodynamic analysis, and composite modelling. Computervision plans to
integrate these applications into the CADDS products line and
remarket them outside India.

The technical support, to be provided by ADA, will focus on
mechanical engineering design and manufacturing. Available through
Computervision's distributor channel, ADA's technical support would
also cover CADDS current installed base in India.

"Computer Vision gains access to the Indian market through working
with an organization that is involved in CAD/CAM and has experience
both as user of advanced fighter aircraft design work as well as an
application software developer. And ADA gets access to worldwide
markets through our sales channels," says Russ Plantizer, chairman
and chief executive officer, Computervision.

At the same time, Computervision has appointed ASML as its master
distributor in India. Its CADDS software is already available in
India, through three resellers: Digital Equipment India Ltd., Wipro
Infotech Ltd., and International Data Management Ltd.

ASML will market the software directly and also provide it to
existing resellers. The Bangalore-based firm hopes to gross Rs 3
crore through sales of Computervision's software in 1994-95.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19940406)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

A New Receiving Technology 04/07/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Metro
Wireless Interactive has executed a letter of intent to distribute
and market a satellite signal receiving system from Processing
Research Inc., Vienna, Virginia. The system which Metro Wireless
will distribute is called Vector Integration Processing
Receiver, or VIPR, and replaces a satellite receiver's low noise
amplifier with an antenna about the size of a portable cellular
phone, greatly increasing its capabilities.

With VIPR, a small dish antenna gets the capabilities of a
10-meter dish, with the same "bit error rate."

Newsbytes discussed the new technology with Dr. William
Bloodworth, an Atlanta native and now president of Processing
Research. He pointed out it can be applied to many other
industries besides satellite receivers. "We're working with
cellular telephone people, radar, almost any broadcast-band
signal" can use the technology, he said. "We've demonstrated an
ability to use rabbit ears instead of a mast on an apartment
building as antenna," for instance.

"What we do has nothing to do with satellites per-se," he
continued. "What we do is provide anywhere from 25-35 decibels of
increased signal-noise ratio, processing the gain. We've
demonstrated you can replace a 10-meter dish and use a dipole on
a KU-band transponder with the same error rate. We provide the
gain and noise diminution that allows you to, in some cases, use a
much smaller antenna. A normal parabaloid might give 5-15
decibels of gain on a normal dipole, and if you can increase it
you get a gain. Or you can increase the signal-noise ratio on
the same antenna, as Metro Wireless will do."

The present technology is a small device, about two inches by
four inches by three inches, "but ultimately we'll put it on
a chip. We'll do that quickly with an application specific
integrated circuit," or ASIC.

"There are four patents on this," Bloodworth continued. "The
technology has been around for many years. It was investigated at
Bell Labs in the 30s, but only recently has the equipment been
available to implement it. The inventor was the late "Clarence
Stewart, who really started it in 1965, and off-and-on worked on
it. I worked on it some years. But as it stands today it's about
four years old. We've had some success in it with the military --
we did a classified contract."

The best way to understand the technology, Bloodworth continued,
is using its original name, Coherent On Receive Only, or CORO.
It's much like TV or fax technology, in that it was understood
long before it could be implemented economically. "The
limitations are frequency and processing speed. You need a very
fast processor. If you work in the baseband you can get
considerably more gain than at 1 GHz." Here's how it works. "We
take a time epoch, maybe one microsecond, and divide it into 1,000
time slots. We digitize an angle on each, convert it to
rectangular and add it to the previous time slot with the same
angle. That requires a fast processor at high frequencies, and
it's still the limitation." But at low frequencies it can be
implemented quickly. "It completely eliminates AM static."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940406/Press Contact: Metro Wireless
Interactive, Kenny Green, 310/446-1687; Processing Research,
William T. Bloodworth, 703/893-0686)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00008)

New Company Focuses On Original Music For Multimedia 04/07/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Interoctave, a
new multimedia company, is focused on producing custom music for
multimedia titles. Interoctave's head, Bob Safir, asserts movies
have music composed to emphasize visual effects, so why not
multimedia?

Safir describes his background as having published his first song
at age 17. He is founder of the Track Record recording studio in
Hollywood where Billy Idol, Brian Wilson, Jane's Addiction,
Foreigner, and Canned Heat, have all recorded. Safir also said he
has worked on music for computer industry companies E-mu Systems
and Microsoft.

"Music is the part of any product that delivers emotional
impact," Safir asserts. But his contention is that in multimedia,
the emotional elements have been ignored, with the exception of
the music in two recent multimedia titles, Seventh Guest from
Virgin, and Myst, which is distributed by Broderbund. Both titles
have received praise from the multimedia industry.

"Most of the development energy so far has been focused on the
technical and graphic aspects of multimedia with little attention
being paid to the emotional facets of it," notes Safir. "People
say we must concentrate on content, content, content. Music has
the ability to make content clear... It is the fastest route to
engaging the audience whether it is for interactive learning,
entertainment, or a sales presentation."

Safir claims he has connections in Los Angeles, Nashville, and
the San Francisco Bay Area for composers, musicians, voice-over
talent, and sound effect designers. Interoctave operates both in
San Francisco and Los Angeles, the company said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940406/Press Contact: Bob Safir, Interoctave,
tel [phone] or 213-629-0101)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)

Knowledgeware Intros Development Tool 04/07/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Knowledgeware has
announced Objectview Desktop, a new version of its visual
client/server development tool Objectview.

The company said Objectview Desktop is positioned to compete with
Powersoft's Powerbuilder Desktop. "We are so confident that
Objectview Desktop is easier to use and will result in faster
applications that I encourage developers to try Objectview Desktop
and Powerbuilder Desktop side by side," said Knowledgeware
President Donald Addington.

Objectview Desktop is a scalable development tool targeted for PC
and xBase-class developers writing SQL-based client/server
applications. It includes native database drivers for Oracle,
Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server and Informix. The company also
provides drivers for middleware connections to nearly 75 databases
and database servers via MDI Gateway, Q+E, ODBC and EDA/SQL and
PC database applications dBase, Foxpro, Btrieve, Paradox and
Clipper.

The company says it will distribute Objectview Desktop via mail
order, catalog sales, distributors and resellers. Automated
support services will include hotline support for individual
developers, a toll-free chargeback credit line for government
agencies and international users, and a corporate support package
for large installations.

Knowledgeware will conduct Objectview Desktop workshops for
developers in 50 cities across North America and Europe during the
months of April, May, and June 1994. Knowledgeware spokesperson
Denese Van Dyne told Newsbytes the first workshops would be held
in Atlanta, Georgia, Manhattan, New York and Troy, Michigan April
27, 1994. Arlington, Virginia and Ft Lauderdale, Florida workshops
are scheduled on April 28; and Quebec and New Orleans are
scheduled for May 3. Contact Knowledgeware for the remainder of the
schedule.

The product is scheduled to ship in mid-April at an introductory
price of $199 with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The regular
suggested retail price of Objectview Desktop is $499. Van Dyne told
Newsbytes the introductory pricing would be for an indefinite
period.

The company has also announced an original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) and joint development relationship with Gupta Corporation to
integrate its SQLbase RDBMS (relational database management
system) with Objectview Desktop and Objectview Enterprise. The
combined products will be marketed worldwide by Knowledgeware.
Users who purchase the new Objectview Desktop get a no-fee license
Gupta SQLBase upgrade, which is scheduled to be available in late
April 1994.

Users can upgrade from Objectview Desktop to the complete Objectview
Enterprise toolkit, which includes Objectview Application
Management, Objectview Application Overview, Objectview Language
API (application program interface), and the Objectview Messaging
and Control Library, for $2,800. Initial purchasers of Objectview
Enterprise who haven't previously purchased Objectview Desktop
will pay $3,200.

(Jim Mallory/19940406/Press contact: Denese Van Dyne,
Knowledgeware, 404-231-3510, ext 2345; Reader contact: Knowledgeware
Inc, 404-231-3510)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00010)

Mac Version Planned For eNote Messaging Software 04/07/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- E Ware, a division
of Visual Cybernetics, is adding a Macintosh/Power Macintosh
edition to its emerging line of eNote "instant pop-up" messaging
software.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Obi Taiwan, VP of the New York
City-based software company, said that the new eNote for Macintosh
is being "built as a native Power Macintosh application," but that
the package will also be backward compatible with 68K-based
Macintoshes running System 7 and "late System 6."

The Mac/Power Mac version, which is scheduled to ship July 1, will
be fully compatible, as well, with E Ware's existing eNote for
Windows and upcoming eNote for cc:Mail and eNote Mobile, he added.

The cc:Mail version will become available on April 15, and the
mobile edition on June 1, according to Taiwan. Both of these two
upcoming products from E Ware will be Windows-based. The eNote for
cc:Mail package will work with the Lotus cc:Mail directory.

The VP told Newsbytes that, although many messaging systems give
the user pop-up alerts when electronic mail arrives, eNote is the
only product, to his knowledge, that instantly displays the full
text of the message on the recipient's screen.

Furthermore, unlike many competing products, eNote allows "any
size, any type, and any number of files" to be attached to a mail
message, he maintained.

The eNote messages can be up to 64K in size, or roughly equivalent
to full-screen, in contrast to the 25K limit imposed by some
messaging systems, according to Taiwan. The only restriction on the
number of eNote messages that can be sent or received is the amount
of available hard disk space, he pointed out.

"Also, memory is not an issue, because unlike many other products,
eNote is not a TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) program,"
Newsbytes was told.

Decision-makers at E Ware opted to bring out a Macintosh/Power
Macintosh edition to enhance the "groupware functionality" of
eNote, according to the VP. "If there are Macintoshes at a
company, people want to include the Macintoshes in the
communications process, even if the company has only 10 Macs in
comparison to 50 or 60 PCs," he illustrated.

E Ware expects Macintosh users to be migrating to the Power Mac in
the future, Taiwan observed. The eNote for Mac package will provide
the same functionality as E Ware's trio of products for Windows, he
added.

In another interview with Newsbytes, Brad Briggs, creative director
for E Ware, explained that eNote is designed to prevent the need to
exit from a desktop application in order to access messages and
attached files.

Users perform all messaging functions from a small floating control
panel that can be dragged and dropped on top of any Windows or
Macintosh application, according to Briggs.

To send an eNote message, the user types in the message, drags the
message over an icon representing the recipient, and releases the
mouse button. The full text of the message then pops up in a
"sticky note" on the recipient's screen, he said.

E Ware's messaging system organizes eNote messages into folders,
and permits the user to search for stored messages by such criteria
as author, date, and subject, according to the creative director.

Taiwan told Newsbytes that E Ware has not yet decided how far back
to go in making the new Mac/Power Mac edition backward-compatible.
"It will probably be backward-compatible to System 6.04," the VP
said.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940406/Reader Contact: E Ware, 212-564-7791;
Press Contact: Maggie Buerger, 516-883-4944, or Rob Anderson, 212-
696-4374, Buerger Media & Marketing for E Ware)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(BOS)(00011)

Boston Technology Brings "Virtual Phone Services" To China 04/07/94
WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Boston
Technology Inc. (BTI), a Wakefield, Massachusetts-based provider of
enhanced phone services such as voice/fax mailboxing and call
answering, has signed a $1.5 million contract to supply "virtual
phone services" to the Changsha Telecom Bureau, a phone company in
the capital of China's Hunan province.

"China represents an extraordinary opportunity for telephone
service providers, as well as for telecom equipment suppliers,"
said Paul Lacey, VP and general manager of International at Boston
Technology, in an interview with Newsbytes.

Lacey told Newsbytes that Boston Technology has previously sold
phone services to phone companies in other Far Eastern markets,
including Japan and Hong Kong, with "very successful" results.
Although telephone installation rates in China are currently quite
low, BTI expects that China will emerge as one of its top three
markets worldwide, he added.

The Chinese government is showing "great willingness" to invest in
its telephone infrastructure, according to Lacey. Still, even with
"substantial infusions," the number of phone lines per capita in
China will remain below the international norm for some time, he
maintained.

To address this situation, Boston Technology Inc. and its newly
selected master distributor for China, Shenzen SEG Computer
Corporation, will deliver "virtual phone services," in which
customers without a dedicated phone line will be able to access
voice and various other kinds of messages through integrated
messaging mailboxes.

In the recently formed deal with Shenzen SEG, the Chinese master
distributor has been authorized to supply Boston Technology's CO
Access enhanced services platforms in a number of provinces in
mainland China, according to the VP.

Boston Technology and Shenzen SEG will start by delivering a CO
Access 600 system to be integrated with the Changsha Telecom
Bureau's telecom services for use by 30,000 subscribers throughout
the city of Changsha. Changsha and the surrounding Hunan province
have a total population of over 60 million.

In addition to voice and fax mailboxing, the initial service
offerings in Changsha are set to include call answering, calling
card services, bulletin boards, and pager notification.

Newsbytes asked Lacey how subscribers in China will access their
messages. The VP responded that the subscribers will use cellular
services, along with public pay telephones and "group phones" in
dormitories and offices.

The high cost of cellular phones could pose an initial entrance
barrier to some potential cellular users, he acknowledged.
However, Motorola and Ericsson are both very active right now in
establishing cellular networks in China, he added.

The ability to use virtual phone services in lieu of dedicated
phone lines that will take time in arriving is going to facilitate
communications in China, Lacey predicted. The cost of mailboxing
will be low, he reported.

"We see this as a long-term as well as a short-term opportunity,"
Newsbytes was told. "Our partnership with Changsha Telecom Bureau
is our first partnership in China, and it will be the first of
many."

Boston Technology develops, manufactures, markets and supports
enhanced services platforms for phone companies and interexchange
carriers in addition to wireless telephone providers, other service
providers, and large organizations worldwide.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940407/Reader Contact: Boston Technology Inc.,
617-246-9000; Press Contacts: Kim Carnesale, BTI, 617-246-9000 ext
3550, or Carole Meier, BTI, 617-246-9000 ext 3514; David Kitchen,
Copithorne & Bellows for BTI, 617-252-0606)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(BOS)(00012)

Parallax Video Boards For HP 9000 Series 700 04/07/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Parallax
Graphics has rolled out the PowerVideo 700 series of digital video
boards for HP 9000 Series 700 workstations, the first products to
emerge from a pact with HP announced in December.

The new PowerVideo700 family encompasses four 24-bit, EISA
(Extended Industry Standard Architecture)-based products for
displaying, digitizing, compressing, and storing full-size, full-
motion, and true-color video, according to Parallax and HP
officials.

The new frame overlay boards from Parallax ship with Software
Essentials, a set of software tools that includes VideoTool and
MovieTool applications for capturing and manipulating still and
motion images, in addition to software drivers for HP-UX 9.03,

The tools from Parallax are "fully integrated" with Hewlett-
Packard's HP MPower 2.0 collaborative multimedia software
environment, allowing images captured and stored with the use of
Software Essentials to be displayed within MPower, officials said.

HP MPower includes HP Shared Whiteboard, as well as image viewing
tools, CD (compact disc)-quality stereo audio, and HP SharedX, a
software product for real-time sharing of X Windows in remote
locations.

As reported in Newsbytes in December, the deal between HP and
Parallax calls for Parallax to port its VideoStream video hardware
technology to the Series 700. The technology has previously been
available for Sun workstations.

VideoStream supports simultaneous video windows and fast frame
rates, making it especially suitable for videoconferencing, video-
on-demand, and other performance-intensive applications, according
to the two companies.

The new PowerVideo700 family supports NTSC (National Television
Standards Committee), PAL and SECAM input as well as NTSC or PAL
output. The boards will also take digital video input across the
EISA bus.

Members of the new series include the PowerVideo700, a board
featuring JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) compression; the
MultiVideo700, a compression-less board; and the PowerVideo700 Plus
and MultiVideo700 Plus, two versions with added enhancements.

The two "Plus" editions bring the ability to view two live video
windows simultaneously, or to use one channel to send video from a
window to a VCR (video cassette recorder) for analog recording, or
to a video projector for enlarged video display.

The PowerVideo700 Plus and MultiVideo 700 Plus also add input
support for S-VHS (Y/C) video format for NTSC (National Television
Standards Committee), PAL and SECAM, along with S-VHS output
support for both NTSC and PAL.

The PowerVideo 700 and PowerVideo700 Plus, the two models with JPEG
compression, are aimed at allowing real-time recording and playback
for interactive, live applications such as videoconferencing,
officials said. The boards also free the CPU (central processor
unit) for other tasks being run simultaneously.

Like the JPEG boards, the MultiVideo700 and MultiVideo 700 Plus
also offer 24-bit color up to full-screen display, and up to 640-
by-480 (full-size) capture, according to officials. The
compression-less boards are targeted at applications like medical
imaging, security monitoring, and TV-in-a-window.

Parallax is also offering an optional Video Development Environment
for developers who want to create custom applications. The
resulting Motif-based applications will be operable with all Unix
video products from Parallax, officials maintained.

The development kit includes source code for VideoTool and
MovieTool, as well as an API (application programming interface)
built on standard Xt widgets.

Parallax has also announced that its third-party program,
PowerPartners, has attracted independent software vendors (ISVs)
such as AimTech, CIMLINC, Frame Technology, InSoft, and VI
Corporation, and that all these developers have pledged to support
the PowerVideo 700 series.

Pricing for the PowerVideo700 board starts at $3995. MultiVideo700
is priced at $2995, MultiVideo700 Plus at $3990, and PowerVideo700
Plus at $4990. The Video Development Environment is $1995.
PowerVideo700 and MultiVideo700 will be available 60 days after
receipt of order (ARO), according to Parallax. PowerVideo700 Plus
and MultiVideo700 Plus are scheduled to ship August 1.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940406/Reader contacts: Parallax Graphics, 408-
727-2220; Hewlett-Packard, 800-752-0900; Press contacts: Barbara
Kay, Parallax, 408-727-2220; Tim Hurley, Hewlett-Packard, 508-436-
5042)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00013)

Israeli Firm Develops Rapid Prototyping System 04/07/94
TROY, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- An Israeli company has
developed a system it says can produce prototypes in just a few hours
after the three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) process is
completed.

Cubital, Limited, represented in the US by Cubital America Inc.,
markets the Cubital Solider 5600 that uses a rapid prototyping
technology called Sold Ground Curing. CAD data is processed by the
Solider's Data Front End to convert the object described by the
CAD file into a stack of "slices." Since CAD data from multiple
models can be included, multiple objects can be built
simultaneously.

The technique was used recently by Norwegian firm ABB Nera to
produce the mechanical components of a briefcase satellite
telephone. "ABB Nera eliminated a lot of the back and forth
activities normally going on between the designer, the development
team and the toolmaker," according to Nils Aksel Ruud, a
spokesperson for ABB Nera's design subcontractor.

Fourteen parts were made using the Solider, ranging from the top and
bottom of the briefcase shell to a ring for the lock. Three parts
were cast from aluminum with molds made directly from Solider
models, skipping the expensive process of making separate die
casting tools.

To build each layer, a thin film of photo-reactive resin is
deposited. The areas that need to be solidified are polymerized and
cured by exposure to projected ultraviolet light. The light is
beamed through a glass plate mask on which a negative image of
each slice is printed using a proprietary technique similar to laser
printing. Unused, unexposed resin, which remains a liquid, is
vacuumed off the slide and replaced with liquid wax. The wax is then
solidified by applying a cooling plate. The slice is then milled to
ensure uniform thickness and a new resin film is deposited to start
the next slice.

Cubital compares the process to three-dimensional printing and
says most models can be produced in a few hours or overnight,
depending on their complexity. No post-curing is necessary and
shrinkage is controlled. The company says tolerances have an
accuracy of up to .1 percent.

Cubital spokesperson Alan Weinkrantz told Newsbytes the system was
used by IBM to make the prototypes for its Thinkpad personal
computer. Companies which have large volume manufacturing needs can
purchase a Cubital system for a suggested retail price of $500,000.
The smaller model 4600 sells for $320,000. Weinkrantz said
companies with lower volume needs can engage the services of
one of the approximately 15 service bureaus worldwide.

(Jim Mallory/19940407/Press contact: Alan Weinkrantz for Cubital
America Inc, 210-820-3070; Reader contact: Cubital America Inc,
313-585-7880, fax [phone]/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00014)

Computer Associates, Candle In M'gt Alliance 04/07/94
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Computer
Associates International Inc., and Candle Corp., have announced an
alliance to offer their systems management products to clients
jointly.

The two companies gave only outlines of their agreement, saying
they would reveal more details this summer. However, they said
they would be working to make their respective products work more
closely together.

Computer Associates, based here, sells CA-Unicenter, systems
management software for various flavors of the Unix operating
system as well as IBM's OS/2 and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT.
Candle, of Santa Monica, California, offers the Candle
Availability Command Center, designed to monitor and manage
computing and network resources.

The deal means CA and Candle will work to make Unicenter and
Candle Availability Command Center interoperate, easing access to
systems management data.

The two companies have many clients in common, said Charles Wang,
chairman and chief executive of CA, in a telephone conference
call with reporters. Wang added that the companies' systems
management products are highly complementary. "In fact," he said,
"they dovetail."

Aubrey Chernick, chairman of Candle, said his company has had few
strategic relationships with other vendors, other than IBM, in
the past. This spring, he said, Candle is increasing its emphasis
on such relationships. Candle has made some of its products work
with CA's in the past, he said, but the increased cooperation
means Candle is "going to be able to develop better technical
robustness in terms of our interfaces, in terms of our
interoperability."

The companies said their work will bring benefits to users in the
areas of backup and recovery, security, and performance.

(Grant Buckler/19940407/Press Contact: Bob Gordon, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2391; Eric Warren, Candle, 310-822-4669)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00015)

IBM Licenses Data Compression From Stac 04/07/94
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Fresh from a
partial court victory over Microsoft Corp., Stac Electronics has
chalked up another win by licensing its data compression
technology to IBM for use in the PC-DOS and OS/2 operating
systems.

It is essentially the same technology involved in the recent
lawsuit in which Carlsbad, California-based Stac successfully
sued Microsoft for patent infringement (Microsoft has since
removed the Doublespace data compression from its version of
DOS). However, Stac's license to IBM does not include Stac's
preload feature, which was deemed to have violated Microsoft
trade secrets, Stac spokeswoman Lois Leslie told Newsbytes.

Leslie would not say how much the deal will be worth to Stac, or
reveal any other terms of the agreement.

Keith Lindenburg, a spokesman for IBM, said his company will
announce in the next few weeks the details of its plans for
adding Stac's Stacker LZS data compression technology to PC-DOS
and OS/2.

He added that at present IBM is still using the Superstore/DS
data compression technology, purchased from Menlo Park,
California-based Addstor Inc., in PC-DOS 6.1. He did not say
whether IBM will continue to sell the Superstore technology.

Telephones at Addstor's Menlo Park headquarters have been
disconnected. Newsbytes could not confirm further details of the
company's fate by today's deadline.

IBM has licensed Stacker 4.0, which according to Stac officials
is the first data compression technology able to compress data by
more than a ratio of two to one. The company said Stacker 4.0
also provide new safety features for added reliability, and a
tool set for using Stacker and managing Stacker drives. The
software also converts other compression formats instantly,
allowing users to change their disks to Stacker format.

Lindenburg said users of Microsoft's version of DOS with
Doublespace data compression will be able to move easily to IBM's
PC-DOS with Stacker.

(Grant Buckler/19940407/Press Contact: Keith Lindenburg, IBM,
914-251-5961; Lois Leslie, Stac Electronics, 619-431-7474)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00016)

 ****PowerPC Shareware, PowerPC Newsletter Online 04/07/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- While you
can't buy commercial software for the new Power Macintosh, based
on the reduced instruction set computing (RISC) PowerPC
microprocessor, you can download shareware that will run on the
new computer from Apple Computer from the Ziffnet Macintosh forum on
Compuserve. Other electronic information services are also
featuring forums and help for Power Macintosh users and
developers.

Nativechecker 1.0 is a Power Macintosh application designed to
tell if an application is for the 68XXX-based Macintosh or
the PowerPC. The user simply drags and drops the application file
on the Nativechecker and a dialog box will open, describing
whether or not the program is native to the Power Mac. The file
is freeware, meaning no payment is required, it is authored by
Yosuke Suzuki, and is 14 kilobytes (K) in size.

PMCDIN.SIT works with software application Quickeys 3.0 to
automatically set the Power Mac's sound control panel to use a
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive as input with play-
through enabled. Sound input in the Power Macintosh gets reset
each time the machine is rebooted, so this is a convenience
feature. The first Quickey (the one that launches the Sound
control panel) will need to be edited by the user for it to work.
The author of the file is Jeff Sullivan, the file is also
freeware, and is 7K in size.

The largest file available so far is JPEGView 3.2.1. JPEGView is
described as a fast, flexible viewer for pictures compressed in
the JPEG, PICT and GIF formats. It also converts between PICT and
JPEG (JFIF) formats. Full Applescript support is included and so
are dithering routines, and slide show capability. Quicktime is
required to use this program, as is System 7 or higher. The file
is 408K in size and author Aaron Giles only requests users
register via postcard.

Both the Ziffnet/Mac forum on Compuserve and the PowerPC forum on
GEnie mention the PowerPC News, an online publication for PowerPC
users and watchers. Available without charge via the Internet,
the PowerPC News offers a plug-in module from Adobe Systems that
upgrades Photoshop version 2.5 users to run portions of Photoshop
functions in PowerPC native mode. Adobe's approach is to produce
a native version of the image processing Photoshop "engine,"
leaving the user interface code running in emulation mode. Adobe
asserts performance on the entry level 6100 Power Macintosh
averages between 1.5 and 4 times the speed of a Quadra Macintosh
700. The beta test of the module is available from PowerPC News
in compressed BinHex format by contacting the publication on the
Internet at [e-mail].

Ben Templin of the Ziffnet/Mac forum told Newsbytes while only
three files are available now, the forum has more shareware files
to post soon. The fact that shareware authors can move so much
faster than commercial vendors makes shareware for the PowerPC
very attractive, Templin told Newsbytes.

As of this writing the Ziffnet/Mac forum offers both PowerPC
information and shareware, while the GEnie forum offers PowerPC
information. To get to the Ziffnet Mac forum on Compuserve type:
GO ZMC:DOWNTECH. To go to the PowerPC forum on GEnie type:
PowerPC.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940407/Press Contact: Ben Templin, Ziffnet
Mac, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00017)

Dell To Expand Irish Manufacturing Plant 04/07/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corporation
has announced it will expand its European manufacturing facility in
Limerick, Ireland by 140,000 square feet and could more than double
its workforce.

The company says the expansion follows an increase of 28 percent in
European sales in the most recently completed fiscal quarter. The
facility supplies Dell's desktop and portable computers for
European customers. Established in 1990, the Limerick plant is
Dell's only full-production plant outside the USA.

Currently the facility employs about 380 people but with the
expansion, which is supported by the Irish Development Agency,
it could add more than 400 new jobs over the next few
years. The plant is certified as compliant with ISO 9002, a
manufacturing quality designation.

Dell spokesperson Roger Rydell declined to reveal the planned
completion date or the investment in the expansion project, saying
it might give competitors information "that would not be in Dell's
best interests" about construction costs in the Limerick area.

The Limerick plant isn't the only Dell facility to expand. Scott
Flaig, Dell senior VP of worldwide operations, says the company
has opened configuration facilities in Mexico and Japan, doubled
the capacity of the Canadian configuration center and added another
manufacturing line at Dell's Austin plant.

(Jim Mallory/19940407/Press contact: Roger Rydell, Dell Computer
Corporation, 512-728-4100; Reader contact: Dell Computer
Corporation, 516-338-4400 or 800-289-3355, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00018)

Microsoft's Gates To Keynote Messaging Conference 04/07/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Microsoft Chairman
Bill Gates will present a one-hour keynote address at the Annual
Conference and Exhibition of the Electronic Messaging Association
(EMA) April 19th. The conference opens its four-day run April 18,
1994 at the Anaheim (California) Hilton and Towers.

Gates is no stranger to electronic messaging. He reportedly
dispatches dozens of e-mail messages within the company and around
the world daily and his company publishes Microsoft Mail, a
software package for the exchange of electronic mail that includes
gateways to other e-mail products. A deal with AT&T allows
Microsoft Mail users to communicate with mail-enabled personal
computers worldwide through AT&T's Easylink. Microsoft Office
software comes with a workstation license for Microsoft Mail.

EMA 94 will feature technical tutorials and discussions of business
issues and public policy. Organizers say they expect heightened
interest in the discussions on privacy issues. Sessions will also
be offered on the use of electronic messaging in healthcare and
education. Congress is currently considering government proposals
that computer equipment be designed to assure access to government
investigators, an idea strongly opposed by various interests.

At last year's EMA event Microsoft demonstrated support for the
Common Mail Calls aspect of the XAPIA standard and showcased its
Object Productivity's "smartfolders" technology. A Microsoft
spokesperson told Newsbytes no new technology will be formally
introduced at this year's show but the company is expected to
preview some future e-mail technology. Gates address will
reportedly re-introduce Microsoft's workgroup computing strategy.

Microsoft recently announced it is developing software to allow
handheld devices to access Microsoft Mail running on mail system
servers. The software will allow users to connect remotely by modem
to the servers, download electronic mail, and read and create mail
offline. A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes the software will be
released concurrent with the release of the handheld devices,
generally referred to as "mobile companions" by Microsoft partners
such as Compaq Computer Corporation.

(Jim Mallory/19940407/Press contact; Leslie Schroeder for
Electronic Messaging Association, 408-446-9158 or Microsoft Public
Relations, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: Heather Burneson, Electronic
Messaging Association, 703-524-5550 or Microsoft, 206-882-8080 or
800-426-9400)


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

In-Flight, McCaw Fight Over Air-Phone Technology 04/07/94
OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- In-Flight
Phone and McCaw Cellular's Claircom unit are headed for a court
fight over Claircom's rights to air-phone technologies, and the
case has already generated some heat from the two firms' press
offices.

In-Flight got things started by issuing a press release after
DuPage County, Illinois Circuit Judge John Teschner ruled against
a motion by McCaw, Claircom, and Hughes Network Systems to
dismiss In-Flight's lawsuit, which claims the three with
misappropriating trade secrets and breaching a confidentiality
agreement. Jack Goeken, In-Flight's chairman, called it a "major
victory," and Claircom President Keith Grinstein took exception.

"The comments issued by In-Flight today were absurd, exaggerated,
or completely untrue," wrote Claircom President Keith Grinstein.
"To say that Claircom is a success because of anything other than
its own ingenuity, hard work, and determination is an insult to
Claircom's employees who have poured their hearts and souls into
making this an extremely successful business. Today's decision is
a starting point in a case that we strongly believe we will win."

In fact, the judge did only say the case can go ahead, dismissing
a call from the three defendants to dismiss the suit as
groundless. In its suit, In-Flight is seeking damages and an
injunction against its rivals, which it accuses of misusing In-
Flight's original marketing plan, using technology from In-
Flight's engineering plans and features of its operating or
business plans.

Specifically, the suit claims McCaw had expressed interest in
investing in InFlight in 1990, and signed a confidentiality
agreement to see its plans in July of that year. The suit claims
McCaw proposed investing up to $5 million in In-Flight on August
14, 1990, but by that time had already arranged financing for
its own system and was making pitches to airlines regarding it.

According to a press statement from In-Flight, "At least one of
the pitches effectively replicated the one In-Flight Phone Corp.
had made to McCaw confidentially." The In-Flight suit also claims
that Claircom's October, 1990 application to the Federal
Communications Commission to get into the business "contained
substantial non-public information that McCaw had received from
In-Flight."

Goeken has been in court before. After founding AirFone and
selling it to GTE, he was involved in a nasty fight involving his
own employment agreement with that company, and his right to
compete against it. Goeken was also a founder of MCI in the
1960s. The president of In-Flight is Goeken's daughter, Sandra
Goeken Martis.

Since entering the business, Claircom has been very successful in
obtaining contracts to put its system onto airliners. Among the
airlines it has signed up are American, Southwest, Northwest,
Alaska, Air France, and Lufthansa. Some analysts have indicated
Claircom has won by offering high royalties on calls made with
its phones. In-Flight spokesman Darren Leno told Newsbytes his
company's pitch also talks about revenue streams, but in a
different way. "If it were purely a matter of money, we would
win, because our system generates revenues not just from
telephones in every seatback, not just every third seat, but from
fax, games, data transmission, in-flight shopping, advertising,
ground-air paging -- there's a lot more our system does than our
competitors." So far, In-Flight has signed up US Air, Carnival
and America West to its system.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940407/Press Contact: Claircom
Communications, Todd Wolfenbarger, 206/828-1851; In-Flight,
Darren S. Leno, 708/574-1237)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00020)

Publishers Issue Education Awards 04/07/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Two publishers, one
generally considered liberal and the other conservative, have
handed out awards for education excellence. The choices
demonstrate the two sides' different approaches to the subject.
The liberal paper honored organizations and new forms of
learning, the conservative magazine honored individuals and "back
to basics" approaches.

USA Today said its Coalition on Educational Initiatives gave out
six national awards in its Community Solutions for Education
program. Many involved technology. Among the winners were the
Neighborhood Computers Centers, in the San Francisco Bay Area,
which got loans of computers to help children publish
their own newspapers, among other projects. Strengthening Our
Future, Dayton, Virginia, used CD-ROMs and a satellite dish
to improve elementary education. Others involved major efforts at
school reform, like the Downtown School in Des Moines, Iowa,
which created year-round schools, McSmiles in Marion, North
Carolina, which created a traveling classroom for pre-schoolers,
Theater Quest, in which Pasadena, California theater
professionals donate time to help children create their own
plans, and the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative Volunteer Project,
a mentoring program. The coalition includes Apple Computer.

Readers Digest gave its "American Heroes of Education" winners,
now in its sixth year, $150,000 in cash for their schools, $5,000
for each individual winner or team, and $10,000 for each program
that won national honors. Many of its winners emphasized a "back
to basics" approach, like Roger Handsen, director of Project CDA
in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, whose alternative high school was
honored for its "family atmosphere," and Brian Coyle, principal
of St. Joseph School in the Bronx, New York, who transformed a
dying Catholic school with a curriculum based on "the three Rs."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940407/Press Contact: Steven Anderson, USA
TODAY, 703-276-5872; Beth Jones, Readers Digest Association, 914-
244-5595)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00021)

Microsoft Business Apps For Access DBMS 04/07/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has announced it will ship a collection of four
ready-to-run business applications for the Microsoft Access
database management system this spring.

The Microsoft Access Solutions Pack is a companion product to
Microsoft Access 2.0 and includes applications to track sales
contacts, manage fixed assets, track service requests, and manage
registration for events. Microsoft says all the applications are
ready to use right out of the box or can serve as sample
applications for users to learn how to develop their own
customized Access databases. The four programs can also be modified
to meet the user's specific needs.

The company says it has made arrangements with Solution Providers -
who develop specific applications for programs such as Access -
to provide support for users in customizing the Solutions Pack
programs.

Included in the Solutions Pack are Sales Manager, Asset Tracker,
Registration Desk, and Service Desk. Sales Manager is a sales
contact tracker that allows the user to store and view detailed
information about sales contacts and generate mailing lists that
meet user-specified parameters such as the prospects in a
particular state.

Asset Tracker is designed to track nondisposable company assets.
Once information such as location, value, and status have been
entered, it can be retrieved using the query capability of Access.
For example, the user can produce a list of all assets in a
particular location for an annual inventory or list all assets with
a value over a particular amount.

Registration Desk can be used to manage conference or trade show
registrations, sign participants in and out to track arrivals and
departures, and print registration badges. The collected
information could be used later to produce mailing lists.

Service Desk lets the user enter service requests, assign a worker,
set a due date, prioritize the work, and check the status of open
or closed work orders.

Microsoft Access Solutions Pack version 1.0 has a suggested retail
price of $64.95.

(Jim Mallory/19940407/Press contact: Karla Wachter, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft Corporation, 503-245-0905; Reader contact:
Microsoft Corporation, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00022)

Aldus Twister, A Type Enhancement Program 04/07/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has announced Aldus Type Twister 1.0 for Microsoft Windows, a
special effects program that lets users enhance text in documents.

Type Twister works through the Windows Clipboard or object linking
and embedding (OLE) and comes with 50 pre-set color designs such
as panoramic curves and twisting spirals. The user can create and
save as many as 50 original designs. The pre-created designs are
available at the click of a button and include the horseshoe,
kinky ribbon, split circle, teardrop, paisley, cinematic curve,
rotations, skews, scales, arcs and shadow effects.

The program is compatible with Truetype fonts, Adobe Type 1 fonts
and Postscript. A color dialog box allows the user to choose from
242 custom colors that can be applied to their designs. An
interactive preview features allows the user to see and perfect
their designs prior to finalizing them in a what-if manner. Each
design button displays the effect it implements. Text objects can be
changed in size, rotated, or sheared by dragging a handle on the
object frame.

To run Type Twister you need an IBM-compatible 386 or 486 machine
running Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher, at least two megabytes of
memory and available hard disk space each, a VGA or Super VGA
monitor, and a mouse.

Type Twister has a suggested retail price of $49.95; Aldus expects
the street price (the approximate price you actually have to pay)
to be about $29.95. The company says a Macintosh version will be
released later this spring.

(Jim Mallory/19940407/Press contact: Teri Bruno for Aldus
Corporation, 714-454-8056; Reader contact: Aldus Consumer
Division, 619-558-6000)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00023)

Acclaim To Use Sega Titan, Sega Signs 11th Cable Co 04/07/94
OYSTER BAY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Acclaim will be
the first US publisher to use Sega's Titan architecture to create
games for Sega's high-end hardware systems using reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) chips. Sega also announced it
signed another cable company to carry its interactive game
channel later this year.

Acclaim says it will produce titles for coin-operated arcades,
the Genesis Super 32X, and a new hardware platform code named
Saturn that Sega has yet to announce. Titan, Sega's proprietary
arcade video game hardware architecture, incorporates three of
Hitachi's SH series 32-bit RISC chips, for three-dimensional (3D)
computer graphics and realistic sound. Sega claims games
developed for Titan are easily transferred to other Sega hardware
that use Hitachi's SH chips.

Coupled with Titan, Acclaim indicates it will use its experience
in motion capture digital actor technology, for which it was
recognized at the Japanese Nicograph '93 computer graphics and
interactive visualization techniques conference. The company's
first project using Titan and its motion capture technology is a
video arcade game based on a soon-to-be-released motion picture.

Sega also announced its eleventh cable company to sign up for its
planned interactive video game channel, the Sega Channel.
Intermedia of San Francisco, California with approximately
750,000 subscribers in 11 states said it will launch the Sega
Channel this fall following a three-month summer trial.

The new game channel will offer 24-hour-a-day video games on
demand, choices of a selection of popular games, special versions
of soon-to-be-released titles, gameplay tips, news, contests, and
promotions, all updated monthly. Sega claims over 27 million
subscribers will have access to the interactive channel when it
is launched later this year.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940407/Press Contact: Sega, Richard Brudvik-
Lindner, 415-802-3658; Charlene Giggliotti, Manning, Selvage &
Lee, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Sega Channel, Ellen Beth
van Buskirk, 212-974-0518)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LAX)(00024)

Cyberstation Internet Broadcast At Networld+Interop 94 04/07/94
FOSTER CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- A live,
multimedia, interactive radio program will be broadcast over the
global Internet as part of the Networld+Interop 94 conference and
exhibition, May 3-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This isn't the first
time multimedia reporting has been cybercast live over the
Internet, as some users of the graphical portion reported viewing
the 1994 Winter Olympics on the worldwide electronic network.

Dubbed a Cyberstation, the live three-day broadcast is expected
to link Networld+Interop participants to each other and the
world, reaching more than 30 million Internet users in 140
countries around the world.

Conference organizers say the Cyberstation will highlight
"demonstrated convergence" of voice, text, sound and image
technologies on the Internet. While such technologies on the
Internet have been termed "information superhighway"
applications, conference representatives told Newsbytes
Networld+Interop 94 is avoiding use of the over-used term.

Cyberstation programming is expected to include world news,
technical forums, music, broadcast programs from National Public
Radio (NPR), and news reporting by national correspondents. A
demonstration of the Internet Telephone Company, co-developed by
Marshall Rose, is also planned. Further details will be
forthcoming concerning how to access the cybercast, conference
representatives said.

Networld+Interop 94 is conducted by Ziff-Davis (ZD) Expos,
headquartered Foster City, California.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940407/Press Contact: Nancy Donegan, The Weber
Group for ZD Expos, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Lisa
Morgan, ZD Expos, 415-578-6963)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00025)

IPT Ships New File Sharing Software 04/07/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- From Sun
Microsystems' Developer Conference in San Francisco, Information
Presentation Technologies announced that its uShare 4.0 file
sharing software for the Apple Computer Macintosh and Unix
connectivity is now available with new enhancements and full
AppleTalk filing Protocol version 2.1 compatibility.

Since 1988, uShare has been a successful server option in
mixed computing environments by allowing a Unix computer to
perform as an AppleShare file, print, and mail server. IPT
claims fifty percent of the US Sun-to-Mac connectivity market
uses their client/server software. The new uShare 4.0
features a Macintosh-based server administration tool,
validation with Apple's AppleTalk Verification Suite (AVS),
and network throughput increases of up to 30%.

AVS includes more than 2,500 individual tests and ensures
compliance and compatibility with AppleTalk and AFP protocols.
According to IPT, version 4.0 offers faster folder-open
times and Mac administration features that facilitate set-up,
configuration and management of accounts, printing, AppleShare
volumes and Unix mail.

IPT also announced an upgrade of its uShare companion, Partner.
Partner 4.0 allows for peer-to-peer connection between Mac
and Sun workstations and file sharing of cross-platform
applications from anywhere on the network.

Both uShare 4.0 and Partner 4.0 are immediately available with
pricing beginning a $595 and $695 for a single unit, respectively.

(Patrick McKenna/19940407/Press Contact: Olivia Favela, Information
Presentation Technologies, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00026)

 ****Struggling Software Publishing Halves Workforce 04/07/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Software
Publishing, makers of Harvard Graphics, has announced its third
set of layoffs in the last year. The company said it needs to cut
costs to survive and this restructuring will cut its workforce by
more than half, leaving about 210 employees out of a workforce of
approximately 450.

In February the company announced layoffs of 140 and said it
would stop further development on its multimedia database product
Superbase, though it would continue to sell the product and
support current customers. In this restructuring announcement,
plans were disclosed to consolidate the company's research and
development in Madison, Wisconsin into operations in Santa Clara,
California, while selling its Madison-based customer support
facility to Pennyslvania-based Softmart. Several other remote
sales offices will be closed, Software Publishing added.

The layoffs just announced and the Superbase development
cancellation will cost about $9 million, but will save the company
$18 million annually, officials said. Estimated
revenues will be approximately $14 million, but earnings will not
be released until April 17, 1994.

While sales of its flagship product, Harvard Graphics for Windows
2.0 have been good, the Software Publishing (NASDAQ: SPCO) says
it is experiencing a steady decline in its sales of DOS-based
products. Last year the company reported red ink of approximately
$34 million on revenues of $104 million.

Software Publishing isn't the only company blaming lower sales
and declining prices for a lower bottom line. Borland
International, makers of programming software, database, and
spreadsheet titles, recently sold off its main spreadsheet
product, Quattro Pro, to networking software maker Novell. As
part of the deal, Novell is also buying word processing software
maker Wordperfect. Microsoft has led the move to a graphical
environment on personal computers (PCs) and away from the
text-based DOS environment, as well as a move to lower
prices for software.

Software Publishing is focusing on its presentation software and
hopes to expand its product line. The company announced a letter
of intent with Houston, Texas-based Visual Numerics for the
Stanford Graphics and Stanford Chart business, technical and
statistical charting programs, but said it cannot be assured the
deal will go through.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940407/Press Contact: Vicki Page, Software
Publishing, tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Sprint Enters UK Public Telecoms Market 04/07/94
KANSAS CITY, MONTANA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- After several years
of being licensed to operate as a UK-to-US telecommunications
carrier, Sprint International has been granted a full UK telecoms
licence.

The licence means that Sprint, if it wishes, can offer full switched
telephone service in the UK, alongside existing network providers
such as British Telecom, Mercury Communications and several other
smaller players.

Newsbytes understands that a licence application was submitted to
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the UK late last year
and was formally granted this week. It appears, however, that Sprint
is in no hurry to open its existing UK network up to public access,
as it has done with its Sprint packed switched data network service
over the past few years.

The problem is that, although Sprint has a licence to offer public
switched telephony in the UK, the licence does not include publicly
accessible international services, even back to its own domestic US
network. International services, Newsbytes notes, are regarded as
being much more profitable than national domestic services.

Curiously, Sprint's main competitors in the US, AT&T and MCI, have
both applied for UK telephony licences and, despite submitting their
requests to the UK government almost a year ago, both are still
waiting to hear the result of their network application. Newsbytes
understands that Sprint may have been given the lead as it has been
in discussions with the British government for two years, while AT&T
and MCI have merely submitted an application.

British telecoms experts suggest that the delay in the case of AT&T
and MCI may be due to the sheer size of the telecoms giants, while
Sprint's relatively smaller size means that the company is perceived
as less of a threat to existing UK telecoms companies.

According to Stu Chiron, Sprint's counsel in the US, building a
domestic network in the UK is not financially viable without having
an international network licence as well. In theory, Sprint could
lease its international links from an existing carrier such as BT or
Mercury, but, according to Chiron, this does not make economic
sense.

As part of its UK telecoms licence, Sprint has the ability to route
calls internationally -- as is required under international telecoms
law -- but with the caveat that calls must be routed through
Australia, Canada, and Sweden, three countries which are not
reknowned for their discount telephone rates. According to the DTI
in the UK, these calling routes are being granted as a matter of
course to all international telecoms companies which apply for service
licences in the UK.

(Steve Gold/19940407)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00028)

UK - Mercury Scoops 50% Of London Financial Business 04/07/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Mercury Communications claims to
have achieved contracts for almost half of the private voice
communications market for major foreign exchange and currency
brokers in London. The system used by these institutions is
Mercury's National CityVoice service.

According to Mercury officials, new National CityVoice lines are
being installed at a rate of more than 100 per month. The success in
scooping up the contracts is due, Mercury claims, to the service
being based on superior facilities such as fast installation times,
simplified network management, and excellent customer service.

"National CityVoice's introduction has been driven by customer
demand. The City wants voice communications which remove the
complexity of managing a network of private circuits and which
introduce much-needed competition," explained Phil Mehrtens,
Mercury's product manager.

"Dealers and money brokers often find themselves in make or break
situations and if a network failure occurs during the height of
activity, thousands if not millions of pounds worth of business are
at risk. National CityVoice's advanced technology means the Square
Mile can rely on faster and more reliable voice communication from
Mercury," he added.

According to Mehrtens, National CityVoice provides a sophisticated
network of private circuits of flexible voice communications with
the services support for bankers, dealers, and money brokers. After
linking to National CityVoice, customers can add, delete or reroute
circuits in only five working days with minimum price premiums.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940407/Press & Public Contact: Mercury
Communications - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00029)

Insignia SoftWindows For Unix Due 04/07/94
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Insignia Solutions
has announced that SoftWindows for Unix, its flagship Windows
emulation package, will be available for IBM's RS6000, Silicon
Graphics' and DEC Alpha workstations later this month.

According to the company, the announcement closely follows on the
heels of the launch of SoftWindows for the PowerMac last month and
brings the total number of operating systems supported by the
package to six.

"SoftWindows for Unix workstations enables large organizations using
both PC and Unix workstations to standardize on MS-DOS and Microsoft
Windows," explained Robert Lee, Insignia's president and CEO. "Our
basic philosophy is to support a broad range of Unix operating
environments to provide our customers with as a wide a choice of
compatibility as possible," he said.

Newsbytes understands that Insignia has licensed the source program
code for Windows from Microsoft in order to optimize Windows when
running under emulation on a Unix workstation. As a result of this,
Insignia claims that its performance of Windows under
Unix/SoftWindows is comparable to a 386SX or 486SX-based PC.

Unlike other emulation packages, such as WABI, SoftWindows comes
with a pre-installed copy of Microsoft Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 6.21,
as well as built-in PC network support for Novell NetWare, Microsoft
LAN (local area network) Manager, Banyan Vines, the ODI standard and
TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/interface protocol).

SoftWindows for all the new Unix environments should be available
for UKP 425 by the end of the month. According to Insignia, existing
users of SoftWindows can migrate to the new environment versions at
a special price, details of which are available on request.

(Steve Gold/19940407/Press & Public Contact: Insignia Solutions -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00030)

TCI Opens Digital Studio 04/07/94
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- Tele-Communications
Inc., has become the second information superhighway participant
to open a digital studio, cutting the ribbon on a $100 million
National Digital Television Center near its headquarters. The
first was Bell Atlantic.

The center converts analog television and sound to digital, then
compresses the signals and distributes them to cable head-ends by
satellite, and to Direct Broadcast Satellite homes. The system
also manages the authorization and control functions necessary to
those processes.

TCI President John Malone called facility "part of the "bricks
and mortar" of the information superhighway. The center has
actually been operating for a few months, he added, compressing
programs for two pay-per-view services, Request TV and Starz!, as
well as an audio service called DMX and the Primestar direct
broadcast satellite service.

Among the suppliers TCI used for its center are General
Instrument, which designed its technology and will make digital
terminals, as well as Scientific-Atlanta and Hewlett-Packard,
which will also make set-top digital terminals. Sybase is
designing the company's customer service data network. TCI also
announced it reached an agreement in principle with two
consortia, the National Cable Television Cooperative and
Telesynergy, for use of its facility.

Finally, TCI announced a number of cities which will be among the
first to get its digital services. None are large cities,
although some are suburbs of large cities, like The Woodlands
near Houston and West Hartford, Connecticut.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940407/Press Contact: Lela Cocoros, TCI, 303-
267-5500)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MSP)(00031)

Newsbytes Daily Summary 04/07/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 7 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Signature Verification System 04/07/94 Peripheral Vision has
developed PenOp, a signature verification system that it claims can
be used in a variety of security situations.

2 -> Japan - Digital Camera Links To Computer 04/07/94 Japan's
Olympus has developed a digital still camera that transmits its
photographs directly into a PC.

3 -> Japan - Workstation Sales Up 15% 04/07/94 IDC Japan, a
subsidiary of International Data Corporation in the US, has released
a report on sales and shipment of workstations in the Japanese market
in 1993. Shipments and sales have increased 15.3% over those of 1992.

4 -> Japan's NTT Seeks 18% Rate Rise, Links With Motorola 04/07/94
Japan's major domestic telephone carrier, NTT, wants a huge hike in
basic phone rates of 18 percent. If approved, however, the rise would
be the first basic fee hike in 17 years. The matter is before Japan's
Posts & Telecommunication Ministry. Meanwhile, NTT will receive a
supply of Personal Handy Phones from Motorola in an effort to avoid
criticism about Japan's partly closed market by the US trade
representatives.

5 -> Japan's Info Superhighway Update 04/07/94 Japan's information
superhighway project is underway with the backing of the Japanese
Posts & Telecommunication Ministry. Meanwhile, the Ministry has
linked with the Korean government in an experimental next-generation
telecommunication project in the Kansai area in Japan.

6 -> Computervision to Market Indian CAD SW Abroad 04/07/94 The CAD
software  originally developed for use in the Indian light combat
aircraft project by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will be
marketed abroad by Computervision Corp. At the same  time, ADA will
provide technical support for CADDS 5 software from Computervision,
which has appointed Advanced Synergic Microsystems Ltd., as its
master distributor in India.

7 -> A New Receiving Technology 04/07/94 Metro  Wireless Interactive
has executed a letter of intent to distribute  and market a satellite
signal receiving system from Processing  Research Inc., Vienna,
Virginia. The system which Metro Wireless  will distribute is called
Vector Integration Processing  Receiver, or VIPR, and replaces a
satellite receiver's low noise  amplifier with an antenna about the
size of a portable cellular  phone, greatly increasing its
capabilities.

8 -> New Company Focuses On Original Music For Multimedia 04/07/94
Interoctave, a new multimedia company, is focused on producing custom
music for multimedia titles. Interoctave's head, Bob Safir, asserts
movies have music composed to emphasize visual effects, so why not
multimedia?

9 -> Knowledgeware Intros Development Tool 04/07/94 Knowledgeware has
announced Objectview Desktop, a new version of its visual
client/server development tool Objectview.

10 -> Mac Version Planned For eNote Messaging Software 04/07/94 E
Ware, a division of Visual Cybernetics, is adding a Macintosh/Power
Macintosh edition to its emerging line of eNote "instant pop-up"
messaging software.

11 -> Boston Technology Brings "Virtual Phone Services" To China
04/07/94 Boston Technology Inc. (BTI), a Wakefield,
Massachusetts-based provider of enhanced phone services such as
voice/fax mailboxing and call answering, has signed a $1.5 million
contract to supply "virtual phone services" to the Changsha Telecom
Bureau, a phone company in the capital of China's Hunan province.

12 -> Parallax Video Boards For HP 9000 Series 700 04/07/94 Parallax
Graphics has rolled out the PowerVideo 700 series of digital video
boards for HP 9000 Series 700 workstations, the first products to
emerge from a pact with HP announced in December.

13 -> Israeli Firm Develops Rapid Prototyping System 04/07/94 An
Israeli company has developed a system it says can produce prototypes
in just a few hours after the three-dimensional computer-aided design
(CAD) process is completed.

14 -> Computer Associates, Candle In M'gt Alliance 04/07/94 Computer
Associates International Inc., and Candle Corp., have announced an
alliance to offer their systems management products to clients
jointly.

15 -> IBM Licenses Data Compression From Stac 04/07/94 Fresh from a
partial court victory over Microsoft Corp., Stac Electronics has
chalked up another win by licensing its data compression technology
to IBM for use in the PC-DOS and OS/2 operating systems.

16 ->  ****PowerPC Shareware, PowerPC Newsletter Online 04/07/94
While you can't buy commercial software for the new Power Macintosh,
based on the reduced instruction set computing (RISC) PowerPC
microprocessor, you can download shareware that will run on the new
computer from Apple Computer from the Ziffnet Macintosh forum on
Compuserve. Other electronic information services are also featuring
forums and help for Power Macintosh users and developers.

17 -> Dell To Expand Irish Manufacturing Plant 04/07/94 Dell Computer
Corporation has announced it will expand its European manufacturing
facility in Limerick, Ireland by 140,000 square feet and could more
than double its workforce.

18 -> Microsoft's Gates To Keynote Messaging Conference 04/07/94
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will present a one-hour keynote address
at the Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Electronic Messaging
Association (EMA) April 19th. The conference opens its four-day run
April 18, 1994 at the Anaheim (California) Hilton and Towers.

19 -> In-Flight, McCaw Fight Over Air-Phone Technology 04/07/94
In-Flight  Phone and McCaw Cellular's Claircom unit are headed for a
court  fight over Claircom's rights to air-phone technologies, and
the  case has already generated some heat from the two firms' press
offices.

20 -> Publishers Issue Education Awards 04/07/94 Two publishers, one
generally considered liberal and the other conservative, have  handed
out awards for education excellence. The choices  demonstrate the two
sides' different approaches to the subject.  The liberal paper
honored organizations and new forms of  learning, the conservative
magazine honored individuals and "back  to basics" approaches.

21 -> Microsoft Business Apps For Access DBMS 04/07/94 Microsoft
Corporation has announced it will ship a collection of four
ready-to-run business applications for the Microsoft Access database
management system this spring.

22 -> Aldus Twister, A Type Enhancement Program 04/07/94 Aldus
Corporation has announced Aldus Type Twister 1.0 for Microsoft
Windows, a special effects program that lets users enhance text in
documents.

23 -> Acclaim To Use Sega Titan, Sega Signs 11th Cable Co 04/07/94
Acclaim will be the first US publisher to use Sega's Titan
architecture to create games for Sega's high-end hardware systems
using reduced instruction set computing (RISC) chips. Sega also
announced it signed another cable company to carry its interactive
game channel later this year.

24 -> Cyberstation Internet Broadcast At Networld+Interop 94 04/07/94
A live, multimedia, interactive radio program will be broadcast over
the global Internet as part of the Networld+Interop 94 conference and
exhibition, May 3-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This isn't the first time
multimedia reporting has been cybercast live over the Internet, as
some users of the graphical portion reported viewing the 1994 Winter
Olympics on the worldwide electronic network.

25 -> IPT Ships New File Sharing Software 04/07/94 From Sun
Microsystems' Developer Conference in San Francisco, Information
Presentation Technologies announced that its uShare 4.0 file  sharing
software for the Apple Computer Macintosh and Unix  connectivity is
now available with new enhancements and full  AppleTalk filing
Protocol version 2.1 compatibility.

26 ->  ****Struggling Software Publishing Halves Workforce 04/07/94
Software Publishing, makers of Harvard Graphics, has announced its
third set of layoffs in the last year. The company said it needs to
cut costs to survive and this restructuring will cut its workforce by
more than half, leaving about 210 employees out of a workforce of
approximately 450.

27 -> Sprint Enters UK Public Telecoms Market 04/07/94 After several
years of being licensed to operate as a UK-to-US telecommunications
carrier, Sprint International has been granted a full UK telecoms
licence.

28 -> UK - Mercury Scoops 50% Of London Financial Business 04/07/94
Mercury Communications claims to have achieved contracts for almost
half of the private voice communications market for major foreign
exchange and currency brokers in London. The system used by these
institutions is Mercury's National CityVoice service.

29 -> Insignia SoftWindows For Unix Due 04/07/94 Insignia Solutions
has announced that SoftWindows for Unix, its flagship Windows
emulation package, will be available for IBM's RS6000, Silicon
Graphics' and DEC Alpha workstations later this month.

30 -> TCI Opens Digital Studio 04/07/94 Tele-Communications  Inc.,
has become the second information superhighway participant  to open a
digital studio, cutting the ribbon on a $100 million  National
Digital Television Center near its headquarters. The first was Bell
Atlantic.

(Wendy Woods/19940407)