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/nb042294

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(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00001)

Asian Growth Noted In Digital 3Q Results 04/22/94
CHAI WAN, HONG KONG, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Despite predictable but
disappointing global third quarter results, Digital Equipment
Corporation reports a substantially brighter picture in the
Asian region. The company's Asia/Pacific management reported
growth of 20 percent, while Japan's revenues for the quarter
exceeded expectations.

"Asia continues to be a strong growth area for Digital," said Bobby
Choonavala, president of Digital Asia/Pacific. "Our PC sales are
up 100 percent over the same quarter last year and sales in
individual countries, particularly China, are steadily increasing.
Our product sales are up overall and our services areas, Digital
Consulting and Multivendor Customer Services, are doing very well
here.

"On the hardware front, the newly announced Digital 2100 Server gives
commercial users large system features with small system advantages, and
technical users supercomputing performance at workstation prices. The
extremely low cost of the Digital 2100 Server sets a whole new
standard in the industry for price-performance and it comes with
an unprecedented three-year warranty."

(Keith Cameron 19940421 Press Contact: Bonnie Engel, 3COM, 852 -805
3510)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00002)

HK Telecom, IBM Develop Fast Optical Fiber Service 04/22/94
CHAI WAN, HONG KONG, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- HongkongBank, Hongkong
Telecom and IBM have inaugurated the first ultra-high speed data
communications service of its kind in Asia -- optical fiber
communication between mainframe computers at 200 megabits per second.

A joint development by Hongkong Telecom and IBM, the new Fibreline
service enables large IBM mainframes 20 kilometers apart to
exchange information at the same speed they use to communicate
with directly attached peripheral devices such as disk storage
units and printers.

IBM's Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON) architecture provides
high-speed serial channels over fiber optic cables to connect
IBM mainframe computers to peripheral devices in the data center
at speeds far in excess of traditional copper cables.

HongkongBank will be the first Fibreline customer, using the service
to link its primary and backup data centers. The backup center
will become a virtual mirror-image of the primary center, enabling
operations to be transferred between the two in an emergency
with almost no interruption to the bank's business.

"A long-held ambition is now in sight," said John Hamilton, assistant
general manager, technical services at HongkongBank. "Today we
have a fully equipped second site computer complex standing by, waiting
for the data to process. The Fibreline service means we can have
the data where we want it, when we want it."

With around 50 potential corporate users in Hong Kong, this Fibreline
service is highly specialized and exploits Hongkong Telecom's
extensive investment in optical fiber-based services throughout
the territory.

Said Andrew J. Mutch, the company's director of corporate market,
"One Fibreline circuit has sufficient capacity to carry the entire
text of the Encyclopedia Britannica in less than 24 seconds. It's
certainly the most advanced fiber-based service offered by any
telecommunications company in Asia, and one of the few such
services available anywhere in the world."

Paul Moung, general manager, IBM Hong Kong, said: "Together with
Hongkong Telecom, we have managed to merge IBM's ESCON facilities
with Telecom's optical fibre technology to ensure that
HongkongBank's critical applications will run continuously.
This is an excellent accomplishment for all three parties and
IBM takes the greatest pleasure in addressing the needs of a
longstanding business partner," Moung added.

The service is monitored night and day by Hongkong Telecom's
Network Management Center through separate connections to each
fiber control unit. Hongkong Telecom can also provide failsafe
cable routes to ensure continuous operation.

(Keith Cameron 19940420 Press Contact: Judy Inn, HK Telecom,
852-888 6374, Pamela George, HKBank, 852-8224924 Florence Ma,
IBM, 852-8483533)


(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00003)

Correction - Toronto Trial To Run Broadband To Homes 04/22/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- In a news story
with the above headline, published by Newsbytes April 19, it was
incorrectly stated that Rogers Communications Inc., is
participating in the Intercom Ontario Consortium, which is
conducting a trial of high-bandwidth communications and services
to the home. It is the Rogers Communications Centre at Ryerson
Polytechnical University that is involved in the trial. Newsbytes
regrets the error.

(Grant Buckler/19940421/Press Contact: Paul Hoffert, CulTech
Collaborative Research Center, 416-736-5405, fax [phone],
electronic-mail: [e-mail]; Simon Atkins or Ilyse
Smith, Atkins & Ellis Ltd. for CulTech, 416-368-6880)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00004)

Australia - Quarterly Results For Lotus, Compaq, Acer 04/22/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Although often reluctant
to give precise local performance results, Lotus, Compaq and
Acer have all reported a good quarter in Australia.

Lotus Australia managing director, Gerhard Rumpff, reported:
"Once again, Lotus Development had an excellent first quarter in
Australia and New Zealand. Locally we've experienced revenue
growth of 20 percent over the first quarter last year. And at
38 percent, the growth in profitability has been even stronger.
These results reflect a very healthy growth in spreadsheet sales,
and in Smartsuite. As in the US, Smartsuite accounted for close
to half of all Windows desktop applications sold in the quarter."

Compaq Australia achieved similar results to the parent company,
with first quarter revenues of AUS$54M (around US$39M), an
increase of 36.8 percent over first quarter 1993. Graham Penn
of IDC said that this was well in excess of the total Australian
market which had grown 18-20 percent over the period. In the
period Compaq moved steadily into the retail arena in Australia
and plans to announce new outlets this year.

worldwide for the recent quarter. Profits were US$32.2M for the
period, compared to just over $2M for the same quarter last year.
The company shipped over 1.2M PCs last year and expects to ship
over 2M this year. Acer Australia reported sales of AUS$55M
last year and is projecting sales of AUS$100M (around US$72M)
this year.

(Paul Zucker/19940422)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00005)

Kofax First To Use NetWare Imaging Services 04/22/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Kofax and Novell
have held a joint press conference to announce Kofax's Ascent
Capture and Ascent ViewManager which are the first products to use
Novell's NetWare Imaging Services (NIS). NIS is part of NetWare's
Distributed Application Services.

The Ascent family is a group of modular image components that
can be used to build client-server imaging applications
running on Windows and Novell NetWare networks.

Ascent Capture is a production-level Windows-based application for
document scanning and capture for mid-sized companies. Ascent can
be expanded to process up to 20,000 pages per day. According to
Kofax president, David Silver, "Above 5,000 pages/day, capture
hardware, and labor costs can be the most expensive components
in the system."

Capture addresses these issues by including features from high
end systems such as document separator codes, "patch codes,"
support for scanners up to 100 ppm, and user definable
validation rules.

Ascent ViewManager is an OLE 2.0, object linking and embedding,
server for displaying and annotating images. OLE allows other
Windows applications to use ViewManager and become image-
enabled through ViewManager. ViewManager can be used to view
and annotate documents captured through Capture.

Netware Imaging Services allowed Kofax to concentrate on building
the best applications possible, the companies report. NIS provides
the APIs (application programming interfaces) to lower level
operating system functions.

Before NIS, developers had to write the code to supply these
services as part of the application. With NIS, an image
application can function as "middleware" between the operating
system and the application that the user actually uses.

NIS includes Document Management Service, which manages data
files, Image Management Service, which manages image display
and manipulation, and Mass Storage Service, which manages file
storage and moving of unused files to off-line storage.

Kofax was founded in 1985 and introduced the first PC document
image processing boards. They also offer Kofax Image Processing
Platform, KIPP, an easy to integrate family of add-in boards,
standard C development software, and object-oriented development
software.

(Nigel Hudson/19940422/Press Contacts: Kofax, Linda Marcus,
714-727-1733 ext 245)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00006)

US West, Bell Atlantic To Test Handy Phones 04/22/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Japan's major telecommunication
firm Daini Denden (DDI) has signed agreements with US West and
Bell Atlantic concerning Personal Handy Phones. The firms
plan to jointly develop a PHP-ISDN (integrated services
digital network) adaptor, and experiment with Personal
Handy Phone services in the US.

DDI will launch experimental service for Personal Handy
Phones in the US in May, jointly with US West and Bell
Atlantic. The three firms will also develop an adaptor for
the phone in order to interconnect with ISDN. The actual start
of Personal Handy Phone service in the US has not been set.

The Personal Handy Phone is expected to be introduced to the
Japanese market next year. DDI and NTT have already tested the
devices in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and are now experimenting
with the phone in the Tokyo area.

The Japanese Ministry of Posts & Telecommunication is expected
to give the go-ahead for the public launch of Personal Handy
Phone service soon.

Personal Handy Phones have several advantages over cellular
phones. The most important is the cost -- Personal Handy
Phone usage fees are expected to be less than half the cost of
cellular phones.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940421/Press Contact: DDI, +81-3-
3221-9526, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00007)

Japan - NTT To Start Multimedia Tests 04/22/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 APR 21 (NB) -- NTT says it will begin a series
of experiments to transmit multimedia data via computer and
cable TV in July. Several private firms are also joining in the
experiment.

Japan's former telecom monopoly, NTT, plans to achieve
rapid transmission of multimedia data through computers
and via cable TVs. The asynchronous transmission mode test using
optical fiber will be conducted nationwide throughout Japan.
The experiment on cable TV will also include the video-on-
demand service.

NTT will be choosing public and private cable TV services
to participate in the experiment.

The first phase will be conducted through the end
of March 1995. The second phase will start in April 1995.
NTT has already linked with two major US firms
concerning development of multimedia telecommunication
services. Microsoft is one them, and under the agreement, NTT will
jointly develop a fax-PC data service system and a software
distribution system.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940421/Press Contact: NTT, +81-3-
3509-3101, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00008)

Now Software Founder Starts New Company 04/22/94
PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Extensis Corporation,
a new software company launched this month, says it will offer
application-specific utilities that extend the capabilities of
mainstream applications such as desktop publishing, graphics,
photography and other products.

Extensis, founded by founder and former vice president of product
design at Now Software, Craig W. Barnes, says that its first product
is scheduled to ship in May 1994. The product, called PageTools, is
a collection of 10 additions for Aldus Pagemaker on the Macintosh. A
Windows version of PageTools is scheduled to ship in the fall.

Barnes said that the installed base of personal computer
applications software represents a large secondary market
opportunity because business and home users want to preserve their
investment and make better use of their systems.

Joining Barnes on the Extensis management team is Randy Hill, who
will serve as product engineering manager. Hill was a software
engineer at Claris Corporation where he worked on the Windows
version of Claris' XTND translator technology.

(Jim Mallory/19940418/Press contact: Bill Warner, Alliance
Consulting Group for Extensis Corporation, 503-452-5920; Reader
contact: Extensis Corporation, 503-274-2020, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(NYC)(00009)

Xerox Seeks To Create On-Demand Publishing Industry 04/22/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- "This will be
for documents what Windows was for the desktop." A Xerox
representative used those words to launch a major industry
initiative aimed at moving many users of traditional printing
services to on-demand publishing services. Xerox calls this
initiative Open Document Services and has introduced a special
logo to identify providers of this service.

Instead of a central plant with long production runs producing
thousands of copies of the same document at one time, local
printing stations will print and bind the document on demand.

RR Donnelly estimates that over 50% of a document's cost is the
logistics to store it and deliver it to the user. Microsoft
estimates that almost half the software manuals it has
printed are thrown out because a new version of the software
is released before the stock of manuals is used up.

Realizing that it could not exploit every niche of this $93 billion
dollar market, Xerox decided to create an open framework to integrate
print-on-demand services. The framework is called DocuSP, a
"middleware" product for connecting printers, computers, scanners,
and storage devices. The Xerox equipment for scanning and
printing these on-demand documents is called DocuTech and several
new printers and scanners were announced.

Print-on-demand requires tremendous bandwidth. A DocuTech running at
full speed (135 pages/minute) requires more bandwidth than high
definition television, according to Xerox. So it has partnered
with AT&T and Belgium and Dutch telephone authorities to
start, to ensure that communications lines with enough capacity
are available. Xerox is also partnering with Microsoft, Novell,
and Lotus and plans major announcements in the next couple of months.

To make print-on-demand services a realistic option, quality has to be
near off-set and production costs must be close to offset - printing
one document on-demand should cost the same per copy as printing
10,000 by traditional methods. Xerox has met this goal with a
cost below 1/2 cent for a double sided page, company representatives
told Newsbytes.

In their demonstration area at the recent AIIM show in New York,
Xerox and partners were producing a hardback professional
book via on-demand printing for less than $5 including the
binding. At an other demo, attendees were given a model
airplane kit with the 24" x 36" assembly instructions on-demand
printed in the attendee's choice of several languages.

A priceless book from the Pontifical (Vatican) library was shown
under glass. A hardbound reproduction of this book, produced
on a DocuTech system, was on top of the glass for attendees
to read. The reproduction's retail price, quantity 1 or 100,
would be $15. A reproduction with the "look and feel" of the
original, handmade paper and cover run though the DocuTech,
would retail for $150 quantity 1 or 100.

Xerox was also showing future technology such as a 35 page/min
color (dry toner) printer that looked just like offset even
under a magnifier.

In support of Xerox's effort to move printing to the
customer, Microsoft was showing a beta OLE (object linking &
embedding) application for remote DocuTech printing. MS's goal is to
have the user specify the options and the print driver will find the
Open Document Services service provider nearest the document's deliver
destination with those options.

(Nigel Hudson/19940422/Press Contacts: Xerox, Jeffrey Simek,
716-423-5250, for Xerox; Hutchins/Y&R, Holly A Barrett, 716-325-0317)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00010)

Gandalf's President And CEO Replaced 04/22/94
NEPEAN, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Brian Hedges has
stepped down as president and chief executive of troubled Gandalf
Technologies Inc., to be replaced by Thomas Vassiliades, a
Gandalf board member and former IBM executive.

Hedges' departure follows a run of quarterly losses prompted by
weak North American sales, and a restructuring effort in which
more than 300 jobs have been cut.

The company lost US$6.79 million in its third quarter, which
ended January 1, on revenues of $20.3 million. Although the
fourth quarter looks better, Gandalf expects to report a loss for
the full fiscal year, company spokesman Des Cunningham told
Newsbytes.

The losses were largely due to weak North American sales, which
Cunningham blamed primarily on an attempt to move too quickly
from older products to a new line. In other parts of the world,
he added, the transition has gone quite smoothly.

Gandalf has cut back its US operations, consolidating many
functions from its Cherry Hill, NJ, office into its
headquarters in Nepean, a suburb of Ottawa. In January, Walter
MacDonald, chief financial officer, told Newsbytes the Cherry
Hill location would become "virtually exclusively a sales
office."

That change led to the loss of about 60 engineering and sales
position in Cherry Hill. In March the company said it would cut
another 274 jobs around the world, leaving it with about 1,000
employees.

Vassiliades, 58, has been a member of Gandalf's board since last
August and has undertaken various consulting jobs for the company
in the past year. He spent more than 30 years at IBM, retiring as
a group director, and then spent six years with Bell Atlantic as
chief executive of the Sorbus Inc., Bell Atlantic Customer
Services Inc., and Bell Atlantic Business Systems Inc.
subsidiaries.

Hedges will retain his seat on the board "while at the same time
pursuing other options," Gandalf said.

(Grant Buckler/19940422/Press Contact: Des Cunningham, Gandalf
Technologies, 613-723-6500, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00011)

Atari Says 86 Developers, Publishers For Jaguar 04/22/94
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Atari Corporation
reports that its Jaguar 64-bit games system has attracted 86
software developers, publishers, and licensees since the system
was unveiled last November.

Some 48 new partners have signed up to Atari over the last month,
Newsbytes has learned. They include Readysoft Inc., publisher of
Dragon's Lair, Lair II and Space Ace; Bullfrog Productions,
developers of Populous and Powermonger; Imagineer, publishers
of Wolfenstein 3D for the Super Nintendo Entertainment Systems
(SNES); Jaleco, the arcade games manufacturer; and Sculptured
Software, developers of Mortal Kombat.

"The innovative technology unleashed by Jaguar challenges us to change
our approach to developing software," explained Glen Williams,
technical director with Williams Brothers Development, one of the
newly signed software developers.

"With Jaguar, game developing is no longer a matter of working within
the machine's capabilities, but of living up to them," he said.

Sam Tramiel, Atari's president, says he is very pleased with the way
the Jaguar has taken off. "Jaguar is the world's most powerful
multimedia video game systems. Consequently, this platform offers
leading developers and publishers unprecedented creative and
commercial opportunities," he said.

Atari recently reported a '93 fourth quarter loss of $22.6 million
in which it took charges which included $12.1 million in inventory
and other items, as well as, $6 million in restructuring
charges in the closure of its Australian subsidiary and
consolidation of its European operations.

For the year 1993, Atari lost $48.9 million on sales of $28.8
million. According to the company, the losses are a result of
changing from an older technology to its new 64-bit, interactive
multimedia system, Jaguar. Profitability was not expected until
Jaguar is shipped in significant volume.

Time Warner has invested $12.8 million in Atari and has a
27% share of the company.

August Ligouri, spokesperson for Atari, recently told
Newsbytes, "By the end of 1994 we expect to have
US-wide availability of Jaguar and in the third and fourth
quarters of this year we will be releasing Jaguar to more and more
areas. It is currently shipping as quickly as we produce it and
has been selling for $249.95 (MSRP) with Cybermorph
included as the first game. We expect the success of Jaguar to
pull the company back into profitability."

(Steve Gold & Patrick McKenna/19940422/Press & Public Contact:
Atari UK - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00012)

Insignia Gets Award From The Queen 04/22/94
HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS, ENGLAND, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Insignia Solutions,
the software emulation company, has received the Queen's Award for
Export Achievement 1994. The award, which is granted to those
companies that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth sees as exporting products
to the benefit of the UK, is the second Queen's Award that Insignia
has received in consecutive years.

According to Insignia, worldwide sales for the company's products have
more than doubled since 1990 and continue to increase. The company
claims it exports software to the US, Australia, and Europe, billing
itself as one of the small number of UK computer companies that have
achieved success and a significant position in the US marketplace.

In addition to its success in the US, Insignia has recently opened a
sales operation in France, as well as signed distributors in each
European country. The company is also in the process of producing
local language editions of its products for sale in Europe.

"We're delighted to have won an award for the second year running and
feel it complements the award we received last year for Technological
Achievement," commented George Buchan, general manager for Insignia
Solutions.

"More importantly, the award recognizes the steps Insignia has taken
over the last few years in establishing a strong European base and a
successful operation throughout the USA. As a result of putting this
kind of international infrastructure in place, our export sales
increased by 150 percent between 1990 and 1992. We are confident that
this figure will rise even more in the next few years," he said.

Insignia Solutions is perhaps best known in the software marketplace
for its SoftWindows and SoftPC packages which allow Windows and DOS
applications to run, respectively, on Unix and Apple Computer
Macintosh computing environments.

(Steve Gold/19940422/Press & Public Contact: Insignia Solutions - Tel:
[phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00013)

AST Europe Intros 3-Year Warranty On PowerExec Notebooks 04/22/94
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Taking a page
from the book that Digital Equipment has written, AST Europe, which
bills itself as the world's fifth largest PC manufacturer, has begun
offering a three-year worldwide limited warranty on its PowerExec
notebook computers. DEC recently became the first in the industry
to offer three-year warranties on its products and predicted that
others in the industry would follow suit.

The company claims the worldwide warranty will give mobile users
the flexibility and convenience of having the machine serviced around
the world. The warranty, Newsbytes understands, is retroactive to
March 1 this year and includes peripherals and options purchased at
the same time.

So how does the warranty work? According to AST, users can be serviced
on a "carry in" basis by any of the 1,400 authorized AST service
providers located in 30 countries around the world.

Newsbytes understands that, in the UK, purchasers can extend their
warranty by paying for the company's ExeCare service that offers 48-
hour repair or 24-hour replacement of their notebook, with free
freight both ways. Other support provided in the UK is free access to
AST's lifetime technical support hotline, as well as access to AST's
"Online!" BBS, which contains a broad selection of technical support
documentation.

Announcing the new warranty arrangements, Oliver Comins, AST's
technical services manager, said: "AST continues to strengthen its
commitment to the mobile professional by supporting its products with
service innovations."

"We realize that mobile professionals' business activities are not
limited by country borders, and neither should their ability to rely
on AST for service and support. Whether users are working at their
home office in the UK, on a business trip in Germany, or on vacation
in the Swiss Alps, they can now rely on AST," he said.

(Steve Gold/19940422/Press & Public Contact: AST Europe - Tel: +44-81-
232-5000; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00014)

London Steps Up Defences Against IT Attacks 04/22/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- This Sunday is the first
anniversary of the Bishopsgate bomb which devastated a section of
London. The repercussions of the bomb are still being felt by the
information technology (IT) community in London, with some offices
still being relocated. If it happens again, however, the City claims
it is ready, having set up a new emergency service.

The terrorist attacks in St Mary's Axe and Bishopsgate in,
respectively, 1992 and 1993, brought the City of London's business
operations to a standstill. The City of London has created a new
Emergency Help Desk to take command, should it happen
again.

Like all international financial centers, the City of London is
totally reliant on computing systems to manage billions of pounds of
transactions every year. Last year, as a result of the Bishopsgate
bombing, there were 4,000 emergency phone calls to the services to
request assistance to get business back to normal.

This is where the new emergency help desk, which is manned 24 hours a
day, aims to help. The help desk is billed as providing
specialist advice on all aspects of disaster recovery, including the
maintenance of crucial IT and technical system, as well as help in
arranging alternative facilities.

The service is a division of the City of London Corporation, with
assistance provided by the Computing Services Association, the
Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, and Survive!, the
business continuity group.

In the event of a serious disaster, a number of private sector
organizations have agreed to donate their disaster recovery expertise
free of charge.

Understandably, the scheme has attracted widespread support from City
Institutions, the City of London Police, and the Home Office. Paul
Newall, the Rt Honorable Lord Mayor of London, has said he is pleased
that such a service is available.

"Should the City ever suffer another outrage on the scale of the
bombing in Bishopsgate one year ago, it is comforting to know that the
Help Desk is now established. The service they are able to provide
would be of inestimable value to companies whose business was
disrupted and would go a long way to ensuring that, in Europe's
financial capital, it would be `business as usual," he said.

Les Jenkins, the Chief Inspector of the City of London Police, said
that, inevitably, the priorities of the police are to save lives and
ensure public security. "Our ability to help businesses recover is
necessarily limited. The new Help Desk will provide a critically
important service and ensure that the City continues to operate as
smoothly as possible,' he said.

(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19940422/Press & Public Contact: Computing
Services Association - Tel: [phone]; Survive! - Tel: +44-81-
871-2546; Press Only Contact: Rob Hipkins, Charles Barker PLC - Tel:
[phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00015)

 ****Motorola PowerPC Chip For Embedded Use 04/22/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- In a press
conference at the Embedded Systems show in Boston, Motorola unveiled
the RMCU500 family of microcontrollers, a product family that joins
IBM's PPC 403GA, a chip previewed in the IBM booth at the show,
among the first two implementations of PowerPC to be announced for
embedded applications.

At the Motorola news conference, which was attended by Newsbytes,
Paul Lake, RISC MCU operations manager for the Advanced
Microcontroller Division, said that Motorola's new PowerPC
microprocessors will feature a modular architecture for easy
adaptability to a variety of low-cost, low-power embedded
applications for consumer, office, and automotive use.

Cellular phones, pagers, personal communicators, TV set-top boxes,
and printers are some of the expected applications for the RMCU500
chips, according to Lake. The new embedded microcontrollers will be
"100 percent compatible with" and fully scalable to Motorola's MPC
600 series of PowerPC controllers for desktop and server
implementations, he added.

"Embedded controllers are becoming more commonplace in our daily
lives," Lake maintained. Market estimates show that each automobile
today uses five to 25 embedded controllers, and that the typical
household now boasts 25 to 40 of these controllers, in devices
ranging from refrigerators to VCRs, he said. Moreover, the average
office is using five embedded chips.

Motorola, a vendor classified by Dataquest as the world's largest
producer of microcontrollers, predicts that the growth of embedded
systems will rise further in years to come, according to the
operations manager. "Increased integration and sophistication are
forcing `bandwidth budgeting,'" he reported. Other market drivers
include trends toward mobility and "constant communications"
that are coming on strong in the emerging information age.

At the same time, customers are demanding "faster response and
higher product utility" in embedded systems, he maintained. To
illustrate this point, Lake told the journalists that even his ten-
year-old son has noticed the difference in response time between
one electronic game and another.

In the RMCU505, its first implementation, Motorola's PowerPC
embedded controller will operate at 25 megahertz (MHz). The speed
of the embedded chip will increase first to 33 MHz, and then to 40
MHz by the fourth quarter of 1995, according to Lake.

The RMCU505 also supports three standby modes -- "wait," "doze,"
and "sleep" -- that permit various on-ship peripherals to be shut
off when not in use. The chip requires a maximum of 3.3 volts of
power, a requirement that will become even lower in the future, he
said.

The new RMCU505 is made up of a Power PC-based processor core,
which has been enhanced for embedded environments, along with two
peripheral modules: a 4 kilobyte (KB) static random access
memory (SRAM) module, and a multi-functional system integration
unit (SIU).

The core of the microcontroller is equipped with integer, floating-
point, and branch execution units, in addition to an integrated 4
KB instruction cache, said Lake. The SIU incorporates all the
features of the system integration module (SIM) in Motorola's 68300
family, including an intermodule bus (IMB), chip selects, a test
and debug module, and system protection.

The SIU also adds new capabilities aimed specifically at embedded
applications. These include a new timing method that lets the chip
turn off clocking signals to circuits that are standing idle,
as well as "programmable bus sizing," a patented technique that
lets the chip alter its bus "on the fly" for communication with 16-
and 32-bit devices.

"The IMB works a lot like a computer motherboard," Lake told the
journalists. The IMB bus, he explained, permits insertion of plug-
in system modules -- such as the central processor unit (CPU),
memory, communications, and timers -- in much the same way that
computer cards slide into the motherboard.

Motorola's RMCU500 family will use the IMB2, a new 32-bit wide
"multimaster" version of the bus that will permit the chips to
support multiple processors. Plug-in options for the IMB2
will include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM),
serial communications, analog-to-digital converters, "general
purpose" timers, erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) and
flash electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM).

Motorola's vision for further into the future, he said, calls for
the addition of new modules for the IMB2 -- digital signal
processing (DSP), fuzzy logic, and neural networks, for example --
as well as other new options for the embedded microcontrollers,
such as PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association) interfaces.

In the fourth quarter of this year, Motorola plans to ship a suite
of software development tools for the embedded controllers. The
suite will include a C compiler, a macro assembler, a linker, a
debugger, an S-record generator for EPROM preparation, and an
archiver, according to Lake.

A version of the development tools that runs on IBM RS-6000
workstations is currently in beta, the operations manager noted.
The development tools will be released commercially for Sun
workstations as well as RS-6000, he added.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940422/Reader contact: Motorola, 512-928-6000;
Press Contacts: Dick Spilo, Motorola Advanced MCU Division,
512-891-3260; Kathleen Kenney, Cunningham Communication for
Motorola, 617-494-8202; Joan MacNeil, Cunningham Communication for
Motorola, 408-982-0400)


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

 ****Key Apple Execs Leave 04/22/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Two of four
key executives reporting directly to Apple Computer head Michael
Spindler are out just days before the company's lower-than-
expected earnings were released, leaving the key posts unfilled.
Apple has no comment on reports that one of the executives was
fired.

However the company has confirmed that Gaston Bastiaens, general
manager of the division that produced the Newton Messagepad, and
Morris Taradalsky, general manager of the business systems
division, are exiting the company.

Taradalsky is taking the position of president and chief
executive officer of Micronet Technology, an Irvine, California-
based data storage maker. Before his five-year tenure at Apple,
he spent 18 years and was the vice president and general manager
of the largest software development center, the Santa Teresa
Laboratory.

Gaston Bastiaens, head of the Personal Interactive Electronics
(PIE) that produced the Newton Messagepad, had been with Apple since
1992, is heading off to start his own company, according to a
release from Apple. Before working at Apple, Bastiaens spent 21
years with Philips Electronics in Eindhoven, Netherlands. In the
release, Spindler publicly praised both Taradalsky and Bastiaens,
wishing each well in their new endeavors.

Other members of the PIE team have also left Apple. Scott "ZZ"
Zimmerman, one of the development team on the Newton, is now at
Integration Systems, a California-based developer of Newton
software aimed at the real estate market.

Sales of the Messagepad have not met Apple's expectations,
according to Newsbytes' sources, who said the company based its
financial model on sales of 100,000 units. Apple will neither
confirm nor deny the report, but said Messagepad shipments are
currently at 80,000.

Apple representatives also told Newsbytes the company went back
to a prerelease design in its most recent release of the
Messagepad 110, a design that had been altered in producing the
original Messagepad.

For the time being, James Groff, vice president of Apple's local
area network (LAN)-based systems will act as Taradalsky's
replacement in the Apple Business Systems (ABS) division. Joseph
Graziano, chief financial officer (CFO) will take over the PIE
team until a replacement can be found.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940422/Press Contact: Frank O'Mahony, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00017)

Client/Server A Boon For Services Industry - IDC Report 04/22/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Client/server
computing has been great news for the computer services industry,
according to Rebecca Segal, director of services consulting with
International Data Corp. (IDC). Speaking at the annual strategy
briefing run by IDC's Canadian subsidiary here, Segal said many
organizations want to move to client/server but lack the skills
to do it themselves -- so they are turning to outside service
providers for help.

Whether through client/server computing or other technologies,
Segal said, companies are spending a lot of money lately on
improving the way they do business, and information technology
plays a key role. Client/server computing is a major part of the
process in most cases.

Largely as a result of this, the services industry is showing
strong growth. In the United States, Segal said, the only area
that is declining is on-site hardware maintenance. IDC is
forecasting particularly strong growth in telephone support
services through 1997, with help desk outsourcing, remote
diagnostics, software maintenance, systems and network
management, parts support, and disaster recovery also growing.

With the shift to client/server computing, which is "inherently
multi-vendor," Segal said, the ability to deal with hardware and
software from multiple vendors is becoming more vital. "Most
vendors are seeing their captive services revenue falling off and
their multi-vendor services revenue rising," she said.

Technology manufacturers need to pursue third-party maintenance
to compensate for this drop in revenue from servicing their own
products, she said. At the same time, third-party maintenance
firms, which have suffered in recent years because they put too
much emphasis on hardware, will shortly start reaping the
benefits from investing in software and networking skills. But
the biggest winners in the multi-vendor services market will be
integrators, value-added resellers, and outsourcing contractors.

For most IS managers surveyed recently by IDC, maintenance and
management of existing systems will be more important than
planning services in the coming years, Segal added. However,
though planning budgets are smaller than those for maintenance
and management, most organizations spend larger portions of their
planning budgets on outside services.

In IDC's ranking of IT consulting firms worldwide, Andersen
Consulting and IBM led by a wide margin, followed by Computer
Sciences Corp., Price Waterhouse, and Hewlett-Packard Co.

(Grant Buckler/19940422/Press Contact: Elizabeth Fleming, IDC
Canada, 416-369-0033, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00018)

Dell Stock Falls Amidst Derivative Contract Loss Confusion 04/22/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Dell Computer
Corporation's stock dropped $2.87-1/2 to $22 on the NASDAQ stock
market yesterday after a report on CNBC cable television suggested
that Dell's derivative contracts dealings could mean a loss of as
much as $350 million to the computer maker.

Derivatives are investments whose value is derived from an
underlying security such as stocks, bonds, or currency. According to
an Associated Press report they are often used by sophisticated
speculators in efforts to earn fast profits. AP says companies
sometimes use them to limit risks against sudden moves in interest
rates or currency values.

Dell spokesperson Michele Moore told Newsbytes Dell's 10-K form
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early April
contained "somewhat extensive disclosure" about the three-year-old
derivative program. Moore said this isn't the first time the
company's SEC filings have contained information about the program.
"It's not a new issue. I think it probably just gathered new
interest in light of some of the other derivative developments
affecting other companies."

Derivatives have become more well-known recently due to the
millions of dollars lost by companies such as Procter & Gamble as
stock and bond prices fell. P&G reportedly will reduce its earnings
by $102 million because of financial investments that went bad.

Moore said Dell has about a $355 million position in derivative
instruments. "The risk for a credit loss in those instruments is
considerably less." Dell has reported annual gains in its interest
programs for the past three years. The company's financial report
for the fiscal year ending in January 1994 reported earnings from
derivative contracts at $5.2 million, and losses from one of the
contracts in the fourth quarter of the same fiscal year at
$500,000.

Moore said the company expects to take a charge against income as a
result of its derivative program in the first quarter, which ends
next week. "That's not to say we expect a loss for the quarter."
She said Dell expects to report a profit for the quarter, but
declined to say how much. Financial analyst estimates range from
$0.33 to $0.50 per share with most in the $0.40 range. In the most
recent quarter Dell reported earnings of $0.39 per share.

Moore said CNBC issued a revised report after she spoke with the
network.

(Jim Mallory/19940422/Press contact: Michelle Moore, Dell Computer
Corporation, 512-728-4100)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00019)

Borland Reorganizes European Operations 04/22/94
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Borland, in
another effort to cut costs, announced a 20% cut in its European
work force, a division of European operations into two regional
operations divisions, and managing directors for each of the
two new regions.

European operations are to be organized into Northern Europe,
including UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Nordic Countries,
and Benelux Countries, and Southern Europe which includes France,
Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Middle East, Northern Africa and
Eastern Europe.

Francois Micol, Borland's managing director of business in
Italy, Eastern Europe, and Africa and previously with Zenith Data
Systems, was named managing director of the new Southern Europe
center and Gidi Schmidt, recently managing director of Borland's
Benelux and Nordic operations and previously with Ashton-Tate,
was named managing director of the Northern Europe center.

Newsbytes notes the personnel cuts of approximately 100 (20%)
follow a 14% cut in Borland's US workforce. Borland has told
Newsbytes that the personnel notifications will go out
immediately and a number of positions will close right away,
while others will be transitional as needed by the company.

The US layoffs of approximately 200 are nearly complete with
some positions still in transition.

As Phillipe Kahn, chairman and CEO of Borland, attempts to
restructure the company with a streamlining of operations,
the firm expects to incur an undetermined restructuring charge
which will be announced with its fourth quarter results next month.
Borland previously announced that it anticipates a decline of
revenues and a substantial operating loss for the fiscal
quarter and year ending March 31, 1994.

With a renewed commitment to databases, programming
languages and client/server tools, Borland is determined to
"right-size" itself into a more Spartan and robust state,
according to company officers. Steve Grady, senior public
relations specialist for Borland, told Newsbytes, "The feeling
at Borland is that we have focused ourselves and we can now
specialize in databases, programming languages, and client/server
tools. With this regionalization of our European organization,
we will increase communication. Prior to this reorganization
we had a miniature Borland in each country, now with regional
headquarters we have eliminated all the duplicated
administrative tasks and left the area offices to deal
directly with customer services only. This means the communication
between our US and European operations will simplified and faster."

(Patrick McKenna/1994/Press Contact: Steve Grady, Borland, 408-431-
1621)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00020)

Company Results Roundup 04/22/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- This is
a regular feature, summarizing company results not reported
elsewhere by Newsbytes: Macromedia, Control Data Systems Inc.,
Alliance Semiconductor Corp., Cognex Corporation, Cornerstone
Imaging Inc., SuperMac Technology Inc., Silicon Valley Group,
Lotus Development Corp., Boole & Babbage Inc., Radius Inc.,
Compaq Computer Corporation.

IBM, Intel, and Texas Instruments were not the only
semiconductor-related companies posting profits this week.
In addition, there was Alliance Semiconductor and Silicon
Valley Group. Income was also evident at software companies
Macromedia, Lotus Development, and Boole & Babbage. Other
companies reporting good results were systems integrator
Control Data, machine vision company Cognex, Cornerstone
Imaging, Radius, and Compaq. Of those companies listed
here, only SuperMac reported a loss.

Multimedia software company Macromedia, (415-252-2107),
announced that revenues were $8,115,000 for the fourth quarter
ended March 31, 1994, an increase of 29 percent or $1,837,000
compared to the same period a year ago. Net income for the
quarter totaled $1,098,000 or $0.09 per share, up 301 percent
from the $274,000 or $0.03 per share earned in the fourth
quarter of last year. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 1994,
revenues totaled $30,132,000, up 19 percent from the
$25,261,000 reported for the same period one year ago. Net
income for the year totaled $3,120,000 or $0.29 per share
compared with a net loss of ($235,000) or ($0.03) per share
reported last year.

Systems integrator Control Data Systems Inc., (612-482-4857),
reported 1994 first quarter net earnings of $1.4 million, or
$0.10 per share, on revenues of $145.6 million. This compares
to net earnings of $1.3 million, or $0.10 per share, on revenues
of $102.7 million for the first quarter of 1993. While net
earnings and earnings per share in the first quarter of 1994
were comparable to the year ago quarter, the operating earnings
increased from $0.2 million to $1.3 million.

Alliance Semiconductor Corporation (408-436-1860), reported
that net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1994, which
ended March 31, 1994, were a record $17.2 million, 69 percent
higher than the $10.2 million reported for the fourth quarter
of fiscal 1993. Net income for the quarter was $2.7 million,
or $0.19 per share, compared to net income for the same quarter
last year of $1.4 million, or $0.13 per share. Net revenues
for fiscal 1994 were $54.6 million, an increase of 146 percent
compared to the $22.2 million reported for fiscal 1993. Net
income for fiscal 1994 was $8.7 million, or $0.73 per share,
compared to net income of $2.0 million, or $0.18 per share for
fiscal 1993.

Cognex Corporation, (617-449-6030), a designer and manufacturer
of machine vision systems used to replace human vision, announced
revenue for the first quarter ended April 3, 1994 of $12,838,000,
a 45 percent increase from the first quarter of 1993 of $8,842,000,
and the highest revenue recorded in a single quarter in the
company's history. Net income for the first quarter ended April
3, 1994 increased 49 percent to $3,197,000, or $.17 per share,
compared to $2,149,000, or $.12 per share, for the comparable
period a year ago. The first quarter of 1994 represented the
twenty-eighth consecutive quarter of profitability for the company.

Cornerstone Imaging Inc., (408-435-8900), which develops a line
of DIP products that maximize user productivity in document
imaging systems, reported revenues and earnings for the first
quarter ended March 31, 1994. For the first quarter, Cornerstone
reported revenues of $15.9 million, up 98 percent from $8 million
the first quarter of 1993. Net income was $1.6 million, or 22 cents
per share, compared with net income of $548,000, or nine cents per
share, last year. There were 7,227,000 weighted average shares
outstanding for the first quarter of 1994, compared with 5,802,000
weighted average shares a year ago.

Graphics peripheral supplier SuperMac Technology Inc.,
(408-541-5270), announced operating results for the first
quarter ended March 31, 1994. The company reported first quarter
revenue of $39.9 million and a net loss of $1,529,000, or 17 cents
per share on 8.8 million shares, as compared to revenue of $43.7
million and net income of $2.1 million, or 25 cents per share on
8.4 million shares, in the year ago quarter. For the three months
ended March 31, 1994, the company reported an operating loss of
$1.3 million versus an operating profit of $3.5 million in the
like period last year.

Silicon Valley Group, (408-434-0500), reported sales of
$85,300,000 for the second quarter of fiscal 1994 ended March 31,
1994 which represented an increase of 65 percent from second
quarter fiscal 1993 sales of $51,602,000 and a 20 percent increase
from first quarter fiscal 1994 sales of $70,917,000. The company
recorded net income for the second quarter of fiscal 1994 of
$4,742,000 or 23 cents per share compared to net income of
$441,000 or 1 cent per share and $2,719,000 or 15 cents per
share in the second quarter of fiscal 1993 and first quarter
of fiscal 1994, respectively. The company is a supplier of wafer
processing equipment for the semiconductor industry.

Lotus Development Corp., (617-693-1697), reported
earnings of $21.3 million, or 45 cents per share, for the first
quarter ended April 2, a 75 percent increase over earnings of
$12.3 million, or 29 cents per share, in the first quarter of
1993. Revenue for the quarter totaled $247 million, a 9 percent
increase over revenue of $227 million in the comparable 1993
period. First quarter revenue in 1993 included sales from the
company's One Source business that Lotus sold during the third
quarter of last year. Excluding One Source, first quarter
revenue increased 13 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Boole & Babbage Inc., (408-526-3333), a provider of
enterprise automation software for distributed systems announced
record revenues, net income and earnings per share for its
second quarter of fiscal 1994. Led by a 26% increase in licensing
revenue, second quarter revenues totaled $32,023,000 or a 12%
increase over the fiscal 1993 revenues of $28,475,000. Operating
income jumped 60% to $3,311,000 compared to last year's second
quarter. Net income rose by 37% to a record $2,756,000 and
related earnings per share increased 41% to a record $.58,
compared to $.41 last year. Outstanding shares decreased by 3%
due to the impact of 146,700 shares repurchased since the stock
buyback program began in mid-1993. For the 6 months ended March
31, 1994, licensing revenue was up by 17% with total revenue up
9%. Operating income increased by 23% to $6,650,000, related
net income was up by 28%, and earnings per share increased by
30% to $1.07 compared to $.82 last year.

Radius Inc., (408-434-1010), announced revenues of $43.2
million for the second quarter of its 1994 fiscal year, up 40%
from $30.9 million in the same period a year earlier. Net
income for the quarter was $1.2 million, or 8 cents per share,
compared to a net loss of $5.3 million, or a loss of 39 cents per
share, in the prior year quarter. Year to date revenues totaled
$82.8 million, up 22% from $67.7 million in the same period
last year. Year to date net income was $1.9 million, or 13 cents
per share, versus a net loss of $6.0 million, or a loss of 45
cents per share, in the prior year period.

Compaq Computer Corporation (617-536-0470), announced
record sales of $2.3 billion for the first quarter ended March
31, 1994, a 41 percent increase over the $1.6 billion reported
in the same period of 1993. Net income for the quarter reached
a record $213 million, an increase of 108 percent compared with
$102 million in last year's first quarter. Earnings per share
for the first quarter rose to $2.39 from $1.23 in the same period
last year, up 94 percent.

(Ian Stokell/19940422)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00021)

Personnel Changes Roundup 04/22/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- This is
a regular feature, summarizing personnel changes at companies
not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Spectrum HoloByte Inc.,
AT&T, Megahertz Corp., and ImagiNation Network.

Interactive entertainment software company Spectrum
HoloByte Inc., (510-522-3584), announced that Stephen J.
Morris has been named managing director of the company's
European subsidiary, MicroProse Ltd. Morris replaces Adrian Parr,
who had held this position since 1989. Morris was previously
employed at MicroProse USA as senior vice president of Finance
and Operations. Spectrum acquired MicroProse Inc., in December
1993.

AT&T, (908-221-2062), has named William H. Oliver, a former
communications executive at TRW, Inc., and Weyerhaeuser Co., to
the post of vice president of corporate public relations, effective
May 1. Oliver, 51, will head AT&T's global corporate public
relations organization, supporting the government affairs,
employee information, media relations and speechwriting
organizations of more than 100 people around the country.
Before beginning his career in the private sector, Oliver was the
US Army's first race relations officer in Europe. In 1966, he
served as legislative assistant to former US Rep. Charles A.
Mosher (R-Ohio) and later held staff positions for the Secretary
of Defense and was director of public affairs for the National
Institute of Education. In 1977, he joined PACCAR Inc., of
Bellevue, Wash., a truck manufacturer, where he created a
public affairs organization. Four years later, he became vice
president of communications at Weyerhaeuser, in Tacoma, Wash.
Oliver received a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's
degree in political science from Kent State University in Ohio.

Megahertz Corp., (801-320-7701), has appointed John T. Lemley
chief financial officer. He is currently vice president and
corporate controller of Medtronic Inc., but will join Megahertz
as senior vice president and chief financial officer in June,
1994. Prior to his three and a half years at Medtronic Inc.,
Lemley completed 18-years with Hewlett Packard Co. where he
held key financial executive positions in US manufacturing
divisions and international operations, and most recently as
controller of Hewlett Packard's flagship Microwave and
Communications Instrument Group.

Online multi-player interactive entertainment service,
ImagiNation Network, has appointed Kathleen A. Murphy to the
position of chief financial officer. Murphy was formerly vice
president of finance and chief financial officer of Verity Inc.,
a client-server document retrieval software company. Before
that she held executive management positions with both
Automation Technology Products and Software Publishing
Company, as the vice president of finance and chief financial
officer, and at Hewlett-Packard as a financial manager in the
Data Systems Division. She holds a bachelor of science degree
from Georgetown University, and a Master of Business
Administration from the University of California at Berkeley.

(Ian Stokell/19940422)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00022)

Networking Roundup 04/22/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- This is
a regular feature, summarizing networking news not covered
elsewhere by Newsbytes: Infinite Technologies, Resource
Partners Inc., and Fore Systems.

Infinite Technologies, (410-363-1097), says it has begun
shipping the NetWare MHS-compatible Connect2 message router,
which reportedly offers high performance, system reliability and
enhanced security, and replaces MHS for those users who are
unable to upgrade to an NLM (NetWare Loadable Module)-based
messaging system. The product supports both NetWare and
non-NetWare environments like LANtastic and LAN Manager, and
is compatible with existing MHS and Global MHS installations.
Connect2 is priced from $149 for 10 users to $6,999 for 1,000
users.

Resource Partners Inc., (603-522-9500), says it now offers
Banyan VINES Mail users a new electronic mail gateway to Fax
Resource Network Fax Services. This reportedly allows any
VINES Mail message reach any dial-up fax machine, and also
lets incoming faxes arrive as viewable attachments to
incoming electronic-mail. New Fax Resource Gateway for
Banyan VINES Mail is available for $1,095 for the first post
office per site, $499 per additional post office. The company
says that with the gateway in place, a Banyan VINES Mail user
can fax the text of any message as well as text (ASCII) or
image file (G3 TIFF) attachments to messages. Users can
specify normal, urgent or delayed fax transmissions. It lets
users add fax addresses to their e-mail address directories,
and reports successful and failed transmissions via e-mail.

Fore Systems, (412-772-6513), announced price reductions,
of up to 60 percent, on all its ForeRunner ATM (asynchronous
transfer mode) adapters. The company claims that the price
cuts have dropped the SBA-100 ATM adapter to just $995.
The SBA-200, claimed by the company to be "the industry's
highest performance fiber based ATM adapter," now costs
$1,595. Said George Prodan, director of Marketing-Adapters,
"Increases in volume shipments have had a significant impact
on our ability to lower ATM adapter prices. The economies of
scale for ATM are significantly larger than for other high
speed technologies simply because ATM plays, not only in LAN
(local area network), but also in the backbone and enterprise
wide corporate network. The combination of these markets
are propelling ATM technology down a steep cost curve."

(Ian Stokell/19940422)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00023)

FASB Goes Slow On Employee Stock Options 04/22/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- The Financial
Accounting Standards Board has put off for at least this year its
controversial plan to require companies to deduct the cost of
employee stock options from earnings. The FASB proposal had set
off a firestorm in Silicon Valley, where high-tech start-ups often
use options in place of money to reward executives.

"There will be no decision this year," Ed Hatcher, director of
congressional relations at the American Electronics Association, told
Newsbytes. An April 18 meeting, where FASB was expected to take up the
year-old proposal, turned out to be an extremely narrow and technical
briefing sessions, Hatcher said.

Since announcing its proposal in April 1993, FASB has taken written
comments and held two sets of hearings. The March hearings in Silicon
Valley brought out thousands of protesting employees from high-tech
firms in the San Jose, Calif., area.

Under FASB's original proposal, companies that grant stock options to
employees would have to determine the "fair value" of the options,
using a complex options-pricing model, and take this as an expense on
income statements. The result would be a major erosion of earnings of
many rapidly growing companies, according to the AEA.

Hatcher said he is going to be busy "putting pressure on Congress and
talking to the administration and the Securities and Exchange
Commission" to make sure they understand the damage the FASB proposal
could cause. "Even FASB's academic supporters are beginning to realize
this thing is subject to great error."

Hatcher said it is also clear that there are deep divisions in the
eight-member FASB over the proposal, although the views of individual
members are not known. "There is going to be more and more, and louder
and louder" contention over the subject, he said.

FASB is an independent standards-setting body funded by the accounting
industry. Working from headquarters in Norwalk, Conn., it sets the
"generally accepted accounting principles" that are the framework for
consistent reporting of financial results to investors and the SEC in
Washington.

(Kennedy Maize/19940422/Contact: Ed Hatcher, AEA, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00024)

Metrocall Buys California Paging Company 04/22/94
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Metrocall, an
Alexandria, Va., paging firm, is acquiring AllCity Paging of Tarzana,
Calif., strengthening Metrocall's position as the second largest
public paging company with over 630,000 customers.

Under the deal, AllCity will become part of Metrocall's FirstPage USA.
Metrocall acquired FirstPage earlier this year. Metrocall is buying
the California firm for 555,000 shares of Metrocall stock. Metrocall
will also assume $18 million in AllCity debt.

AllCity is one of the largest paging companies in California, with
130,000 pagers in service, according to Metrocall. The company also
has a strong presence in Nevada and Arizona.

Chris Kidd, Metrocall chief executive officer, told Newsbytes,
"We went to the public market last July, and we sold a three-prong
strategy: grow, build, and acquire. We recognize the continuing
blossoming of the wireless environment, and we've been in the
environment 30 years. We will increase penetration in existing
markets: mid-Atlantic US, California, and Nevada. The build part
of the strategy is to build the second Metrocall wireless network,
as a direct head-to-head competitor with Skytel and Mobilcom, a
Bellsouth company."

The acquisition part of the strategy, he outlined, began with
the acquisition of FirstPage, which took the company to half
a million subscribers. In December, Kidd added, "We said we
would have three quarters of a million subscribers by late fall.
There is no question that we will meet that target."

He says the strategy will allow the company to serve 847
cities with paging.

Kidd says the company is waiting for regulatory approval on
the Firstpage and Allcity acquisitions, which is expected to
proceed without a hitch.

Commenting on the financial implications of the FirstPage and AllCity
transactions, Metrocall Chief Financial Officer Vince Kelly said, "We
have succeeded in achieving what we believe will be financially
favorable business combinations which allow Metrocall to meet its
stated strategy while keeping total leverage at reasonable levels for
our industry."

In addition to operating paging networks in the Mid-Atlantic and
California markets, Metrocall's nationwide wireless network provides
nationwide wireless communications to pagers, data terminals, personal
computers and personal digital assistants in the top 100 US markets.

(Kennedy Maize/19940422/Contact: Chris Kidd, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(WAS)(00025)

Electronic Factory Sales Show Strong 1Q 04/22/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Led by computers and
telecommunications, first quarter factory sales of electronic
equipment, components, and related products are up a substantial 11.3
percent this year to $77.5 billion, according to the Electronic
Industries Association. Last year's first quarter sales were $70
billion.

"Our industry is continuing last year's dynamic growth with an
outstanding performance for the first quarter," said EIA President
Peter McCloskey. "Strong new orders assure '94 to be another record
breaking year in electronics."

Telecommunications hardware led the growth parade with a 24.4 percent
increase quarter-to-quarter. Sales totaled $11.1 billion in 1994 versus
$8.9 billion in the first quarter of last year.

Computers and peripherals hit a 20.3 percent growth rate over last
year, with sales of $16.4 billion for the first quarter compared to $13.7
billion last year.

The components sector was up 18.3 percent to $19.9 billion, from $16.8
billion last year. Electromedical equipment grew slightly, from $1.97
billion in 1993 to $2 billion this year, or a 2.5 percent rate, said
EIA. The consumer electronics sector was up 6.7 percent to $1.9
billion compared to $1.8 billion last year.

The industrial electronic sector improved just a bit, rising from $6.3
billion in 1993 to $6.5 billion this year, a 2.8 percent gain. EIA's
"other" category hit $12.7 billion, up a tiny half percent over the
$12.6 billion last year.

The only decline came, predictably, in defense communications, where
sales fell 7.2 percent to $7.1 billion in the first quarter, compared
to $7.6 billion last year.

EIA's figures are compiled from US Department of Commerce data.

(Kennedy Maize/19940422/Contact: Mark Rosenker, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00026)

 ****Apple Squeaks Into The Black, Credits Power Mac 04/22/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- While revenues
are up 5 percent and Macintosh unit shipments are up 9 percent,
Apple Computer's second quarter net income is down over 80
percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. Apple said
shipments of the PowerPC-based Macintosh is what kept it in the
black, attributing unit shipment and revenue gains to the newly
introduced computer.

The company reported second quarter net income of $17.4 million
compared to $110.9 million a year earlier and $40.0 million last
quarter. Revenues are down compared to last quarter with $2.08
billion this quarter compared to the $2.469 billion reported in
the first quarter, but up from the $1.97 billion of a year
earlier. More than half the revenue, or 52 percent, was from
foreign sales, mostly in Japan. That figure was an increase of 47
percent over in the same period a year ago, Apple said.

The company also said it cut its operating expenses during the
quarter $127.4 million to $464.3 million. Last year Apple cut
expenses by laying off 2,500 employees, but no layoffs were
reported this quarter.

The Power Macintoshes can run both Macintosh and IBM-
compatible DOS and Windows applications using emulation software
sold separately. Apple claims it has shipped 145,000 Power
Macintosh units since the introduction late in the quarter.

Michael Spindler, president and chief executive officer said:
"Our challenges going forward are to hold our expenses down,
position our Macintosh and new Power Macintosh products with
customers, and work with developers to deliver new versions of
the Macintosh applications optimized for the Power Macintosh."
The company did say the anticipated release of the Power
Macintosh limited sales of its Macintosh line during the quarter.

On any computer platform, the availability of applications make
the difference in market acceptance and applications that run
directly on the Power Macintosh, or "native," are in short
supply. Apple claims there are now 50 native Power Macintosh
applications available and other 150 developers planning to ship
Power Macintosh applications by the end of 1994.

The brightest spot for Apple is the adoption of the Power
Macintosh by several corporations. Monsanto Agricultural Group,
Holiday Inn Worldwide, and Val-Pack Direct Marketing Systems have
already chosen the Power Macintosh. In addition, Cornell
University, Dartmounth College, and the UCLA's Anderson Graduate
School of Business have also gone with the Power Mac.

Just before the earnings announcement, Apple made public the
departure of two of the four executives that report directly to
Spindler. Gaston Bastiaens, head of the Personal Interactive
Electronics (PIE) division and responsible for the Newton, and
Morris Taradalsky, general manager of the Apple Business Systems
(ABS) division are both leaving the company and other company
officials are being assigned their responsibilities until
replacements are found. Reports outside of Apple assert Bastiaens
was fired, but Apple representatives said they have no comment.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940422/Press Contact: Frank O'Mahony, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00027)

Intel To Build $1.3 Billion Arizona Microchip Plant 04/22/94
CHANDLER, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Just a few days
after posting net income for the first quarter, 1994, of $617
million, Intel has announced it will build a $1.3 billion microchip
factory in Chandler, Arizona. The company has been expanding its
chip manufacturing facilities over the past year to keep up with
current, and expected, demands.

Just this week, Newsbytes reported that market research firm,
Dataquest, estimated the semiconductor market will exceed
$100 billion in 1994.

Intel's proposed Arizona plant will produce advanced versions
of the company's high-end future microprocessors. Construction
will begin immediately and the plant should start producing by
early 1997, according to the company.

Intel says it is planning to invest $2.4 billion in capital expansion
this year, and adds that this is the latest step in the company's
expansion program which has invested $7 billion in the past five
years.

In announcing the plans, Dr. Craig Barrett, Intel's executive vice
president and chief operating officer, said: "Intel must build these
new factories today if we are to maintain our leadership position
tomorrow. The PC industry is growing rapidly and Intel
microprocessors are a key ingredient. When customers want 'Intel
Inside' (Intel's logo posted on PCs containing its products) we
must be ready to supply it."

The new computer chip fabrication facility, named Fab 12, will
add over 1.5 million-square-feet and will include 140,000
square-feet of "Class 1" cleanroom, the ultra-clean area where
chips are actually made. Chips will be made on eight-inch
diameter wafers and the circuit lines on the chips made will
be 0.25 microns in width. Intel says its most advanced production
factories currently produce chips featuring circuits lines of 0.6
microns.

The new factory is good news for the area, because Intel says that
it will create 2,000 new jobs, and that it will also create "several
thousand permanent non-Intel support jobs when the factory is
operational." Additionally, during the interim, up to 3.000 jobs for
highly-skilled construction workers will be created while the
plant is being built.

Intel has been active in adding to its manufacturing facilities.
Last year, Newsbytes reported that Intel had decided to expand
its Folsom, California, facility. The expansion could lead to up
to 1,750 new jobs in the area. The Folsom site, originally
opened in 1984, will reportedly be expanded by adding a four-
story, 360,000 square foot building.

Intel also announced plans last year to expand its Rio Rancho,
New Mexico, manufacturing facilities by $1 billion.

The company, which provides the chips used as the "brains" in
personal computers, has been continually posting large profits
for its quarterly reports.

Just this week Newsbytes reported that Intel had posted
its seventh record quarter of revenue and earnings. In its first
quarter of 1994 earnings statement, Intel announced revenue
was up to $2.66 billion, up from the $2.02 billion reported in
the year ago quarter and up from last quarter's $2.39 billion in
revenue. Net income was reported at $617 million compared
with $548 million in the same quarter last year and up from the
$594 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

But Intel is not the only semiconductor-related company posting
good financial results. This week both Texas Instruments and
IBM followed suit.

Yesterday Texas Instruments reported that its first quarter,
1994, profits reached $209 million. The company said that first
quarter, 1994, net revenues were $2.45 billion, a 30 percent
increase over the $1.88 billion for the same period in 1993.
The company added that most of that increase is attributable
to growth in semiconductor revenues and higher royalties.

IBM too was back in the black. Yesterday the company reported
that, for its first quarter, net earnings were $392 million on
revenues of $13.4 billion. The results were a turnaround from
the first quarter of last year, when IBM lost $399 million.
Revenues were up two percent year over year.

And there are others. In January, Newsbytes reported that Motorola
had record sales and earnings for the fourth quarter of 1993 and
for the full year. Fourth quarter corporate sales were reported at
$4.99 billion, up 35 percent from the previous year, with earnings
of $340 million compared to $181 million the previous year. For
all of 1993, Motorola said sales were up 28 percent to $17 billion,
and earnings were $1.02 billion compared to $576 million in 1992.

National Semiconductor Corp., recently reported earnings of $63.8
million, or 48 cents a share, for its third quarter ended February 27,
more than double earnings of $26.9 million, or 19 cents a share, in
the year-ago quarter. Sales were up 11 percent to $544.7 million.
According to the company, market conditions improved in the third
quarter as worldwide orders rose compared to the second quarter,
in spite of holiday shutdowns.

The stakes are high, and as reported extensively by Newsbytes,
court cases abound, as Intel tries to ward off processor clone-
makers trying to muscle in on its highly lucrative market. One
of Intel's main antagonists is Advanced Micro Devices, which
has been cloning Intel's products for some time, and reaping the
rewards.

Just recently, Newsbytes reported that, as a result of an increase
in sales of the company's Am486 microprocessors, Advanced
Micro Devices reported record sales, record operating income
and record net income for the first quarter of 1994. On revenues
of $513,080,000 the company reported operating income of
$121,528,000 and net income of $84,587,000. In the immediate-
prior quarter, AMD reported revenues of $413,404,000 which
resulted in operating income of $54,957,000 and net income of
$41,639,000.

(Ian Stokell/19940422/Press Contact: Barbara Lopez,
408-765-7829, Intel Corp.)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00028)

ACM CHI '94 To Explore Computer-Human Interaction 04/22/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- The latest
trends in computer-human interaction will be explored from manifold
directions at ACM CHI '94, a conference being held next week in
Boston by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and its
Special Interest Group (SIG) for Computer-Human Interaction (CHI).

Following three days of workshops and tutorials, the technical
program will take place Tuesday, April 26 through Thursday, April
28. A keynote speech by Mitchell Kapor, co-founder of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, and an address by S. Joy Mountford,
a designer with Apple Computer, will be among the highlights.

In addition, software designers from many companies and
universities around the world will appear in roundtables and
deliver reports on dozens of "CHI-related" topics.

Examples include "Towards the Interactive Office," "Designing
Spoken Language Systems," "Synthesis of Sign Language Gestures,"
"Effects of Message Style on Users' Attributions toward Agents,"
"Virtual Reality Management Tools," and "TeleCSILE: Facilitating
Collaboration between Teachers in Different Schools."

Kapor, who also founded Lotus Development Corporation and designed
the Lotus 1-2-3 computer spreadsheet, will speak Tuesday at 9 a.m.
on the subject, "The Coming of Age of Software Design." In his
talk, Kapor will explain why he believes software design should be
recognized as neither a research, science nor engineering
discipline, but as a professional field unto its own.

Apple's Mountford will deliver a presentation on Thursday at 4:30
pm entitled "Darwin's Hammer: Constructing New Environments."
Mountfound plans to discuss how trends in personal, portable and
media-based software products are creating the need for entirely
new design frameworks.

ACM CHI '94 will be held at the John B. Hynes Convention Center in
Boston. Registration is available to ACM members and non-members
alike. Student members of the ACM are qualified for discounts on
conference registration. Call the Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM) at 212-626-0531 for more information on conference
registration.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940422/Press and reader contact: John A.
Osmundsen, Associating for Computing Machinery, 212-626-0531)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00029)

Dr. Seuss On CD-ROM From Living Books 04/21/94
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 21 (NB) -- Living Books, a
joint venture of publisher Random House and software developer
Broderbund, has acquired the rights to books written and
illustrated by Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss. Plans are
to publish books by the famous children's author in a multimedia
format on compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) for computer
use.

Geisel, a Pulitzer Prize winner for his children's books, died in
1991. Broderbund says it has been interested in Geisel's work for
its Living Books multimedia product line since 1989 and now has
obtained the worldwide multimedia rights to the line of
children's books. Geisel's 72 year-old-widow, Audrey Geisel, who
also heads Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P., held the negotiations
with publishers for the multimedia rights.

The Cat In the Hat, published in 1957, was the first of 48 books
that have sold over 200 million copies and have been translated
into 20 languages. Designed to help young children learn to read
using rhyming and repetitive words, Dr. Seuss expanded into
addressing the arms race (The Butter Battle Book, 1984),
environmental issues (The Lorax, 1971), and the future (Oh The
Places You'll Go!, 1990).

Broderbund plans to make multimedia versions of Dr. Seuss' books
available in 1995 for the IBM and compatible personal computer
(PC) with multimedia capability. Like the company's other
multimedia titles taken from other popular childrens' books, the
company says it plans to include a copy of the book with the CD-
ROM. In addition, to having the story read to them, children will
be able to click with their mouse on portions of the computer
screen to view animated segments or other views of the story.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940421/Press Contact: Kathleen Burke,
Broderbund, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00030)

Phoenix Technologies' 5-in-1 Comm Software 04/22/94
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- Phoenix
Technologies Limited has released The Phoenix Ultimate
Communications Suite, a combination of four software programs for
telecommunications and a free introductory period on the
subscription service America Online.

Included in the Ultimate software suite are Eclipse Fax, 10
hours on America Online, Norton pcAnywhere, E-mail Connection, and
Terminal Plus. Eclipse Fax is a Phoenix Technology product that lets
users send, receive, edit and manage faxes. It has a fax viewer, a
phonebook to store individual and group faxing information, layout
tools, WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) thumbnail views of
faxes and a fax annotation capability. The latter is used to mark
up received faxes, which can then be retransmitted.

The Norton pcAnywhere software is a special starter edition of
Symantec's program that allows users to operate a remote computer
from their PC. For example, you can run the office computer from
home or on the road. pcAnywhere can work across modem, direct or
network connection. When the software is loaded, either computer can
be designated the local or the remote system.

Connectsoft's E-Mail Connection is a mail program that connects
users simultaneously to multiple LAN-based and public e-mail
(electronic mail) systems. You can compose, send, receive and
reply to e-mail.

Terminal Plus from Futuresoft is an upgraded version of the Windows
Terminal communications software that comes with every Microsoft
Windows package. Phoenix Technologies says the new version "puts
an end to confusing modem configuration problems."

The software includes 10 hours of free time on America Online, a
subscription service electronic bulletin board where you can get
software and hardware information, send and receive message, get
stock quotes, news, weather and sports, and play games. Phoenix
Technologies spokesperson Jessica Chipkin told Newsbytes you can
access America Online with the Terminal Plus software included in
Ultimate Communications.

The Ultimate Communications Suite has a suggested retail price of
$99.95. Its elements have a combined retail price of over $400,
according to the company. You also get a special free offer for the
book The Internet Companion.

(Jim Mallory/19940422/Press contact: Jessica Chipkin, Phoenix
Technologies, 312-541-0260; Reader contact: Phoenix Technologies,
617-551-4000, fax [phone]/PHOENIX940422/PHOTO)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 04/22/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 APR 22 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Asian Growth Noted In Digital 3Q Results 04/22/94 Despite
predictable but disappointing global third quarter results, Digital
Equipment  Corporation reports a substantially brighter picture in the
Asian region. The company's Asia/Pacific management reported  growth
of 20 percent, while Japan's revenues for the quarter  exceeded
expectations.

2 -> HK Telecom, IBM Develop Fast Optical Fiber Service 04/22/94
HongkongBank, Hongkong  Telecom and IBM have inaugurated the first
ultra-high speed data  communications service of its kind in Asia --
optical fiber  communication between mainframe computers at 200
megabits per second.

3 -> Correction - Toronto Trial To Run Broadband To Homes 04/22/94 In
a news story with the above headline, published by Newsbytes April 19,
it was incorrectly stated that Rogers Communications Inc., is
participating in the Intercom Ontario Consortium, which is conducting
a trial of high-bandwidth communications and services to the home. It
is the Rogers Communications Centre at Ryerson Polytechnical
University that is involved in the trial. Newsbytes regrets the error.

4 -> Australia - Quarterly Results For Lotus, Compaq, Acer 04/22/94
Although often reluctant  to give precise local performance results,
Lotus, Compaq and  Acer have all reported a good quarter in Australia.

5 -> Kofax First To Use NetWare Imaging Services 04/22/94 Kofax and
Novell  have held a joint press conference to announce Kofax's Ascent
Capture and Ascent ViewManager which are the first products to use
Novell's NetWare Imaging Services (NIS). NIS is part of NetWare's
Distributed Application Services.

6 -> US West, Bell Atlantic To Test Handy Phones 04/22/94 Japan's
major telecommunication firm Daini Denden (DDI) has signed agreements
with US West and Bell Atlantic concerning Personal Handy Phones. The
firms plan to jointly develop a PHP-ISDN (integrated services digital
network) adaptor, and experiment with Personal Handy Phone services in
the US.

7 -> Japan - NTT To Start Multimedia Tests 04/22/94 NTT says it will
begin a series of experiments to transmit multimedia data via computer
and  cable TV in July. Several private firms are also joining in the
experiment.   Japan's former telecom monopoly, NTT, plans to achieve
rapid transmission of multimedia data through computers and via cable
TVs. The asynchronous transmission mode test using optical fiber will
be conducted nationwide throughout Japan. The experiment on cable TV
will also include the video-on- demand service.

8 -> Now Software Founder Starts New Company 04/22/94 Extensis
Corporation, a new software company launched this month, says it will
offer application-specific utilities that extend the capabilities of
mainstream applications such as desktop publishing, graphics,
photography and other products.

9 -> Xerox Seeks To Create On-Demand Publishing Industry 04/22/94
"This will be  for documents what Windows was for the desktop." A
Xerox  representative used those words to launch a major industry
initiative aimed at moving many users of traditional printing
services to on-demand publishing services. Xerox calls this
initiative Open Document Services and has introduced a special  logo
to identify providers of this service.

10 -> Gandalf's President And CEO Replaced 04/22/94 Brian Hedges has
stepped down as president and chief executive of troubled Gandalf
Technologies Inc., to be replaced by Thomas Vassiliades, a Gandalf
board member and former IBM executive.

11 -> Atari Says 86 Developers, Publishers For Jaguar 04/22/94 Atari
Corporation reports that its Jaguar 64-bit games system has attracted
86  software developers, publishers, and licensees since the system
was unveiled last November.

12 -> Insignia Gets Award From The Queen 04/22/94 Insignia Solutions,
the software emulation company, has received the Queen's Award for
Export Achievement 1994. The award, which is granted to those
companies that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth sees as exporting products
to the benefit of the UK, is the second Queen's Award that Insignia
has received in consecutive years.

13 -> AST Europe Intros 3-Year Warranty On PowerExec Notebooks
04/22/94 Taking a page from the book that Digital Equipment has
written, AST Europe, which bills itself as the world's fifth largest
PC manufacturer, has begun offering a three-year worldwide limited
warranty on its PowerExec  notebook computers. DEC recently became the
first in the industry to offer three-year warranties on its products
and predicted that others in the industry would follow suit.

14 -> London Steps Up Defences Against IT Attacks 04/22/94 This Sunday
is the first anniversary of the Bishopsgate bomb which devastated a
section of London. The repercussions of the bomb are still being felt
by the information technology (IT) community in London, with some
offices still being relocated. If it happens again, however, the City
claims it is ready, having set up a new emergency service.

15 ->  ****Motorola PowerPC Chip For Embedded Use 04/22/94 In a press
conference at the Embedded Systems show in Boston, Motorola unveiled
the RMCU500 family of microcontrollers, a product family that joins
IBM's PPC 403GA, a chip previewed in the IBM booth at the show, among
the first two implementations of PowerPC to be announced for embedded
applications.

16 ->  ****Key Apple Execs Leave 04/22/94 Two of four key executives
reporting directly to Apple Computer head Michael Spindler are out
just days before the company's lower-than- expected earnings were
released, leaving the key posts unfilled. Apple has no comment on
reports that one of the executives was fired.

17 -> Client/Server A Boon For Services Industry - IDC Report 04/22/94
Client/server computing has been great news for the computer services
industry, according to Rebecca Segal, director of services consulting
with International Data Corp. (IDC). Speaking at the annual strategy
briefing run by IDC's Canadian subsidiary here, Segal said many
organizations want to move to client/server but lack the skills to do
it themselves -- so they are turning to outside service providers for
help.

18 -> Dell Stock Falls Amidst Derivative Contract Loss Confusion
04/22/94 Dell Computer Corporation's stock dropped $2.87-1/2 to $22 on
the NASDAQ stock market yesterday after a report on CNBC cable
television suggested that Dell's derivative contracts dealings could
mean a loss of as much as $350 million to the computer maker.

19 -> Borland Reorganizes European Operations 04/22/94 Borland, in
another effort to cut costs, announced a 20% cut in its European  work
force, a division of European operations into two regional  operations
divisions, and managing directors for each of the  two new regions.

20 -> Company Results Roundup 04/22/94 This is  a regular feature,
summarizing company results not reported  elsewhere by Newsbytes:
Macromedia, Control Data Systems Inc.,  Alliance Semiconductor Corp.,
Cognex Corporation, Cornerstone  Imaging Inc., SuperMac Technology
Inc., Silicon Valley Group,  Lotus Development Corp., Boole & Babbage
Inc., Radius Inc.,  Compaq Computer Corporation.

21 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 04/22/94 This is  a regular feature,
summarizing personnel changes at companies not covered elsewhere by
Newsbytes: Spectrum HoloByte Inc., AT&T, Megahertz Corp., and
ImagiNation Network.

22 -> Networking Roundup 04/22/94 This is a regular feature,
summarizing networking news not covered  elsewhere by Newsbytes:
Infinite Technologies, Resource  Partners Inc., and Fore Systems.

23 -> FASB Goes Slow On Employee Stock Options 04/22/94 The Financial
Accounting Standards Board has put off for at least this year its
controversial plan to require companies to deduct the cost of
employee stock options from earnings. The FASB proposal had set  off a
firestorm in Silicon Valley, where high-tech start-ups often  use
options in place of money to reward executives.

24 -> Metrocall Buys California Paging Company 04/22/94 Metrocall, an
Alexandria, Va., paging firm, is acquiring AllCity Paging of Tarzana,
Calif., strengthening Metrocall's position as the second largest
public paging company with over 630,000 customers.

25 -> Electronic Factory Sales Show Strong 1Q 04/22/94 Led by
computers and telecommunications, first quarter factory sales of
electronic equipment, components, and related products are up a
substantial 11.3 percent this year to $77.5 billion, according to the
Electronic Industries Association. Last year's first quarter sales
were $70 billion.

26 ->  ****Apple Squeaks Into The Black, Credits Power Mac 04/22/94
While revenues are up 5 percent and Macintosh unit shipments are up 9
percent, Apple Computer's second quarter net income is down over 80
percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. Apple said shipments
of the PowerPC-based Macintosh is what kept it in the black,
attributing unit shipment and revenue gains to the newly introduced
computer.

27 -> Intel To Build $1.3 Billion Arizona Microchip Plant 04/22/94
Just a few days after posting net income for the first quarter, 1994,
of $617 million, Intel has announced it will build a $1.3 billion
microchip  factory in Chandler, Arizona. The company has been
expanding its chip manufacturing facilities over the past year to keep
up with current, and expected, demands.

28 -> ACM CHI '94 To Explore Computer-Human Interaction 04/22/94 The
latest trends in computer-human interaction will be explored from
manifold directions at ACM CHI '94, a conference being held next week
in Boston by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and its
Special Interest Group (SIG) for Computer-Human Interaction (CHI).

29 -> Dr. Seuss On CD-ROM From Living Books 04/21/94 Living Books, a
joint venture of publisher Random House and software developer
Broderbund, has acquired the rights to books written and illustrated
by Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss. Plans are to publish books
by the famous children's author in a multimedia format on compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM) for computer use.

30 -> Phoenix Technologies' 5-in-1 Comm Software 04/22/94 Phoenix
Technologies Limited has released The Phoenix Ultimate Communications
Suite, a combination of four software programs for telecommunications
and a free introductory period on the subscription service America
Online.

(Wendy Woods/19940422)