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/may_jun_94/nb051394

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(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00001)

Virtual Reality Expo '94 Opens in San Jose 05/13/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Virtual
hang-gliding, virtual bungee jumping, gyroscopic "Lawnmower
Man-like" game playing, fast "shoot-the-bad-guys" games, and
tours of a great museum of art are all part of this year's
Virtual Reality Expo in San Jose.

This second annual show, from Alan Meckler, producer and
publisher of Virtual Reality World, offered not only
entertainment for lines of eager participants, but for the
technically oriented participants, offered new applications,
lower prices,  extensive development tools, and new hardware
exhibits. Among the hardware highlights is a wide array of
headgear ranging in price from $1500 to $7000.

In rooms at the nearby Fairmont Hotel, companies delivered
demonstrations, hands-on tutorials, specific topic seminars,
and developer conferences. Many of the attendees from last
year's show commented on the vast development of technology
and interest in Virtual Reality (VR) that has occurred in the
past year.

The size of the show is relatively small compared to shows
for PCs and other computing platforms, reflecting the reality
that VR is still in its infancy. However, VR appears to have
enthusiastic followers, not unlike those at the beginning of
the microcomputer, whose efforts will shape a new technology.

In the next few days, Newsbytes will elaborate  on the
companies, issues, and products surrounding the show.

(Patrick McKenna/19940512/Press Contact: Marilyn Reed,
MecklerMedia, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00002)

DEC Adjusts Australia Staff - Axe-Fashion 05/13/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC) has let go 96 of its 1400 staff in Australia.
The move came after DEC's head office in the US announced it was
considering further massive reductions worldwide to reduce its
costs even more.

DEC Australia MD Ron Bunker said, "Our headcount has risen
steadily to meet customer needs since our last population
adjustment two years ago. Much of this increase has been to
satisfy large service-based contracts. Although our product
revenues continue to grow, our product mix is changing to lower
cost, lower margin. This reduction has been made to contain
costs while ensuring that customer support is maintained.
Our revenues have grown significantly in the last two years
but we must change our staff structure in concert with a
changing market."

Bunker was echoing the warnings given to staff in the US last
week. CEO Robert Palmer said the company's revenue per employee
is too low by comparison with competitors such as Hewlett-Packard
and IBM.

(John Stackhouse and Computer Daily News/19940512)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00003)

Digital Head Of Contract Mftg In Asia 05/13/94
SINGAPORE, SEA, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) --Digital Equipment Corporation
has appointed Alvin Ong as its regional sales manager for
Digital's recently established contract manufacturing service
in Asia. He will be based in Singapore.

Ong joins Digital from Conner Peripherals, where he was Far
East corporate sales manager. Before that, he gained eight years
of contract manufacturing experience with PCI International.
He holds a diploma in marketing from the UK's Chartered
Institute of Marketing.

According to John Winchester, director of components,
peripherals, and storage for Digital Asia, "Alvin brings to
this very important position many years of experience and
expertise, both in the computer industry and in sales. His
addition to our team offering high-quality manufacturing
capability around the world is significant because of his
knowledge of the industry and his wide circle of contacts."

Digital operates in 14 countries in Asia has manufacturing plants
in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.

(Keith Cameron 19940412 Press Contact: Bonnie Engel 852-8053510)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00004)

India - Hi-Tech Kidnapping 05/13/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- A hi-tech telecom network
came in handy for the kidnappers of Sikander Lal Pahwa, a Delhi
hotelier. The accused, Kamal Kishore Saini, used a conference
facility available on phone, according to police authorities.

Babloo Srivastave, another alleged accomplice, kept in constant
touch with the Pahwa family from Dubai through a conference
facility. Simultaneously, he would ring up Saini and have Pahwa
talk to his kin and ensure that ransom be paid to ensure his
safe release, police say. (In a conference facility, a person
can call up  more than one person at the same time).

This kept the police confused about the origin of the call, even
though it could identify the voice of the caller. By a systematic
method of elimination, police zeroed in on a number where calls
were received from Dubai. One such three-and-a-half-hours-long
conversation, pertaining to detention of a businessman, led to the
arrest of Saini.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19940509)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00005)

Multimedia TV PC Debuts From Matsushita 05/13/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Matsushita Electric has
announced that it will release a TV-based DOS/V personal computer
called "The Woody" on June 21.  Toshiba has just released
a notebook-type personal computer that can be connected with a
regular television set. IBM Japan and NEC are also preparing to
release a multimedia PC with TV tuner.

Matsushita Electric's new multimedia PC will be equipped with a
regular TV tuner as well as a set of multimedia features including
a CD-ROM drive, which can run software,  music CDs, games, and
display pictures from a Photo CD. The new PC has a window on
screen for display of television programs simultaneously with
applications.

The price of this new PC will be 358,000 yen ($3,580) for a
version with a 170-megabyte hard disk. This is about 100,000
yen ($1,000) more expensive than other multimedia personal
computers on the market.

Meanwhile, Toshiba has just released a multimedia notebook-type
personal computer called the Dynabook EZ Vision. It is equipped
with the adaptor which allows it to be connected with a
television set, which can be used as a display.  It sells for
278,000 yen ($2,780).

IBM Japan and NEC are also preparing to release multimedia
personal computers with TV features. IBM Japan's new PC will
be based on its PS/V Vision.  NEC's new multimedia PC is
expected to be equipped with a fax and a telephone. No release
date is available for this unit.

Japan's Sharp has already been selling a PC with a TV tuner.
However, due to its incompatibility with other operating
systems, it has yet to find a market niche.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940512/Press Contact: Matsushita
Electric, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00006)

Camcorder Modem To be Released By Sharp 05/13/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Japan's Sharp has officially
announced that it will release a modem for its LCD (liquid
crystal display)-based camcorder on June 1. This modem costs
45,000 yen ($450). Sharp will also release upgraded camcorders
for this modem.

Sharp's camcorder modem, called the Viewcam Teleport, is based
on the JPEG-standard of data compression and decompression
system. This modem enables users to transmit still frames
of data via telephone lines -- it does not yet support the
transmission of motion picture data. The modem supports three
transmission speeds per picture screen: 20 seconds, 11
seconds, and 8 seconds.

The camcorder has a 3-inch color LCD. The retail price is 178,000
yen ($1,780) for the 8-mm version, and 223,000 yen ($2,230) for a
High-8 version.

Sharp's LCD-based camcorder has been selling well  since
it was released two years ago. Sharp claims to have control
of 29 percent of the LCD-based camcorder market which is also
populated by Sony and Fuji Film. Matsushita and Hitachi are
also planning to release LCD-based camcorders. These firms
also expect to enter the camcorder modem market in the near
future.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940512/Press Contact: Sharp,
[phone], Fax, [phone])


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

Editorial - The People Of The Highway 05/13/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
Laurence Canter reminded me recently why people hate lawyers.
Canter is a Phoenix immigration lawyer who'd posted an ad in
thousands of Internet's Usenet newsgroups. The ad appeared
whether the newsgroup was a debate over immigration policy, pasta
sauces, or operating systems.

The reaction was predictable. While some people asked for more
information, thousands flooded Canter's e-mail box with "flames,"
responding to rudeness with rudeness. The notes hurt Canter's
Internet service provider, Internet Direct, but they missed their
target. In fact, Canter was thrilled with the media attention.

His attitude upset me, but what angered me was the thought of
how common it is. It is, in a word, legalistic. He had broken no
law, and wouldn't consider stopping until the laws were changed,
enforced, and upheld through the courts, he told me.

Canter's attitude is alien to the Internet. The Internet was
created by scientists and engineers, for scientists and
engineers. To most Internet users I know, moral codes mean more
than law. Not that they're all saints. They lose their tempers,
dissemble, even lie. But the penalty for failing to meet the code
can be ostracism from the group. And since nearly all scientific
and engineering projects today are group projects, that's
powerful.

The reaction outside the Internet to the Canter controversy was a
giant shrug-of-the-shoulders. Expanded networks mean more people
online. Some aren't nice, so rules and enforcement are needed.
The "net-ers" are naive.

Engineering and legal attitudes are meeting all along the
information highway. Hollywood deal-makers won't look at anything
until they're held harmless for stealing it. Cable and phone
giants make deals aimed at "controlling" on-ramps and property
rights. The battle over encryption can also be seen in this
light -- lawyers fear what might be said against engineers
defending the power of ideas.

Some compromises are inevitable. Certainly rules will have to be
created and enforced to maintain order on the information
highway. But I have a more important concern. Civil rights, civil
liberties, and civilization are nothing without civility. If we
can't assume the good faith of one another, and return it in kind
without risk of being victimized, then where are we? And what are
we?

The Founding Fathers were a diverse lot. Some were lawyers, some
were preachers, some were businessmen -- Ben Franklin was an
inventor and journalist. Many were Masons -- our national
symbols, even our currency is proof of that. I'm not a Mason, nor
am I an expert on Masonry. What I do know is it's a self-
selecting group which requires proof of goodwill in the price of
admission -- more like an engineering society than a bar
association.

Our system assumes some measure of goodwill on the part of all
citizens. Without goodwill, we're crushed in legalistic
wrangling, both online and off-line. So my message to Mr. Canter
is this: cool it. Many see the posting of an irrelevant ad in a
Usenet newsgroup the way suburbanites see the gang-related
"tagging" of a street-sign. The difference is, your ad's not
anonymous. Imagine what those suburbanites might do to those
taggers if given a chance. Now remember that they know your e-
mail address, and can probably find your street address without
much trouble. If that frightens you into acting more like a
mensch than a moron, so be it.

In these battles between the lawyers and the engineers, I quote
Franklin. Asked what kind of government was being created during
the Constitutional Convention, he reportedly answered, "A
republic. If you can keep it."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940508)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00008)

Japan-Danish Netcard Cooperation 05/13/94
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Japanese chip technology
and Danish know-how in software will bring Olicom into the ATM
(asynchronous transfer mode) age. The Olivetti-owned Olicom is
one of the world's largest producers of adapter cards for
Ethernet and Token Ring, but needed new products for the growing
ATM-market.

The first result of the Japanese/Danish alliance will be released
later this year. The Olicom ATM-adapter contains a totally
new-designed chip from Fujitsu and software from Danish
programmers.

The adapter will be IBM-compatible and accept transmission rates
up to 25 Mbits per second.

(Lars B. Jensby/19940509)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00009)

Microsoft Beefs Up HK Support Plans 05/13/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- In a pioneering move,
Microsoft Hong Kong has become the first software vendor in the
territory to offer customers a combined service and support
framework developed to meet a full spectrum of requirements.
The new, three-tiered structure caters to everything from the
start-up inquiries of first-time home PC users to the
demands of the corporate MIS department.

One local IT veteran, who chose not to be identified, told Newsbytes
that the number of positive moves the software giant has made
since it opened it own office in the territory has been very
impressive. "I guess it would have been nice if Microsoft had done
it earlier instead of working through mediocre agents, but at least
the company is shining now. Commitment is the only way to develop
customer loyalty in this part of the world, and Microsoft is
certainly going along the right path," he said.

Microsoft's new approach, which will be delivered through the
Microsoft Club program, introduces billable priority support
options, extends Microsoft's service to OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) customers, and includes a range of tailored
promotions and consumer benefits.

Introduced last year, Microsoft Club was designed as a channel
for regular, direct communication with customers, delivering
information, news, product updates, and promotional offers.

"The responses we have had to our surveys clearly indicate that our
customers are eager to get the most out of their software. By that
I mean what they buy, how they integrate it and how they implement
it," said Laurie Kan, country manager for Microsoft Hong Kong Ltd.
"The degree to which they can achieve their goals depends on how
effective we help them to be."

Anyone who purchases and registers for a full Microsoft retail
product for personal or company use automatically becomes a
member of Microsoft Club free of charge. This entitles customers
to free support for a year on all desktop applications, for 90
days on desktop operating systems and for 30 days on all
other products. Members are automatically notified of product
upgrades with the option to buy at special prices. They also receive
the quarterly Microsoft Newslink newsletter, invitations to Microsoft
seminars, and discount rates on Microsoft Press books.

Microsoft Silver and Gold membership fees are HK$299 (US$38) and HK$4,999
(US$ 640) per annum respectively. A special introductory offer during May
enables existing Microsoft Club members to upgrade to Silver status for
HK$199 (US$25). All members who upgrade will also receive complimentary
software to the value of HK$1,500 (US$192) and can choose from Microsoft
Golf, Microsoft Schedule+, Microsoft Entertainment Pack IV, or Microsoft
TrueType Fonts.

(Keith Cameron/19940512/Press Contact: Sasha Skinner, Microsoft,
852-8044261)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEL)(00010)

Scramble For India's Radio Paging Bid 05/13/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- India's Department of
Telecommunications (DOT) has received 33 bids for its recent
tender inviting companies to provide radio paging services in the
18 territorial (telecom) circles of the country.

However, the number of bidders have fallen sharply from 83 for the
earlier tender for paging in 27 cities. Several multinational
companies have also dropped out, notable among them are France
Telecom, Telecom Australia, Telecom New Zealand, Steamars
Communications of Singapore and Eletom of Malaysia.

The technical bids were opened after a month's delay. The commercial
packages of the companies that satisfy the technical criteria are
yet to be evaluated.

As per the terms indicated in the tender, the contracts would be
awarded to companies that offer to pay the highest license fee to
DOT. The tender also requires the Indian companies to forge an
alliance with at least one foreign partner with a minimum equity
participation of 25 percent.

Fourteen of the 15 companies that were issued provisional licenses
against an earlier tender for providing paging in 27 cities
responded with bids this time as well.

Interestingly, seven of these companies have also shown interest
in a parallel scheme from All India Radio (AIR) to operate radio
paging services in 17 cities. The evaluation of the technical
bids for the AIR scheme is currently underway. The final award
of this contract is expected in July.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19940513)


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

Dell Cuts Notebook, Software Bundle Prices 05/13/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corporation
has reduced the prices of its Latitude notebook computer line,
along with the price of some accessories packages.

Dell says it is reducing the price of the Latitude portables by as
much as $300, depending on the particular model. The Latitude
computer is a 486-based system with active matrix color display, a
hard drive, and four megabytes (MB) of memory. The system is also
available with a monochrome display.

Under the new pricing, a Latitude notebook running at 25 megahertz
(MHz), and equipped with a 120MB hard drive and monochrome display
was dropped $150, now selling for $1,449. A similar system with a
33MHz 486 chip and a 170MB was cut $250, and will list for $1,549.

Color versions of the Latitude with 170MB or 260MB hard drives and
powered by 486-33MHz chips were reduced as much as $300, now
available from $2,199 to $2,999 depending on the specific
configuration.

The standard configuration of a Latitude notebook computer includes
the MS-DOS 6.21 operating system software, Microsoft Windows 3.1,
software to connect to the subscription online service America
Online, Traveling Software's Commworks for Windows communications
package that includes fax and communications software, Laplink
Remote to run a remote computer from your laptop, and a program that
alerts you to received electronic mail or faxes. You also get
Radiomail communications software. Radiomail, in conjunction with a
wireless modem, allows the user to communicate with other computers
without the need to connect to a phone line or network.

Dell also reduced the price of several of its peripheral and
accessory bundles. The Dell Mobile OfficePack, Mobile Power Pack, and
Mobile Sales Manager were all cut $50.

The Latitude product line was Dell's re-entry into the notebook
computer business after it temporarily abandoned efforts to compete
in that highly competitive market. John Medica, VP of portable
products at Dell, says the company will continue its phased re-entry
into the notebook market with additional portable offerings.

Medica was not specific about future notebook offerings in a
prepared statement, but did say they will include advanced
technologies, subnotebook systems, advanced communications and
peripherals, competitive pricing, and a variety of new services.
However Dell spokesperson Roger Rydell offered a hint of the future
for Newsbytes. "The second step in our reentry process will be
more advanced systems that provide a richer feature set, higher
prices with that, but aimed at a more sophisticated end user who
wants higher performance capabilities." Rydell said those systems
can be expected in the second half of 1994.

The third phase of the program will include subnotebook computers
and other mobile communicating devices, according to Rydell.
"RadioMail is sort of a peek under the tent," he told Newsbytes.

(Jim Mallory/19940513/Press contact: Lisa Rohlf, Dell Computer
Corporation, 512-728-3782; Reader contact: Dell Computer
Corporation, 800-592-3355 or 512-338-4400/LATITUDE940513/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00012)

Company Roundup 05/13/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- This is a regular
feature, summarizing company results not covered elsewhere by
Newsbytes: 4th Dimension Software Ltd., ZEOS International Ltd.,
and Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Corp.

While software company 4th Dimension reported increased revenues for
1993, ZEOS posted a loss for its most recent quarter, due in part
to discontinued notebooks and desktop personal computers. Interactive
software maker Sanctuary Woods also managed to report a loss for the
first quarter, 1994.

4th Dimension Software Ltd., (714-757-4300) announced that for the
year ended Dec. 31, 1993, audited revenues increased 33 percent to
$23,001,000 from $17,287,000 in 1992. For the fourth quarter (unaudited)
ended Dec. 31, 1993, the company reported a decrease of 9 percent in
revenues to $4,730,000 from $5,182,000 for the comparable 1992 period.
Audited results for the year indicate that net income decreased
year-over-year and for 1993 totaled $1,015,000, or $0.09 per share. Net
loss for the final quarter (unaudited) was $3,785,000, or $0.34 per
share, as compared to net income of $1,658,678, or $0.16 per share for
the same period in 1992.

ZEOS International Ltd., (612-623-9614) announced that for the quarter
ended April 2, 1994, it recorded a net loss of $.98 per fully diluted
share on revenues of $49.2 million. ZEOS said the net loss of $8.6 million
included an adjustment of $5.7 million or $.64 per share relating to the
reduction of certain inventories to the lower of cost or market values.
The company says that the reduction was primarily related to the
discontinuance of certain notebook and desktop models and reductions in
component costs. Excluding this adjustment ZEOS would have posted a net
loss of $2.9 million or $.34 per share. Net sales for the comparable 1993
period were $60.4 million and the net loss was $3.3 million or $.38 per
fully diluted share. The company's results for the fourth quarter of 1993
were $47.1 million in sales and a net loss of $3.0 million or $.35 per
fully diluted share.

Sanctuary Woods Multimedia Corp., (415-578-6349), developer and
producer of interactive entertainment and educational software
announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 1994.
Sanctuary Woods posted a net loss of US$688,000, or (US$.04) per
share, for the first quarter of 1994, compared with a net loss of
US$265,000, or (US$.02) per share a year earlier, due primarily to
expanded R&D and sales and marketing efforts. The 1994 results included
a US$537,000 foreign exchange gain due to a weaker Canadian dollar and
US$54,000 from interest income. The net operating loss before this
Other Income was US$1,279,000 or (US$.08) per share. Revenues grew 34%
to US$455,000, from US$340,000 in 1993, benefiting from an 83% increase
in CD-ROM title sales.

(Ian Stokell/19940513)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

Personnel Changes Roundup 05/13/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- This is a
regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered
elsewhere by Newsbytes: Motorola Inc., Dell Computer Corp.,
MCA/Universal Information Services, FORE Systems, Data General
Corp., Digital Equipment Corp.

Motorola Inc., (708-576-5304), announced that Merle L. Gilmore
has been promoted to president and general manager of the company's
Land Mobile Products Sector. Gilmore, formerly assistant general manager
of the sector, succeeds Morton Topfer, who is retiring from Motorola
and plans to join Dell Computer Corp. as vice chairman. Gilmore, 46,
joined Motorola's Applied Research Group in 1970. He held several
management positions in the Paging Operation before moving in 1989 to
the Radio Products Group in Plantation, Fla., where he was senior vice
president and general manager. He became senior vice president and
assistant general manager of the Land Mobile Products Sector in 1992.
He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the
University of Illinois and a master's in electrical engineering from
Florida Atlantic University. Motorola's Land Mobile Products Sector
designs, manufactures and distributes analog and digital two-way
radio products and systems for conventional, shared and private
applications worldwide.

Morton L. Topfer, former executive vice president of Motorola Inc.,
was elected vice chairman of Dell Computer Corporation, (512-728-4100),
reporting to Michael S. Dell, chairman and chief executive officer. He
will join the company on June 1. Dell and Topfer will together head a
newly formed Office of the Chief Executive Officer, to which all
members of the company's executive team will report. Prior to joining
Dell, Topfer, 57, served as executive vice president of Motorola and
president of Motorola's Land Mobile Products Sector, one of the two
multibillion-dollar sectors in the company's communications segment
which had sales of $4.8 billion in 1993.

MCA/Universal Information Services, (818-777-3591),says that several
executives have been promoted and given increased responsibilities as
a result of expanded divisional responsibilities. Jim Caldwell has been
appointed vice president, Information Processing Services and Strategic
Planning. Previously director of Information Processing Services for
MCA/Universal, Caldwell will continue to plan and implement processing
efficiencies and operations costs reductions for the division.
Additionally, he will assume a greater role in information technology
strategic planning. Rob Geier has been named vice president, Filmed
Entertainment Group Information Services. He will be responsible for
overseeing the planning, design and development of financial systems,
executive information databases, tracking and billing systems, and
strategic applications for the Filmed Entertainment Group, while assuming
a greater role in strategic planning. Geier was formerly director, Filmed
Entertainment Group Information Services. Noubar Ghazarossian has been
promoted to vice president, Network and Telecommunications Services.
Ghazarossian will continue to manage MCA's worldwide local area and wide
area telecommunications network that include international electronic
mail. He will also be involved in the strategic planning of global
applications and new technology research projects.

FORE Systems, (412-772-6513), announced the addition of a new
director of marketing who will focus on developing ATM (asynchronous
transfer mode) "solutions" for key industry segments including
telecommunications providers, medical and financial industries,
cable TV and other entertainment enterprises. David Nelsen, formerly
of AT&T, joined FORE Systems in March. Nelsen had twelve years'
experience with AT&T. Most recently, he served as product manager of
AT&T's InterSpan ATM Service, responsible for the overall marketing of
the service including feature selection, pricing, roll out, collateral
and advertising.

Data General Corporation, (508-898-6546), announced that Richard
L. Tucker has been elected to the company's board of directors.
Tucker is a managing director of Trinity Investment Management
Corporation in Boston, a manager of institutional funds. He
also serves as a director and a member of the Executive Committee.
He joined Trinity Investment in 1986. Prior to that, Tucker served as
senior vice president for The Boston Company from 1980-1986, focusing
on investment management and mutual funds. Before joining The Boston
Company, he spent 17 years at Scudder, Stevens & Clark holding a
variety of management positions, including vice president-Investments.
He is a graduate of Harvard College where he received an A.B. degree
in Government and Economics.

Edward B. McDonough, vice president, worldwide manufacturing and
logistics, has announced his intention to retire from Digital Equipment
Corporation (508-493-6369), effective at the end of the corporation's
fiscal year in June. McDonough, 65, joined Digital in 1976 as group
controller for Computer Manufacturing and Engineering. Since then, he
has held a series of international manufacturing management positions,
culminating in his most recent position as vice president of Worldwide
Manufacturing and Logistics. He was first named vice president in 1986.

(Ian Stokell/19940513)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00014)

Networking Roundup 05/13/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- This is a
regular feature, summarizing networking news not covered
elsewhere by Newsbytes: Shany Inc., XNET Technology, Netrix Corp.

Shany Inc., (415-694-7410), announced AlertVIEW for Lotus Notes.
According to the company, AlertVIEW for Lotus Notes addresses the need
for management tools by system administrators and others who must
support Lotus Notes on a network. The new agent reportedly detects,
reports, corrects and prevents problems specific to Lotus Notes servers.
Shany's agent for Lotus Notes servers is installed on OS/2 Lotus
Notes servers to report significant replication, server, security,
statistics, mail and communication events. The company says it will also
improve the Lotus Notes server error reporting by detecting hundreds
of additional errors that are not reported in the standard error log.
AlertVIEW for Lotus Notes will also report errors from remote Notes
servers connected using dial-up services. AlertVIEW notification
services may be used to report the most critical events to support
personnel via alphanumeric pagers, electronic-mail, or SNMP (Simple
Network Management Protocol) alarms. Notification services can be sent
to standard enterprise network management consoles such as Novell NMS,
HP OpenView, SunNet Manager, NetView/6000, and SNA Host NetView.
AlertVIEW is claimed to be 100% compatible with MS-DOS, Microsoft
Windows and IBM OS/2.In addition, it supports Novell NetWare 3.11 and
above, Microsoft LAN Manager, IBM LAN server, and Banyan Vines network
operating systems.

XNET Technology, (408-263-6888), announced the beginning shipment of
the ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) version of the Series 1800
ParallelSwitch, claimed to be the first Ethernet switching hub that
installs into a file server. The XNET Series 1800 ParallelSwitch
is designed to increase network bandwidth up to six fold for Ethernet
networks. The ParallelSwitch combines six Ethernet ports and a
high-speed server interface port integrated onto a single PC card.
It provides wire-speed switching among its six ports and a 7.5
megabytes per second access through the server bus. The product includes
management features integrated with Novell NetWare and can also be
managed through SNMP, Telnet, and out-of-band management. The ISA
version is available now, with the EISA (Extended ISA) version to begin
shipping in May. The Series 1800 ParallelSwitch lists for $2,488 to
$3,288 depending on server bus type and media connection.

Netrix Corporation, (703-793-2094), announced the release of two
new products. The first product, which will be made available during
the second quarter of 1994, is software Release 2.2 of the 1-ISS
Series 100 access concentrator. It reportedly provides operators of
enterprise-wide data and telecommunications networks with the
flexibility to migrate easily from IBM's SNA (Systems Network
Architecture) environment to frame relay, while "preserving the
investments in their existing LAN and WAN installations." The second
product, NMS Release 3.2, is an enhancement to the Netrix Network
Management System (NMS), which allows users of Netrix WAN backbone
switches to deploy SNMP in their networks. Through SNMP, Netrix WAN
users will be able to integrate LAN inter-networking devices, such
as routers, hubs, bridges, and servers, into their networks under
the same management system.

(Ian Stokell/19940513)


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

Ambra Models In Canada 05/13/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- ExperComp Services
Ltd., the IBM Canada Ltd. subsidiary that sells Ambra personal
computers in Canada, has announced several new models, including
the Achiever line of multimedia desktops and four Ambra High
Performance models using 100-megahertz (MHz) 486 chips.

These models have only been announced in Canada, not in the
United States, a spokeswoman for the company told Newsbytes.

The Achiever series includes models based on the 33-MHz 486DX
processor, the 50-MHz 486DX2, and the 66-MHz 486DX2 chip. They
come with two 3.5-inch and two 5.25-inch drive bays, four
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion slots, one
combination ISA and Video Electronics Standards Association
(VESA) local-bus slot, and hard disk drives from 212 to 440
megabytes (MB), depending on the model.

The multimedia features come in an optional kit that includes a
Sony double-speed compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive, a
16-bit sound card, two stereo speakers, and a desk-mounted
microphone, plus CD-ROM titles including Compton's Interactive
Encyclopedia and others.

ExperComp gave a sample estimated retail price of C$2,599 for the
66-MHz DX2 model equipped with four MB of memory, a 212-MB hard
drive, and no monitor. A basic model with the multimedia kit, 33-
MHz 486DX chip, four MB of memory, monitor, and 256-MB hard disk
starts at C$2,899.

The High Performance models offer a choice of the 100-MHz Intel
486DX4 processor or IBM's own variant, known as the Blue
Lightning chip, which also runs at 100 MHz. Each processor is
available in a desktop or tower version of the machine. The
desktop models have four ISA slots and one ISA/VESA slot, while
the towers have seven ISA slots and one ISA/VESA slot. Desktop
models have five drive bays, towers have six. A choice of 340,
440, or 540-MB hard drives are available.

The High Performance models are upgradable to Pentium chips,
ExperComp said.

The company quoted prices of C$2,699 for the Blue Lightning
version and C$3,099 for the Intel-chip version, in each case with
a 340-MB hard drive, no monitor, and eight MB of memory.

(Grant Buckler/19940513/Press Contact: Kate Jobling or Sharon
Rainey, Goodman Communications for ExperComp, 416-924-9100, fax
416-924-5709; Public Contact: ExperComp, 905-316-4158)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00016)

 ****E-Mail, Not Video, Will Drive ATM, Study Says  05/13/94
NORWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) --
Videoconferencing and other network multimedia applications are
not going to be the killer applications that lead business to
adopt asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) telecommunications
services, says a recent study by research firm BIS Strategic
Decisions.

Instead, most of those who move to ATM in the next few years will
do so because they need its higher capacity for electronic mail
traffic that includes compound documents made up of text,
graphics, scanned images, and data files such as spreadsheets,
BIS said.

ATM is a telecommunications service that can handle video and
voice communications as well as data. A number of manufacturers
have begun producing products designed to be used with it, and
telecommunications carriers have begun launching ATM services.

Electronic mail is "a problem they have now," said Jeffrey
Henning, associate director of publications at BIS. Video is not
an immediate need for most organizations, even as a part of
compound documents, he told Newsbytes.

In the longer term, Henning added, the cause-and-effect
relationship may in fact be the other way around. "Once they've
already adopted ATM for other reasons, it certainly lowers the
barriers to going to videoconferencing."

Henning also said ATM will not be a widespread reality soon. Over
the next five years, he said, the market will be strictly among
early adopters. In the case of ATM, BIS expects these to be
organizations that already use multiple DS1 and/or DS3 circuits.
They are already finding their electronic mail traffic, which
they expected to be little more than electronic memos, turning
into compound documents and putting a strain on their existing
telecommunications links, he said.

But Henning said ATM is "not going to be a mainstream service
that a lot of people are using this century." By the time most
organizations conduct early tests of the technology, make
decisions about wider use and move into the installation phase,
the decade will be over, he said.

Nonetheless, BIS says the adoption of ATM is inevitable, barring
unforeseen developments in the industry. The study concludes,
though, that the technology suffers from inflated expectations in
the short run, and the industry's expectations about revenue from
ATM are too high.

(Grant Buckler/19940513/Press Contact: Martha Popoloski or
Jeffrey Henning, BIS Strategic Decisions, 617-982-9500)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00017)

Review of - The Perfect Resume 05/13/94

Runs on: IBM 286 with Windows 3.1 or later, 4 megabytes of RAM,
and a hard disk with at least 3 megabytes of available storage. A
printer is recommended.

From: Davidson & Associates, P.O. Box 2961, Torrance, California,
90509, 310-793-0600; Sales: 800-556-6141

Price: $39.95

PUMA rating: 2.5 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Dana and Jenni Blankenhorn

Summary: Resume-writing for those who can't write, plus a way to
track job-search letters for those who can't file.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Davidson & Associates is best-known for its educational software.
But a program on resume-writing is not appropriate for a 6-year
old. So when "Tom Jackson Presents The Perfect Resume" arrived, we
offered it to Jenni, my wife, who is more like the target market.

The Perfect Resume is designed for people who may write well in
Assembler, but are less confident in English. It's for people who
worry about the impression their list of accomplishments might
make when it hits a potential employer's desk. And it's for those
who have trouble managing all the paperwork that goes with
finding a new job.

The heart of the program is a Resume Builder that interviews you
about your skills and accomplishments, then lets you put the
right phrases into a professional-looking resume. Jenni
appreciated this feature, but the results were so vague as to be
meaningless. Employers care a lot more that she understands
transaction processing backwards-and-forwards than that she is
"action oriented" or can repeat some other boilerplate. After
she used this program over three nights, I was able to rewrite
something much better in five minutes. But then, I'm a writer.
Most people aren't. And for these people, the tools of The
Perfect Resume may prove of value.

A second, underestimated task performed by job searchers is
writing letters to prospective employers. These can be more
important than the resume itself, because they give people
insight into applicants' styles. The program's Power Letters
feature is designed to make this easier. It includes key phrases
and references to previous letters, so they won't be forgotten in
your rush to the mailbox. As with the Resume Builder, the result
is a professional, desktop-published piece of work
indistinguishable from thousands of other letters personnel
departments file every day.

Finally, The Perfect Resume includes a Job Search Manager. This
is a valuable database program for those who have trouble
tracking when they said or wrote what to whom, in the pressure-
packed world of unemployment or near-unemployment. By clicking on
icons and pulling down menus, you can be certain of where you
stand with each contact before you talk to them, and that is
valuable.

The Perfect Resume should have been titled The Successful Job
Search. As a resume-builder, it's OK. As a job search management
tool, it's much better.

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 2.5 Set-up is easy, but the resume-writing feature
can result in mush for those who aren't expert writers.

USEFULNESS: 2.5 There is a very useful program here which can
help you in your job search. Staying organized can be key to
getting a good job.

MANUAL: 2.5 The manual is fine technically, but for real
information on the job search process get "What Color is Your
Parachute." It's more important to know what you want to
do, than track who you're going to do it for.

AVAILABILITY: 2.5 Stores like Office Depot should have this
program, but not all do.

(Dana & Robin Blankenhorn/19940408/Press Contact: Linda
Duttenhaver, Davidson & Associates, 310/793-0600)


(REVIEW)(IBM)(ATL)(00018)

Review of - Fatty Bear's FunPack, CD-ROM Game 05/13/94

Runs on: IBM ATs with 550K of free RAM, 1 megabyte extended EMS
memory, a CD-ROM drive, a VGA graphics card and a Sound Blaster
sound card or higher.

From: Humongous Entertainment, 13110 N.E. 177th Place, Ste 180,
Woodinville, Washington, 98072 ph: 206/485-1212

Price: $64.95

PUMA rating: 3.2 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Dana and Robin Blankenhorn

Summary: A set of games to accompany the "Fatty Bear" adventure
isn't like the original.

=======

REVIEW

=======

Robin, our 6-year old reviewer, loved "Fatty Bear's Birthday
Surprise." So will many other children, especially girls.
Recognizing success, Humongous has created a follow-on CD with
some games children can play with Fatty Bear.

All the games on the disk should be familiar to adults. There's a
version of "Go" called Reversi, with a smaller board and smiling
faces replacing the tokens. There's a version of "Go Fish," the
card game. There's a coloring book, a version of the Chinese game
Tanagrams, in which small shapes are fitted inside a larger, more
complex shape, and lines and boxes.

The problem is that all these games can be played without a
computer, and can be played better without one. "Go Fish" takes a
pack of regular playing cards, and because Fatty Bear's version
uses just numbers instead of the Ace, King, Queen and Jack,
children may have to re-learn it to play with their friends.
Reversi has the same problem -- better to give the child a real
Go set and let them go to it. Real coloring books are inherently
better than those played on screens, and lines and boxes can be
better played with matches or sticks. Only Tanagrams works better
on the screen than on paper, since play is speeded up.

None of this should be taken as criticism of Humongous'
implementation of these games. They're done as well as they could
be done on a computer. Fatty Bear explains the rules and, in some
cases, plays along. There is some educational content to all the
games -- especially Tanagrams and Lines and Boxes. But Robin
quickly tired of Fatty Bear's FunPack, preferring the standard
adventure and real coloring books.

=============

PUMA RATINGS

=============

PERFORMANCE: 4.0 The set-up of this game is really very simple.
No hassling with Windows, no loading of massive files. Playing
off the CD-ROM disc itself gives ample performance.

USEFULNESS: 2.5 Most of the games can be played more easily
without a computer. They're done as well as could be expected on
a computer.

MANUAL: 3.5 The manual is packed with the CD. It's a small
booklet which explains a few keyboard commands, some tips and
techniques, and a bit of trouble-shooting. The company's product
support line is also published, along with necessary legal
language.

AVAILABILITY: 4 Available at better computer bookstores and
superstores. This is the kind of product which flew-off store
shelves last Christmas.

(Dana & Robin Blankenhorn/19940413/Press Contact: Kaufer Miller
Communications, Pam Herber, 206/450-9965)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00019)

Japan - Low-Cost Video Printer From Casio 05/13/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Casio Computer has developed
an extremely low-cost color video printer for home users
called the Personal Video Printer or the VG-100, which will be
released at 55,000 yen ($550) around the middle of July.
Casio is planning to ship 20,000 units per month.

Casio reports that the color video printer supports more than
two million colors with 128 gradations. Casio has applied
original technology called Point Diffusion Printing method
on this printer, which is a thermal-type printer supporting
high resolution picture printing.

The size of this video printer is 19.8 x 8.8 x 25.0 cm,
which is slightly smaller than an A4-size document. It
is also lightweight at only 2.5 grams. This printer will
be able to produce a card-size color picture, slightly
larger than a regular cigarette package.

The printing speed is 45 seconds per page. The cost of
single sheets of paper is 38 yen (38 cents), which is
less than existing color video printers.

This color video printer can be connected with a variety of
devices via regular video input/output connectors. Users
can link this device with 8-mm camcorders, VHS
camcorders, VCRs, laser disc players, and television sets.
The device allows one to print out TV screens in sequence
through a small sub-screen.

Casio says it has applied for 80 patents for this color video
printer which it is planning to use in word processors and
personal computers.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940510/Press Contact: Casio
Computer, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00020)

Fujitsu In Info Security Business 05/13/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Fujitsu has launched an
information security service called "Propose" for which it
hopes to sign up 200 firms within the next three years.

Fujitsu reports that this service includes assessment
of corporate information systems, advising of possible measures
to prevent information leaks, and routine security service.
Fujitsu's security service system is based on the computer
security standard, which was set by the Japanese Electronics
Industry Development Association in May.

Fujitsu's service is for mainframe computers, personal
computer-based local area networks, client/servers and network
systems. This service covers not only Fujitsu computers
and products but other companies' computers and products.
Fujitsu says this security service is also backed up by
subsidiary ICL in England which has an advanced computer
security division called ICL Secure Systems. Fujitsu will request
specialists from ICL if necessary.

This kind of service is seen as having great potential in
Japan where many firms are installing and expanding their
corporate information networks and need security systems and
support. Also, computer viruses are increasing rapidly in
Japan, according to research by the Japanese Electronics
Industry Development Association.

It is expected that other Japanese computer firms will follow suit
to enter this lucrative market in the near future.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940510/Press Contact: Fujitsu, +81-3-
3213-4160, Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00021)

Lobbying Blitz Over Senate Telecommunications Bill 05/13/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- It's telco v.
telco in Washington as the Baby Bells and the long distance
carriers bash each other in print and on radio. The context for
the lobbying blitz is the set of Senate hearings on S. 1822,
the rewrite of the U.S. basic telecommunications law offered by
Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.).

The regional Bell operating companies want to compete with the
long distance companies. They don't like the Hollings bill,
because it makes it more difficult for the Bells to go global.

The long distance companies want to get into local telephone
service. They like the Hollings bill because it makes it easy
for them to take on the Bells.

The Baby Bells have taken to print to air their grievances. In
large display ads appearing in the Washington Post and the
Washington Times, the Bells complain that calls on AT&T, MCI
and Sprint "cost too much."

In the case of a five-minute call from Little Rock, Ark. to
Pine Bluff, Ark., says the ad, a call costs between $.95 and
$.97. If they were allowed to compete, "We estimate that the
Little Rock to Pine Bluff call could cost as little as $.57."

A five-minute call from Las Vegas, Nev., to Carson City, Nev.,
says another version of the ad, costs between $.99 and $1.01.
If the Baby Bells could compete, "We estimate that the Las
Vegas to Carson City call could cost as little as $.83." It is
no accident that the Bells chose Nevada for the comparison.
Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) is a member of the committee.

AT&T, MCI and Sprint have taken to the air to distribute their
message. In ads airing on popular AM all-sports station WTEM,
the long distance carriers say that lack of competition in
local service costs consumers $5 billion a year. They cite
studies by the Consumer Federation of America to back their
figures. The ads urge Congress to "pass S. 1822."

The long distance carriers' ads offer listeners a toll-free
number, 1-800-4-COMPETE. A call by Newsbytes resulted in a
promise from a pleasant and courteous woman to send a package
of information.

"The lobbying campaign is probably a waste of money," a Senate
staffer told Newsbytes. "These are hearings. They are not
marking up legislation, so there's no substantive way to turn
any political pressure the ads might generate into legislative
language. But it looks like the lobbyists are doing something,
so maybe that keeps the companies happy."

One significant development came during the hearings. Sen.
Donald Riegle (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Banking
Committee, said he was inclined to support a proposal that
would allow electric utility holding companies covered by the
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 to get into
telecommunications services. The 1935 law would bar these
utilities, some of the largest companies in the US, from the
telecommunications market.

But in return, Riegle told Hollings' Senate Commerce Committee
that he wants Congress to overturn a Court of Appeals decision
that gives the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to
regulate transactions that many believe should be regulated at
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Riegle is important,
because his committee could be a roadblock to passage.

It's an arcane, technical issue that Riegle is pursuing, but an
apt illustration of how things really work in Congress, where
legislation is stitched together with a web of compromise and
dealmaking.

(Kennedy Maize/19940513)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(WAS)(00022)

MacWorld -- Cadmover 4 "Switzerland Of Vector Graphics" 05/13/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Apple users can
move graphics files among dozens of programs and formats in an
upgrade of Kandu Software's Cadmover program, unveiled at the
MacWorld Expo and Summit. Cadmover 4 is a self-described
"Switzerland of vector graphics," with the ability to read files
from some 70 applications.

According to Kandu, the software can read files from
applications such as AutoCad, Adobe Illustrator, Ray Dream
Designer, Canvas or Micrografx Designer. It gives Mac users the
ability to move files between programs from PCs and Macs and then
edit objects within the files. Cadmover takes drawings in
common exchange formats such as EPSF, IGES or DXF and rewrites
them to 22 formats that other programs understand.

For example, says Kandu, when a Mac designer opens a file in
Adobe Illustrator that Cadmover has translated from Ray Dream
Designer, the Designer drawing elements can be edited in
Illustrator, then used in applications such as Pagemaker and
Quark.

Kandu says Cadmover is a Postscript whiz, understanding and
translating more EPSF formats than any program on any platform.
Cadmover 4 understands 13 varieties of Postscript, including the
new EPSF in Harvard Graphics, Microstation and Proengineer.

Cadmover 4 also can rescue users of ClarisCad, so drawings made
in the Claris product can be moved to other software packages.
Claris announced last year it wouldn't provide any further
upgrades to its Mac-based Cad product. Kandu says Cadmover
"translates Claris files with absolute accuracy to AutoCad,
Microstation or other CAD formation."

The single copy price is $495.

(Kennedy Maize/19940513/Contact: Dotti Lathan, tel
703-532-0213, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00023)

 ****Borland Stalls Earns Report, Predicts New Loss 05/13/94
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Struggling
Borland International, which already said it would report a
substantial loss for its fiscal fourth quarter and year end
results, is now saying it will also report a loss for the coming
first quarter. This is despite the $145 million sale of Quattro
Pro to Novell, which will probably be finalized in the first
quarter. Borland is also stalling the release of its earnings
report for the year until June 2, 1994.

The company said the announcement of its results for fiscal year
1994, which ended March 31, 1994, would occur later than expected
because of complexities associated with the sale of its Quattro
Pro product line to Novell, the acquisition of Reportsmith, and
its restructuring of US and international operations. The
Reportsmith acquisition is estimated to cost Borland about $16
million and is being touted as part of the reason for the
company's continuing red ink in the fiscal first quarter of 1995,
ending June 30, 1994. Other reasons given are the restructuring,
which has not been given a dollar value, and a decline in sales
of Quattro Pro and the Borland Office suite.

The anticipation of the release of new products on the part of
consumers as well as the sale of Quattro Pro is hurting the
bottom line, Borland added. The long awaited dBASE for Windows,
as well as dBASE for DOS 5.0 and Paradox for Windows 5.0 have
been announced for shipment this summer. Borland has delayed
announced shipment of the dBASE for Windows product before, over
the last three years, but says this time the product is in beta
testing and is getting favorable feedback.

The sale of Quattro Pro, which hinges on Novell's acquisition of
Wordperfect, appears to be solid. Since Wordperfect is privately
held, Novell does not have to put the purchase up to a
shareholder vote. Borland official Steve Grady told Newsbytes
Novell had considered putting the purchase up to a vote anyway,
but had backed-off doing so. Analysts have been vocal about their
opinions that Novell is paying too much for Wordperfect in the
deal worth an estimated $1.4 billion.

Novell announced it has gotten past the Federal Trade
Commission's (FTC's) scrutiny concerning antitrust laws and is
now awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). Borland claims Novell has indicated an interest in pushing
the Quattro Pro purchase ahead of the finalization of the merger,
and Borland is quite willing to see that happen.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940513/Press Contact: Dick O'Donnell, Borland,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

Interactive TV Pioneers Back in Court 05/13/94
SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Interactive
Network Inc., and NTN Communications Inc., two pioneers in
interactive television, are back in court, and both sides are as
angry as ever.

Interactive Network has a system for playing games alongside TV
shows, and counts A.C. Nielsen, Gannett Corp., TCI and General
Electric's NBC network units among its primary investors. NTN
Communications created the first big hit among games played on
such systems, called QB1. Both companies are publicly traded,
Interactive on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol INNN, NTN on
the American Stock exchange with the symbol NTN.

In the last few years Interactive Network and NTN have frequently
been in court, with IN charging NTN with infringing on its
patents. That's the issue again, in a case filed in the US
District Court for the Northern District of California. At issue
this time is an NTN game called Uppercut Boxing, which NTN first
offered on May 7. Interactive says its license agreement with NTN
doesn't extend beyond QB1.

NTN President Patrick Downs responded angrily. Saying the suit is
wholly without merit, he added that "the suit is part of INNN's
continuing scheme to attack NTN by harassing them with spurious
litigation and to deflect attention from the financial, marketing,
and technical shortcomings of Interactive's business. Spokesmen
added that NTN does not use the technology that's subject to the
current lawsuit.

Interactive spokesman Joan Cear told Newsbytes that her company
already has a boxing game, and has a right to sue NTN.
Interactive Network seeks to enjoin NTN from further promotion or
play of Uppercut Boxing. In a statement sent to Newsbytes,
Interactive Chairman David Lockton also responded to Downs'
charges. "NTN sued Interactive Network four consecutive times
before Interactive filed a single suit against NTN," he wrote.
"They either lost those lawsuits or saw them settled in
Interactive Networks's favor. As a result, NTN can legally play
only one interactive television game, QB1. In filing suit against
NTN, Interactive Network is rightfully enforcing the court ruling
that upholds the Interactive patents."

Interactive also filed a second patent infringement in US
District Court for the Northern District of California against
Zing Systems LP of Englewood, Colorado, over its demonstration
and licensing of an interactive entertainment system and
promotion of the system for playing interactive competitions and
awarding prizes. "What we are defending is not only an invaluable
patent developed at considerable cost over many years, but also
the common, low-cost software standard our industry will need as
it goes forward," write Lockton of the Zing suit.

But there is irony here, too. TCI owns roughly 17 percent of
Interactive Network -- NTN claims they picked that up after a
secondary offering of Interactive stock fell apart in February.
Through its Liberty Media unit, TCI also owns 51 percent of Zing,
leaving that company in the position of, in effect, suing itself.
Calls to TCI spokesman on this point had not been returned as
this was written.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940513/Press Contact: Paul Holm, for NTN,
212/687-0061; Joan Cear, for Interactive Network, 212-750-7770)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00025)

 ****Pittsburgh-Area Police Use Newtons 05/13/94
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Police in
Bellevue, a suburb of Pittsburgh, are using Apple Newton personal
digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless communications in an
emergency dispatch system developed for them by students at
Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

For the Bellevue police, the First Responder Interactive
Emergency Navigational Database (FRIEND) is a way to make more
information available both to those on the scene of an emergency
and to managers, Bellevue's police chief, Michael Bookser, told
Newsbytes.

For Carnegie-Mellon professor Bernd Bruegge, the system is the
latest in a series of real-world development projects designed to
give students in his software engineering courses real-world
systems development experience.

Bruegge, an assistant professor of computer science, has done
about half a dozen such projects in his courses, university
spokeswoman Anne Watzman told Newsbytes. Bruegge's goal is to
have students build and understand real systems like those they
will be asked to deal with after graduation, rather than spending
all their time on theory and small classroom problems.

Bellevue police officers have been given Newtons, which they can
use to take notes and send messages -- via a wireless modem --
back to police headquarters.

Bookser said this has two advantages over police radio. First,
there are not enough radio frequencies available in metropolitan
areas and officers on the scene often have to act without
consulting headquarters because they cannot get through on the
radio quickly. Second, dispatchers must deal with radio calls
right away, whereas the FRIEND system works like electronic mail,
and a dispatcher can respond to a message a minute or two later.
That lets dispatchers handle more calls, he said.

The system also gives police in the field access to database of
information stored at headquarters. The available data includes
maps and the locations of police and fire vehicles, for instance.
"I believe we waste a lot of time and don't provide the service
we could just because of a lack of information in the field,"
Bookser said.

The FRIEND system also provides better records of what happens
during an emergency, making it easier for administrators to look
back later and determine what mistakes were made and what should
be done differently the next time, he added.

Bookser said the pen-based Newtons are well suited to the job,
because many members of the police force are not used to
computers and would not be comfortable with a keyboard. He also
said the system uses the Newton's handwriting recognition feature
quite extensively and the Bellevue police have found it works
well, despite early reports of trouble with that feature.

The FRIEND project has been funded by grants from Hewlett-Packard
Co., the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate
Education, and the Wireless Research Initiative at
Carnegie-Mellon's Information Networking Institute.

(Grant Buckler/19940513/Press Contact: Anne Watzman,
Carnegie-Mellon, 412-268-3830 or 412-268-2900)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00026)

Iomega Sues Conner Peripherals For Patent Infringement 05/13/94
ROY, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Iomega Corporation, the
company best known for its Bernoulli removable media drives, has
filed a lawsuit charging Conner Peripherals with patent
infringement.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in Wilmington,
Delaware and charges that a tape drive to back up data on personal
computers recently announced by Conner infringes on patented Iomega
technology.

Iomega has requested an injunction to stop Conner from distributing
its drives. An Iomega spokesperson was unable to tell Newsbytes if
the company is also requesting monetary damages.

Iomega says its patented tape drive design uses a pivoting roller
drive rather than a belt drive. The company says its drive has been
selected over other manufacturers' products in several competitive
evaluations because of the design.

In addition to its Bernoulli drives, Iomega also manufactures a line
of Tape250 minicartridge backup tape drives that can read both
QIC-80 and Irwin-formatted tapes, 21-megabyte floppy drives that use
Floptical technology, and 1.3-gigabyte magneto-optical drives.

Conner Peripherals is no stranger to the courtroom. In March 1993
the company sued Western Digital for patent infringement relating to
disk drive controller architecture. In August of last year IBM filed
suit against Conner after cross-licensing negotiations broke down
that would have given each firm the right to use the other's
patented technology. The two companies could not agree on the
relative value of the patents.

Newsbytes was unable to contact a Conner Peripherals spokesperson
prior to deadline for the company's comments on the lawsuit.

(Jim Mallory/19940513/Press contact: Kristy Pregill, Iomega
Corporation, 801-778-1000)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00027)

Crooner Promotes Wordperfect 05/13/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Crooner Tony Bennett
may have left his heart in San Francisco but he was in New York this
week to kick off his 40-city international concert tour and promote
Wordperfect's Main Street software product line.

True to form Grammy Award winner Bennett sang his trademark hit "I
Left My Heart In San Francisco" at a Main Street promotion kickoff
luncheon in New York but instead of an orchestra was accompanied by
Wordperfect's "Kap'n Karaoke" software running on a personal
computer. More than two decades ago GIs departing San Francisco by
boat for the jungles of Vietnam were often serenaded by the same
song over the ship's loudspeakers as they sailed under the Golden
Gate bridge.

The deal is mutually beneficial for Bennett and Wordperfect
Corporation. It's the first time the singer has had a tour sponsored
by a company and in turn Bennett becomes a spokesperson for
Wordpefect products.

Wordperfect officials say they decided to promote the Main Street
line using Bennett because they were looking for an innovative and
creative way to market to the consumer. "Traditional selling of
information technology to the consumer market just doesn't apply,"
says Wordperfect's Glen Mella, VP of marketing communications.

Bennett has been featured recently in articles in Rolling Stone
Magazine, the New York Sunday Times and Newsweek and headlined his
own MTV "Unplugged" concert.

Wordperfect has retained PS Products Inc., a Chicago-based event
marketing firm, to create and execute the promotion and participation
of the tour. Wordperfect channel sales and marketing VP Rod Brooks
says the promotion will include local events to increase store
traffic and sell more products.

Main Street software was first introduced at the COMDEX/Fall '93
trade show in Las Vegas. Currently the line includes 19
productivity and entertainment titles including Wordperfect Works,
InfoCentral and ExpressFax+ and Kap'n Karaoke and the Wallobee Jack
series on CD-ROM. Prices range from $29 to $139.

The company says more specific retail channel promotions will be
announced by the end of the month.

(Jim Mallory/19940513/Press contact: Blake Stowell, Wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5063; Reader contact: Wordperfect Corporation,
801-225-5000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00028)

Motorola To Port PowerPC Compilers To Power Mac 05/13/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Motorola says it will
port its PowerPC microprocessor compilers to Apple Computer's
line of Power Macintosh computers.

The compilers for the C, C++ and Fortran programming languages
optimize code to take advantage of individual features of the
superscalar PowerPC microprocessors while maintaining code
compatibility across the entire PowerPC architecture product line.
They will be fully compatible with Apple's Macintosh Programmers'
Workshop (MPW) software.

PowerPC chips are based on reduced instruction set computing (RISC)
technology and were developed in conjunction with IBM. They are
offered as a competitor to Intel's Pentium microprocessor. The
chips are designed to be used in a wide variety of products from
personal computers and multiprocessing, fault-tolerant
supercomputers to embedded control applications in automotive and
consumer products. In addition to Apple a host of other companies,
including Canon, Ford, and Groupe Bull are developing PowerPC
systems.

Motorola says the compilers are currently being tested with Apple
and at selected beta sites. They can be configured to optimize code
for a particular chip or can generate a series of objects that
target multiple PowerPC chips. That gives programmers the ability to
write applications that will run on existing as well as future Apple
systems.

Motorola is also integrating its compilers into the Codewarrior
development environment offered by Metrowerks, Inc. Metrowerks
President and CEO Greg Galanos says the company is defining a tools
and language interface for Codewarrior that will permit developers
to use standardized language conventions and user interfaces for a
variety of development tools.

Motorola says it will accept orders for the MPW-based compilers and
tools running native on Power Macintosh and 68000-based Mac systems
beginning in July 1994 at an initial list price of $349. A beta
version of the compiler for Codewarrior is scheduled to be available
in late 1994.

(Jim Mallory/19940513/Press contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola RISC
Microprocessor Division, 512-891-2839; Reader contact: Motorola
RISC Microprocessor Division, 800-845-6680 in the US,
011-44-355240802 in Europe, 011-852-6668333 in Hong Kong,
81-332808376 in Japan)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00029)

 ***6.5GB Optical Discs Possible With Layering, Says IBM 05/13/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- IBM says it can
increase the capacity of optical discs, such as compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM), by as much as ten times by
layering the recording surfaces on top of each other. Researchers
at the company's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California
have already taken currently available CD-ROM drives and with
minor modifications, had the drives reading two layer optical
discs.

The 10-fold increase, or 6.5 gigabytes (GB), is from 10 layers and
means multilayer optical discs could contain a million pages of
printed text (thousands of books) or full-length movies at high-
resolution with digital video and sound. Access times to this
huge amount of data would be about 10 seconds, and reading the
data from the disc once it was found would be even faster.

The three-dimensional approach requires the ability for light to
pass through the layers and movable optical lenses on the
drives. For the two-layer test, IBM was able to use existing
drives because movable lenses already exist in today's optical
disk drives to maintain focus even if a disc is warped.

Re-writable discs might have lower capacities because the act of
writing to the disc will reduce the translucent quality of the
material, Michael Ross of IBM Almaden's Research Center told
Newsbytes. But the approach is backward compatible, meaning
currently available CD-ROM titles would be easily read by new
multilayer drives.

To make the multilayer disc, IBM glues individual layers together
with spacers to make a gap between the disks. Data is contained
on any disk surface inside the stack. Hal Rosen, manager of Novel
Recording Studies at Almaden, says discs containing four or more
surfaces would probably be made thinner than those used now to
keep the stack from becoming too thick.

The IBM scientists have demonstrated in their laboratory that
data can be both read on 2-, 4- and 6-layer read-only disks and
also written and read on 2- and 4-layer write-once discs.

If the density at which data can be written to a single layer
continues to increase, Edward Engler, program director of IBM's
Optical Storage Laboratory said 30 GB discs is within the realm
of possibility.

IBM's Almaden team plans to present the multilayer optical disc
technology idea next week at the May 18 Optical Data Storage
conference in Dana Point, California near San Diego.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940513/Press Contact: Michael Ross, IBM
Almaden Research Center, tel [phone], fax 408-927-
3011/IBM940513/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00030)

Microsoft Files Software Piracy Complaints In Spain 05/13/94
BARCELONA, SPAIN, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- Microsoft Iberica has
revealed it has filed a series of criminal complaints against Siesse
and Supermercado Informatica, two Spanish computer assembly companies.

According to Microsoft, the companies are accused of breaking Spain's
intellectual property legislation, which kicked into forced at the
beginning of this year. The two companies have been charged with
selling PCs with unauthorized copies of DOS and Windows.

The charges follow on from raids carried out during March of this year
on the two assembly companies, during which time police confiscated
PCs with the two programs installed on their hard disks.

Although Microsoft UK and Iberica are refusing comment on the case,
which is classed as "sub judice" (a legal term meaning no comment
possible), Newsbytes notes that Siesse handles Silicon Valley PCs in
Spain, while Supermercado builds the Carrie brand of machines. Both
brands of the machine are still available in Spanish outlets, although
neither are bundled with DOS and Windows -- an unusual state of
affairs in the computer business.

Microsoft claims it has another eight companies in Spain that may be
violating its copyright. The company says that it intends to stamp on
the problem of piracy once and for all.

Spain is well known as a European source of pirated software. Until
the beginning of this year, shops and bazaars freely sold music and
computer software at rock-bottom prices. Much of the software,
Newsbytes notes, is sourced from the Far East.

(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19940513/Press & Public Contact: Microsoft
Iberica - Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00031)

 ****Electro '94 - Virtual Reality Finding Real Market 05/13/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- As virtual
reality (VR) becomes more "realistic," and the technology gets
increasingly affordable, applications are moving into such
mainstream venues as the US Defense Department, university
engineering schools, and internationally known museums, said a
panel of experts at Electro '94.

Anyone with a 486 PC, programming skills, and access to online
services can now get started on VR application development almost
free of charge, according to Eden R. Gay of ERG Engineering, one of
the speakers at Electro's "Virtual Reality" session.

The Industrial Engineering Department at Northeastern University in
Boston recently set up a formal Virtual Reality Laboratory, due in
part to the "many jobs that are opening up in the field," according
to another speaker, Ronald R. Mourant, who teaches at Northeastern.

The US Defense Department is now using a virtual reality training
program called SIMNET/DIS to train helicopter pilots over a
nationwide network, reported Paul Metzger of Reality by Design, who
developed the SIMNET program in a previous position with BBN.

"3D (three-dimensional) sound," an emerging audio aspect of virtual
reality, is likely to make its way into mainstream motion picture
theaters, suggested a fourth speaker, Mike Joly of Kintek Inc.

Gay, who became a "virtual reality consultant" in 1992 following a
13-year career with DEC, told the audience that a public domain VR
application development program called REND 386 can be downloaded
for "less than $5" from online services.

Other equipment useful to VR practitioners includes "six-degree-of-
freedom" joysticks and tracking headgear, and "data gloves" for
direct manual navigation of VR applications, according to Gay.

Pricing of VR peripherals varies widely, as does quality, with
tracking headgear, for example, now being marketed for prices
ranging from under $200 to over $8,000, he said.

Prices are falling fast, though, he added. Two companies, for
instance, will be coming out with high quality headgear for less
than $1,000 within the next six months, he revealed.

Aside from REND 386, software development products include Sense8
WorldToolkit for Windows, Lepton VR Data Modelling Toolkit, VREAM,
Virtus WalkThrough, and Gossimer. Most of the development products
currently available are for PCs, although Gossimer is for the Mac,
and Virtus WalkThrough is available for both environments, he
observed.

Education and entertainment are ideal applications for virtual
reality, said Gay, who has developed such works as a VR exhibit on
cellular biology that is now on display at the Boston Computer
Museum, and a math program for high school students that uses
virtual reality for visual representation of calculus equations.
The consultant is now collaborating on another VR exhibit that will
be shown this summer at Siggraph.

In addition to lower pricing, future directions for virtual reality
include "wireless VR" and "transmissive" VR environments that will
"overlay the virtual world on to the actual world," according to
Gay.

Students at Northeastern's new Virtual Reality Lab are now working
on a "drive-by" VR program, in addition to a second VR program that
simulates a live manufacturing environment, according to Mourant.

A drive-by program is more challenging to develop than the more
ubiquitous "fly-by" VR programs, due to the greater need to use
peripheral vision when on the road, said Mourant.

Students at Northeastern created the basic terrain for the program,
using AutoCAD to create polygonal objects, and then mapping
textures to the objects, he explained.

The students have also performed programming, and have built some
of the equipment being used at the lab, including the housing for
the LCD (liquid crystal display), he said.

The manufacturing simulation program currently features working
models of a robot and conveyor belt. Ultimately, Mourant would like
to expand the VR application into a full plant floor environment
that will enable university students of manufacturing management to
conduct "what if" scenarios. A second "drive-by" application,
allowing users to motor through the factory in a cart, is also on
the drawing boards.

Other hardware and software being used in the lab includes a PC,
World ToolKit, the CyberSpace Development kit from AutoDesk, the
ADL-1 head tracking system, and a DEC Alpha 3000 workstation which
is currently on loan.

The US Defense Department's SIMNET program is an object-oriented VR
environment that can be accessed independently of hardware and
software environment, according to Metzger.

The VR effects achieved vary according to the graphical
capabilities of the end user's system, though, with Silicon
Graphics workstations, for instance, at the high end, and PCs at
the low end. All SIMNET users are attached to Ethernet LANs (local
area networks).

The SIMNET program is now being used at military installations
nationwide, ranging from "Fort Knox to Alabama," said Metzger.
SIMNET has been employed to simulate a variety of battles,
including the Persian Gulf War.

For the current helicopter training applications, the use of VR
peripherals such as tracking headgear and data gloves would be more
a "hindrance" than a help, Metzger said. "But for foot soldiers, VR
peripherals might be more useful," he noted.

The fourth speaker, Mike Joly of Kintek, emphasized the importance
of sound in achieving realistic effects in virtual reality
applications. Without a "smacking" sound, for example, the impact
of such VR actions as "hitting a wall" would be highly
disconcerting, he pointed out.

The latest trend in VR sound, 3-D audio, is designed to progress
beyond traditional "binaural audio" by allowing sound to "move"
with users as the users turn their heads.

In 3-D audio, sound comes from above and below the user, as well as
from in front of, behind, and from the left- and right-hand sides
of the user, reported Joly.

Headphones that accomplish 3-D audio are already on the market, but
methods need to be developed that will overcome the effects of
"head related transfer functions" (HRTF), the sound expert said.
HRTF results from variations in users' ears and heads that cause
them to "hear" sounds differently, he elaborated.

Ultimately, 3-D sound will probably be supplied for major motion
pictures, in much the same way 2-D Dolby SoundSurround has already
been used for films like StarTrek, he added.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940513/Press and Reader Contact: Miller
Freeman, 800-223-7126)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MSP)(00032)

Newsbytes Daily Summary 05/13/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 13 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Virtual Reality Expo '94 Opens in San Jose 05/13/94 Virtual
hang-gliding, virtual bungee jumping, gyroscopic "Lawnmower  Man-like"
game playing, fast "shoot-the-bad-guys" games, and  tours of a great
museum of art are all part of this year's Virtual Reality Expo in San
Jose.

2 -> DEC Adjusts Australia Staff - Axe-Fashion 05/13/94 Digital
Equipment  Corporation (DEC) has let go 96 of its 1400 staff in
Australia.  The move came after DEC's head office in the US announced
it was  considering further massive reductions worldwide to reduce its
costs even more.

3 -> Digital Head Of Contract Mftg In Asia 05/13/94 igital Equipment
Corporation  has appointed Alvin Ong as its regional sales manager for
Digital's recently established contract manufacturing service  in
Asia. He will be based in Singapore.

4 -> India - Hi-Tech Kidnapping 05/13/94 A hi-tech telecom network
came in handy for the kidnappers of Sikander Lal Pahwa, a Delhi
hotelier. The accused, Kamal Kishore Saini, used a conference
facility available on phone, according to police authorities.

5 -> Multimedia TV PC Debuts From Matsushita 05/13/94 Matsushita
Electric has announced that it will release a TV-based DOS/V personal
computer called "The Woody" on June 21.  Toshiba has just released a
notebook-type personal computer that can be connected with a regular
television set. IBM Japan and NEC are also preparing to release a
multimedia PC with TV tuner.

6 -> Camcorder Modem To be Released By Sharp 05/13/94 Japan's Sharp
has officially announced that it will release a modem for its LCD
(liquid crystal display)-based camcorder on June 1. This modem costs
45,000 yen ($450). Sharp will also release upgraded camcorders for
this modem.

7 -> Editorial - The People Of The Highway 05/13/94 By Dana
Blankenhorn. Laurence Canter reminded me recently why people hate
lawyers. Canter is a Phoenix immigration lawyer who'd posted an ad in
thousands of Internet's Usenet newsgroups. The ad appeared whether the
newsgroup was a debate over immigration policy, pasta sauces, or
operating systems.

8 -> Japan-Danish Netcard Cooperation 05/13/94 Japanese chip
technology  and Danish know-how in software will bring Olicom into the
ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) age. The Olivetti-owned Olicom is
one of the world's largest producers of adapter cards for  Ethernet
and Token Ring, but needed new products for the growing  ATM-market.

9 -> Microsoft Beefs Up HK Support Plans 05/13/94 In a pioneering
move, Microsoft Hong Kong has become the first software vendor in the
territory to offer customers a combined service and support  framework
developed to meet a full spectrum of requirements.  The new,
three-tiered structure caters to everything from the  start-up
inquiries of first-time home PC users to the  demands of the corporate
MIS department.

10 -> Scramble For India's Radio Paging Bid 05/13/94 India's
Department of  Telecommunications (DOT) has received 33 bids for its
recent  tender inviting companies to provide radio paging services in
the  18 territorial (telecom) circles of the country.

11 -> Dell Cuts Notebook, Software Bundle Prices 05/13/94 Dell
Computer Corporation has reduced the prices of its Latitude notebook
computer line, along with the price of some accessories packages.

12 -> Company Roundup 05/13/94 This is a regular feature, summarizing
company results not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: 4th Dimension
Software Ltd., ZEOS International Ltd., and Sanctuary Woods Multimedia
Corp.

13 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 05/13/94 This is a  regular feature,
summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes:
Motorola Inc., Dell Computer Corp., MCA/Universal Information
Services, FORE Systems, Data General Corp., Digital Equipment Corp.

14 -> Networking Roundup 05/13/94 This is a  regular feature,
summarizing networking news not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: Shany
Inc., XNET Technology, Netrix Corp.

15 -> Ambra Models In Canada 05/13/94 ExperComp Services Ltd., the IBM
Canada Ltd. subsidiary that sells Ambra personal computers in Canada,
has announced several new models, including the Achiever line of
multimedia desktops and four Ambra High Performance models using
100-megahertz (MHz) 486 chips.

16 ->  ****E-Mail, Not Video, Will Drive ATM, Study Says  05/13/94
Videoconferencing and other network multimedia applications are not
going to be the killer applications that lead business to adopt
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) telecommunications services, says a
recent study by research firm BIS Strategic Decisions.

17 -> Review of - The Perfect Resume 05/13/94 Runs on: IBM 286 with
Windows 3.1 or later, 4 megabytes of RAM,  and a hard disk with at
least 3 megabytes of available storage. A  printer is recommended.

18 -> Review of - Fatty Bear's FunPack, CD-ROM Game 05/13/94 Runs on:
IBM ATs with 550K of free RAM, 1 megabyte extended EMS  memory, a
CD-ROM drive, a VGA graphics card and a Sound Blaster  sound card or
higher.

19 -> Japan - Low-Cost Video Printer From Casio 05/13/94 Casio
Computer has developed  an extremely low-cost color video printer for
home users  called the Personal Video Printer or the VG-100, which
will be released at 55,000 yen ($550) around the middle of July. Casio
is planning to ship 20,000 units per month.

20 -> Fujitsu In Info Security Business 05/13/94 Fujitsu has launched
an information security service called "Propose" for which it hopes to
sign up 200 firms within the next three years.

21 -> Lobbying Blitz Over Senate Telecommunications Bill 05/13/94 It's
telco v. telco in Washington as the Baby Bells and the long distance
carriers bash each other in print and on radio. The context for the
lobbying blitz is the set of Senate hearings on S. 1822, the rewrite
of the U.S. basic telecommunications law offered by Sen. Ernest
Hollings (D-S.C.).

22 -> MacWorld -- Cadmover 4 "Switzerland Of Vector Graphics" 05/13/94
Apple users can move graphics files among dozens of programs and
formats in an upgrade of Kandu Software's Cadmover program, unveiled
at the MacWorld Expo and Summit. Cadmover 4 is a self-described
"Switzerland of vector graphics," with the ability to read files from
some 70 applications.

23 ->  ****Borland Stalls Earns Report, Predicts New Loss 05/13/94
Struggling Borland International, which already said it would report a
substantial loss for its fiscal fourth quarter and year end results,
is now saying it will also report a loss for the coming first quarter.
This is despite the $145 million sale of Quattro Pro to Novell, which
will probably be finalized in the first quarter. Borland is also
stalling the release of its earnings report for the year until June 2,
1994.

24 -> Interactive TV Pioneers Back in Court 05/13/94 Interactive
Network Inc., and NTN Communications Inc., two pioneers in
interactive television, are back in court, and both sides are as
angry as ever.

25 ->  ****Pittsburgh-Area Police Use Newtons 05/13/94 Police in
Bellevue, a suburb of Pittsburgh, are using Apple Newton personal
digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless communications in an emergency
dispatch system developed for them by students at Carnegie-Mellon
University in Pittsburgh.

26 -> Iomega Sues Conner Peripherals For Patent Infringement 05/13/94
Iomega Corporation, the company best known for its Bernoulli removable
media drives, has  filed a lawsuit charging Conner Peripherals with
patent  infringement.

27 -> Crooner Promotes Wordperfect 05/13/94 Crooner Tony Bennett may
have left his heart in San Francisco but he was in New York this week
to kick off his 40-city international concert tour and promote
Wordperfect's Main Street software product line.

28 -> Motorola To Port PowerPC Compilers To Power Mac 05/13/94
Motorola says it will port its PowerPC microprocessor compilers to
Apple Computer's line of Power Macintosh computers.

29 ->  ***6.5GB Optical Discs Possible With Layering, Says IBM
05/13/94 IBM says it can increase the capacity of optical discs, such
as compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), by as much as ten times by
layering the recording surfaces on top of each other. Researchers at
the company's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California have
already taken currently available CD-ROM drives and with minor
modifications, had the drives reading two layer optical discs.

30 -> Microsoft Files Software Piracy Complaints In Spain 05/13/94
Microsoft Iberica has revealed it has filed a series of criminal
complaints against Siesse and Supermercado Informatica, two Spanish
computer assembly companies.

31 ->  ****Electro '94 - Virtual Reality Finding Real Market 05/13/94
As virtual reality (VR) becomes more "realistic," and the technology
gets increasingly affordable, applications are moving into such
mainstream venues as the US Defense Department, university engineering
schools, and internationally known museums, said a panel of experts at
Electro '94.

(Wendy Woods/19940513)