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/nb051694

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(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00001)

Internet High School Online 05/16/94
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- You can now get a
complete education, through high school and some college, online
through the Internet. This seemingly impossible feat is made possible
using the Home Education Resource Network, or HOMER, a product of
IMSATT.

The service is managed through an operations center in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Newsbytes discussed HOMER with IMSATT President Narsiman
Kannan.

"It's available today. It was in test all of last year, and the tests
proved viable. So we added enrollment in North Dakota, through their
independent study program, and the Calvert School in Baltimore for
grades kindergarten to grade eight. Each has about 2,000 students.
What we're doing is creating an electronic community, allowing people
to go through the Internet and get a formal diploma," he told
Newsbytes.

While IMSATT is working on what amounts to home schooling, Kannan made
it clear it's not part of the religious-based "home schooling
movement" which has proven somewhat controversial. "We're neutral on
religion," he said.

"Our primary purpose is to link leading institutions to homes via
Internet. That's our principal business. We provide software,
hardware, enrollment, student management, grades, and complete academy
software online. We have authoring software so you can create lessons,
changing a paper-based system to interactive. We're in the business of
linking leading institutions. Five years from now, our goal is that if
you want a bachelors' degree from UC Berkeley you can do it online --
that's our goal," he added.

"We also have an online library, 3,000 hours of curriculum, available
for you to use as you please," he continued. "We're not an educational
institution, we're not accredited, but you can learn calculus, German,
algebra, all kinds of stuff. These were developed by various
academies, and we put them online as remedial material. The principal
value we bring is the linking of academy programs to home."

Newsbytes asked about the current academy programs online. "The
content belongs to Calvert," he said of the Baltimore school.

"They have 10,000 students, and deliver instruction by mail. They're a
100-year-old home study school. All we're doing is taking leading home
study programs and turning them into communities. We also have
cooperative learning modules where a student can create a study group
electronically, and use HOMER to study together. It's a more
sophisticated version of chat, since we have graphics and fonts, in
real-time."

Kannan also discussed the background of his company. "We've been in
business 10 years. We started in educational computing, mostly
multimedia. But we decided in the late 80s that multimedia and online
would merge, and decided to invest in going online. We did R&D for 2-3
years, tested it in Philadelphia with the mayor's office and Bell
Atlantic," he said, adding that the company learned that welfare
mothers could use the system, for instance, "then in the suburbs"
through Compuserve, "and we decided it was a viable business.

"In the next three years we'll work to add multimedia elements like
sound and video," he added.

"We want to hear from schools who want to put curriculum online," he
said. "We're bringing them economies of scale. No one school can
afford to do this" alone. There is no cost to participating
institutions, and they can get a royalty on revenues produced from
students, he added.

What's it all cost, we asked. "We charge, for unlimited use for a
whole year, $295, exclusive of Internet charges. Out of the $295
there are royalties, plus tuition to the schools. Calvert charges
$500 per year. The total cost is less than $1,000, compared to $5,000
for a public school and even more for a private school. We bring the
convenience of instantaneous electronics and interactivity for a small
fee, and it's not metered," he replied.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940516/Press Contact: Narsiman Kannan, IMSATT, 105
West Broad St., Falls Church, Virginia, 22046, 703-533-7500: Customer
Contact: 800-529-1606, BBS: 612-482-5607)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00002)

UK - Toshiba T4800CT Notebook PC 05/16/94
WEYBRIDGE, SURREY, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Toshiba Information Systems
(UK) has announced a new flagship notebook, the T4800CT. According to
the company, the machine is the first from Toshiba to feature the new
Intel DX4 processor. The machine uses a clock-multiplied processor
running at 75 megahertz (MHz) and comes with eight megabytes (MB) of
memory, expandable to 24MB internally.

Because of the "power user" nature of the expected purchasers of the
machine, Toshiba says that it has included a 500MB 2.5-inch form
factor hard drive as a standard feature.

"The machine costs UKP 4,850 which, quite frankly, places it at the
high end of the notebook market. At this level, users are going to
want to have just about everything they want to run, running on it.
It's going to replace a desktop PC for many users, so we've included
everything possible on the machine," explained a spokesman for
Toshiba to Newsbytes.

According to Toshiba, the machine includes multimedia features in the
form of an onboard Microsoft Sound System 2.0 and comes with a built-
in speaker, microphone, and headphone socket. "We've also included a
graphics accelerator and VESA local bus to make the system fly," the
spokesman told Newsbytes.

The T4800CT comes with a 9.5-inch SVGA (super video graphics array)
active matrix TFT screen capable of 2,576 colors, out of a total
palette of 262,144 colors. Resolutions of up to 1,024 x 768 pixels x
256 colors are possible on an external monitor, the company claims.

Expansion facilities include two PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association) slots -- one type II, the other type III.
Available as an optional extra is the DeskStation IV which offers many
of the I/O ports seen on a desktop system.

Despite all these flagship features, battery life on the new machine
is a healthy 3.5 hours, thanks to the use of nickel metal-hydride
battery technology. A new power management system -- Maxtime -- has
been included in the firmware of the notebook.

The T4800CT is available immediately in the UK at UKP 4,850.

(Steve Gold/19940516/Press & Public Contact: Toshiba Information
Systems - Press Contact: Elisabeth Banks, Nelson Bostock for Toshiba -
Tel: [phone]; Public Contact: Toshiba Literature Line - Tel:
[phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00003)

UK - Survey Of Home Business Owners 05/16/94
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Dell Computer has
commissioned a home business computer survey published in Home Run,
the magazine for small businesses in the UK.

According to Dell, a computer is the most important item to a home
business -- more critical than an answering machine or fax machine.
That's why the company commissioned a survey of 2,300
small business users of PCs for Home Run.

They survey threw up the result that home businesses rely most heavily
on computers, with almost 50 percent rating a computer ahead of an
answering machine (29 percent) or a fax machine (eight percent). Only
10 percent that they would put the most faith in a salesperson's
advice, with more than 75 percent following the advice of friends
(37 percent) or their own instincts (34 percent).

Surprisingly, workload and prices are not the main purchase triggers
for the 25 percent of home workers who have not yet purchased a
computer. Instead, more than 30 percent of those who have yet to buy
admitted that they don't know enough about computers to make an
informed decision.

"It's a poor reflection on the computer industry, when a lack of the
right sort of information prevents customers from understanding and
buying the latest products," commented Mike Swalwell, Dell UK's
managing director. "That's why we've asked Home Run to write an
easy to read guide, 'How to choose and use a home office PC,'
to help home businesses to assess their computer needs," he said.

The report showed that professional home workers have relatively high
technological skills; over 75 percent believe they have at least a
"good basic knowledge" and 25 percent describe themselves as "high
tech experts."

Despite their high skills level, most professional home workers (40
percent) want PCs that are designed to meet their particularly needs,
and 25 want them to arrive read to "plug in and play."

When in need of help, most will reach first for the "help" buttons (47
percent) and instruction manuals (35 percent). Next, they reach for
the telephone, with 10 percent preferring to get help direct from a
manufacturer's hotline.

The home workers' technological dream of the future is the ultimate
computerized handbag. Ten years from now, more than 30 percent want
their computer, phone, and fax integrated into one handbag-sized unit.
And voice-operable technology, the report notes, scores almost as
high on the desirability ratings, featuring in the dreams of 28
percent.

Andrew James, publisher of Home Run and the new Dell guide, is a home
worker himself. "Home workers clearly don't feel they've made the
grade until they have a PC. But owning a PC and using it to its full
potential are two quite different things; that's why we know our guide
to choosing and using a Home Office PC is going to be very welcome,"
he explained.

(Steve Gold/19940516/Press Contact: Colleen Farrell, Dell Computer -
Tel: [phone]; Andrew James, Home Run - Tel: [phone];
Public Contact: Home Run - tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00004)

Interactive Service, GTE Main Street Seeks Outlets 05/16/94
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- GTE used last
week's National Cable Television Association show in New Orleans as
the launch pad for a major push for its Main Street service.

Spokesman John Eccleston told Newsbytes that Main Street uses one or
two cable channels to provide up to 70 interactive services "ranging
from stock quotes, and the ability to buy and sell, games and
entertainment like NTN's QB1, education including things like SAT
preparation, and Weekly Reader learning programs for young children."

The service was developed over the last few years in conjunction with
the Continental and Daniels cable networks, in Carlsbad, California
and the Boston suburbs.

In preparation for the marketing push, in which it hopes to sign up
cable operators serving half the top 20 US markets, GTE made Main
Street a separate subsidiary.

"We'll make a big push at NCTA, with a large booth, demonstrations,
and direct mail. We'll demonstrate a full motion restaurant guide of
New Orleans, so people can plan their evening at the convention. We've
filmed in 12 restaurants, and they'll be in a full motion menu. Our
aim is more agreements like those in California and Boston,"
Eccleston said.

According to Eccleston, the full motion demonstrates shows the
direction of future Main Street development, toward more video files.
In addition to looking to new cable customers for those agreements,
Main Street is also negotiating with Continental and Danieles.

There is a big problem, however. Eccleston noted that Main Street
requires its own cable converter and remote. That's no big deal for
systems which haven't upgraded or changed their converters in many
years, but it could be a big hurdle for system operators that have
recently had upgrades, analysts say.

"The deal requires a converter box, as well as a remote control -- the
converter can be used for both our service and other services," he
told Newsbytes.

According to Eccleston, Main Street is working to address that
problem, however, working with systems manufacturers to ensure that it
will be compatible with their future network architectures. Main
Street currently utilizes a combination of local telephone lines,
coaxial cable, and computers.

The Main Street service is currently available in Carlsbad and in
Boston at $9.95 a month. At the time of the service roll-out,
officials of Daniels said that it was one of the "fastest roll-outs
for a premium service in that system's history," with many customers
buying it who had never before purchased premium services, spurred by
enthusiastic response from educators.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940516/Press Contact: John Eccleston, for
GTE Main Street, 203-622-1723)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00005)

UK - Quarterdeck Ships Desqview/X v2.0 05/16/94
CHELMSFORD, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Quarterdeck Office
Systems has announced the release of version 2.0 of Desqview/X, its
graphical user interface (GUI) package for the PC. The package sells
for UKP 229, Newsbytes was told by Caroline Edney, marcoms manager
with the company.

"We're also offering existing users the chance to upgrade for UKP 67.
Users who bought their version before the first of March can upgrade
for free. All we ask is that they pay a UKP 5 handling charge to us,"
she said.

According to Jonathan Burchell, Quarterdeck's director of X products,
X Windows is a key component in the company's efforts to make remote
computing a "useful and accessible technology.

"The features found in release 2.0 make Desqview/x an excellent
solution in several different application areas. These arenas, which
we refer to as the Four Faces of X, are for a high speed X server, a
workstation that supports applications intended for a variety of
platforms, the ability to easily convert ordinary applications into
distributed X-applications, and the ability to move X-applications to
standard DOS platforms," he said.

Desqview/X was originally released as Quarterdeck's answer to
Microsoft Windows. As Windows has evolved, so has Desqview. In its
latest incarnation, Desqview/X can multitask DOS and Windows
applications together, making efficient usage of memory and connect to
external devices using a remote graphics program.

Acting as a network resource, Desqview/X allows other network users to
access the programs and resources of the Desqview/X PC via an X-
server. Remote users can use any Windows, DOS text of Desqview/X
application, just as if it were local to them.

(Steve Gold/19940516/Press & Public Contact: Quarterdeck UK - Tel:
[phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00006)

Denmark - Hayes Opens Scandinavian Office 05/16/94
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Hayes Microcomputer Products,
the modem manufacturer, has opened an office in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The company, which has been servicing its customers through its
distributors in the country, who in turn feed off the UK office, has
created a new company -- Hayes Microcomputer Products (Scandinavia)
Aps -- to operate the new offices.

Heading up the new operation is Henrik Hoyer, who become sales and
technical support manager for Hayes' distributors and dealers
throughout Scandinavia. He comes to Hayes from Lasat Communications,
the Danish modem manufacturer.

"We're delighted to be opening an office to service the needs of
Hayes' ever-increasing customer base in Scandinavia and to provide
greater penetration for Hayes' growing product range in that region,"
commented Markin Nelson, the company's general manager of Europe.

Which companies will the new Danish office be servicing? According to
Hayes, the authorized distributors in Scandinavia are Danosi of
Denmark, SEC Datacom of Denmark, TBK Products of Norway, Nordic
Distribution of Sweden and Scribona of Sweden.

"We're offering the complete range of Hayes' modem products in
Scandinavia. The only exception to this is with our Millennium 8000
network system, which is only available in Denmark and Sweden," a
spokeswoman for Hayes told Newsbytes.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940516/Press Contact: Sue Starie, Hayes Europe - Tel:
[phone]; Fax: [phone]; Public Contact: Hayes Europe -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


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

Novell Launches European Olympics 05/16/94
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Novell has decided
to operate its own Olympics -- but only Certified Network Engineers
(CNEs) and Enterprise CNEs are allowed to enter. The aim of the Novell
Olympics is to allow almost 13,000 candidates to slug it out when it
comes to proving their technical abilities.

Novell says the aim is to encourage professional excellence.
"In many ways it's a preparation for the CNE and ECNE
certification, which we've found to be an important
qualification as far as our customers are concerned," explained a
press officer for Novell to Newsbytes.

Greg Fallon, Novell's vice president for Europe, said that the
initiative is purely a European one. This is also the only
competition of its type in the computing world.

"CNEs and, even more so, ECNEs, are an elite within the computing
profession. They invest a lot themselves in obtaining the
qualification and these CNE Olympics provide us with the opportunity
to acknowledge that and give them the chance to show good they really
are," he said.

The Novell Olympics are open to any CNE and ECNE from Sweden to South
Africa and from the Middle East to the UK, as well as throughout
Eastern and Western Europe. The contestants will enter a series of
eliminating rounds and the national winners will then compete for
three prices at the final at the European Support Center in
Dusseldorf, Germany, later this summer.

The first round of the competition will be based on multiple choice
Drake tests which are similar to the tests used for the Novell
certification programmes. Further stages will consist of both
practical and theoretical tests.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940516/Press & Public Contact: Novell UK - Tel: +44-
344-724000)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00008)

Roland Instrument Sounds Added To Quicktime 2.0 05/16/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Apple Computer
has teamed up with professional musical instrument company Roland
Corporation to offer Roland's Sound Canvas musical instrument
sound collection for use in the next release of Quicktime.

Apple says that users will be able to use the Roland musical
instrument sounds to make music using its multimedia extensions for
the Macintosh without needing to know the technical nuances of musical
instrument digital interface (MIDI) technology.

Quicktime movies are made up of different tracks, such as a video
track, text track, and now Apple is adding the ability for developers
to include a music track. Each track is considered a "movie" itself,
so the music track is often referred to as a "music movie."

Roland's Sound Canvas product includes families of musical
instruments, such as piano, organ, guitar, bass, strings and
orchestra, ensemble, brass, reed, percussion, and sound effects. Apple
has licensed one instrument from each family for inclusion in
Quicktime 2.0.

Altogether there will be 16 instruments, including some more unusual
ones such as "special effects" according to Applesoft's product line
manager for multimedia software, Duncan Kennedy. MIDI files usually
take a significant amount of space, but Quicktime music movies can be
stored in significantly less space, Kennedy added. For example,
Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata would require nearly 180 megabytes (MB)
if recorded as compact disc (CD) quality audio, but when stored as a
Quicktime movie it only just 75 kilobytes (K).

Kennedy told Newsbytes that, although the reduction in sound quality
of the Quicktime music movie is there, it is nowhere near as
noticeable as one might first expect. Quicktime stores eight-bit
audio, but in using the premium-quality sound samples encoded by
Roland to reproduce the sounds, Quicktime is able to play back music
at a much better quality-level than standard eight-bit audio is able
to produce.

Apple said that Roland sees opportunities in the licensing of its
sounds as a way to attract users to its Sound Canvas products and to
its line of electronic musical products that interface with the
Macintosh.

Quicktime 2.0 was announced earlier this year and is expected to be
available this summer. The Quicktime Developer Kit is expected soon,
but Apple representatives were unable to provide a specific date.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940516/Press Contact: Katy Boos, Apple Computer,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

 ****Apple Roars In With New PowerBooks 05/16/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Apple has
unveiled a complete new line of six PowerBooks with four models
in the 500 series and two models of the PowerBook Duo 200 series.

The machines, which are powered by the Motorola 68LC040
microprocessor, have been launched on both sides of the Atlantic
today. According to Apple, the new PowerBooks offer new color
technology, improved battery technology, new exterior casing
and size, built-in power management, and a Powerbook Mobility Bundle
(PMB) of software that includes compatibility software to access to
DOS and Windows files.

The 500 series includes the 520, 520c (color), 540, and the 540c, all
of which feature optional Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association (PCMCIA) ability, a new "Trackpad" which replaces
trackball technology, ready-to-go, pre-installed software, either one
or two nickel-metal-hydride (NMH) batteries with up to seven hours of
operation, built-in 16-bit stereo sound, and optional built-in modem
and Ethernet capabilities.

Customers may choose a Global Village 19.2 PowerPort data/fax modem
for US and Canadian usage or a PowerBook 14.4 Express Modem for
international use. The 520 models come with a grayscale or dual scan
color passive matrix screen, while the 540s are available in active
matrix gray or active matrix color.

The base model begins with 4 megabytes (MB) of RAM and available hard
drive sizes are 160MB, 240MB, and 320MB. The 500 Series is priced from
$2,269 for the base model up to $5,539 for the 540c with 12MB of
RAM, 320MB hard drive, and built-in modem.

The PowerBook Duo 200 series is designed as a subnotebook, weighing
just over four pounds with a 1.5-inch thickness. It features a nine-
inch gray or 8.4-inch active matrix color screen in the 280 and 280c
respectively, as well as Express Modem's new 1.5 software for 14.4
data and fax send/receive capability and optical character recognition
(OCR) in US and European models only.

A new PowerBook Duo Dock II docking station which supports built-in
Ethernet, 21-inch color displays, at 8-bits (256 colors), and higher
performance of '030-based PowerBook computers, through integrated
cache and floating point unit, is available for $969. The 200 series
has a base price of $2,639 and the 280c with 12MB RAM, 320MB hard disk
plus modem is $4,299.

Julie Herenden, Apple Computer's PowerBook product manager, told
Newsbytes: "We know that a lot of our existing PowerBook users have
been waiting for the release of the these new models and they will be
the first group to purchase in large numbers.

"As the word grows and the public sees the outstanding technological
advances incorporated into these models, we expect to see a crossover
market of notebook users. With the new PowerBooks, we are highlighting
what Apple does best, which is software integration, extensive
expandability and user flexibility," she said.

As a result of the new introductions, Apple has reduced prices on
some older Powerbook models, the 145B, and 165 series, by between
17 and 27 percent.

The PowerBook 500 series will replace all but the 145B and 165 models
of the current PowerBooks. Apple plans to announce PowerPC technology
to the 500 series in the future, but a specific date was not given.
The PCMCIA module will be available in July of this year.

Newsbytes, in attendance at a press preview of the new line, noted
that the technological advantage of the trackpad is that it is a flat,
rubber-like surface that picks up the motion of a user's finger across
the entire surface of the pad to direct the cursor. Replacing the
trackball, it can be customized to control individual preferences of
tracking speed.

According to Apple, the 16-bit stereo sound, built-in Ethernet and
modem, pre-installed software package, an improved battery design, the
Trackpad, and new active matrix color technology sets a new standard
for portable computing at a competitive price.

The PowerBook Mobility Bundle offers communication software, Apple
Remote Access Client 2.0, Power Management, PowerBook Control Strip
1.0, PowerBook File Assistant, Macintosh PC Exchange 1.0.2, MacLink
Plus/Easy Open Translators, Macintosh Easy Open 1.0.4, Launcher,
HyperCard Player 2.2, Calendar 1.0 and MacCheck 1.0.5.

(Patrick McKenna/19940516/Press Contact: Kay Mascoli, Apple, tel: 408-
974-3983/NuPBook940516/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00010)

New Jersey BBS Sysop Charged Over Child Porn 05/16/94
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- A Leonia, NJ
computer bulletin board system (BBS) system operator (sysop) has been
charged with possessing images of child pornography, following a
police raid on his home last week.

Kevin Sterner, an unemployed 29-year-old, allegedly used a bulletin
board called Total Anarchy to distribute images of girls as young as
10 years old, fully or partly naked. Police discovered the bulletin
board while they were investigating attempts to gain access to Bell
Atlantic's customer records, which began with multiple unauthorized
calls to the switchboard of a roofing business in East Rutherford.

The federal charges laid against Sterner could lead to a sentence
of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he is convicted,
a spokeswoman told Newsbytes.

Sterner made an initial court appearance Friday, and a preliminary
hearing must be held within 20 days unless the defendant waives a
preliminary hearing or an indictment is returned.

The office of the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey said that
one of Sterner's four computers contained a list of "top ten
downloads" from a file area called The Child.Lib, that included
graphic interchange format (GIF) files of a 10-year-old girl pulling
down her panties and a 13-year-old naked from the waist up.

Pornography and erotica have been a contentious issue on bulletin
boards. There have been a number of cases where BBSs have been charged
for distributing child pornography or violent porn. Material that
titillates, however, does not lead to charges -- pictures of naked
adults are commonly available on many BBSes and online systems.

(Grant Buckler/19940516/Press Contact: Dick Lavinthal or Jennifer
Salvato, US Attorney District of New Jersey, 201-645-2888)


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

 ****Compaq Intros More Presario Models 05/16/94
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation has expanded its Presario line of personal computers with
the addition of the Presario 660 and 860 models.

Announcing the new machines was John Rose, senior vice president and
general manager of Compaq's Desktop PC Division, who said: "Our
Presario line of easy-to-use, consumer-designed PCs have been
extremely popular.

"We continue to build on that success by providing consumers with the
technology and functionality they are asking for at very competitive
prices," he added.

According to Rose, home and small office/home office (SOHO) users will
find that "the Presario 660 provides them with the value and
versatility they have been asking for in a desktop PC."

The 860 is a multimedia system in a minitower case powered by an AMD
486SX2 microprocessor running at 66 megahertz (MHz). It includes a 340
megabyte (MB) hard drive, 14,400 bit-per-second data/fax modem, 8MB of
memory (expandable to as much as 64MB), a 16-bit sound card, external
stereo speakers, microphone, and internal CD-ROM drive.

The system is upgradable to a Pentium chip and has five Industry
Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion slots and five drive bays. The
hard drive, 1.4MB floppy drive and CD-ROM occupy three bays, leaving
two for after-market installation of peripherals such as a tape backup
system. The local bus graphics system has 1MB of video RAM (random
access memory).

Also included with the Presario 860 are several programs on CD-ROM
disc that include Microsoft's Encarta encyclopedia program, Microsoft
Multimedia Works for Windows, and the Mayo Clinic Family Healthbook.

In addition to the CD-ROM titles that come with the 860, Compaq will
also install the MS-DOS operating system, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft
Works, and Quicken on the unit's hard disk. Works includes word
processing, spreadsheet, and database applications. Quicken is a
personal finance management program.

One also gets Compaq Tabworks, a replacement for the Microsoft Windows
Program Manager that uses a tabbed notebook metaphor with a page for
each program group. The user selects the desired program group by
clicking on the tab. Tab text attributes and color are user-
selectable. The 860 comes with free trial subscriptions to the America
Online, Compuserve, and Prodigy online subscription services.

The Presario 860 is expected to sell for about $1,999 without a
monitor. Compaq offers a variety of monitors.

The Presario 660 is also powered by an AMD 486SX2 66MHz chip and is
equipped with a 340MB hard drive. The standard 4MB of memory can
be expanded to 56MB and the system ships with 1MB of video memory.

According to Compaq, the machine ships with MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows,
Microsoft Works, Quicken, and TabWorks installed. The same online trial
subscriptions that come with the 860 are included with the 660. Compaq
says the 660 will sell for about $1,399 plus the cost of the monitor.

Compaq launched its Presario product line in August 1993 with the 400
series. In November 1993 the company added the 800 minitower and
multimedia series and the 600 series. Presario computers are sold
through computer superstores, office product outlets, electronics
stores, catalog and warehouse/membership stores as well as some
mass merchandise stores.

(Jim Mallory/19940516/Press contact: John Sweney, Compaq Computer
Corporation, 713-374-0484; Reader contact: Compaq Computer
Corporation, 800-888-5858 or 713-374-1459)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00012)

 ****IBM To Unveil New ThinkPad, ValuePoint Models 05/16/94
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- The IBM Personal
Computer Company will announce new models in its ThinkPad and
PS/ValuePoint product lines tomorrow (Tuesday).

The new ThinkPad models will bring features now found in the
top-of-the-line ThinkPad 750 to lower-priced models in the
popular line of notebooks, a source close to IBM told Newsbytes.
The announcements will also include an improved keyboard.

The ThinkPad line has proved very popular, reversing a string of
dismal performances by IBM in the portable computer field. However,
the company has had trouble keeping up with demand, particularly for
models with active-matrix color screens.

An addition to IBM's ValuePoint, the line will feature a new
selectable system bus that can be adapted to either the Peripheral
Component Interconnect (PCI) or the Video Electronics Standards
Association (VESA) local-bus standard.

The announcements shift the focus from IBM's PS/1 line, which was
recently updated with new models for the home and small business, to
more business-oriented products.

William Milton, an investment analyst who follows IBM for Brown
Brothers Harriman in New York, told Newsbytes recently that Big Blue
may be unwise in relying too heavily on the home market to drive its
PC growth. The company's traditional strength is in business
computing, Milton pointed out.

Milton also said the PS/2 line, IBM's premium-priced line of
business PCs, is overdue for a refresh.

(Grant Buckler/19940516)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00013)

Cognos Sees Wider Market For New PowerPlay 05/16/94
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- A new release of Cognos'
PowerPlay software will appeal to a wider market than previous
releases of the data query tool, according to Neal Hill, newly
installed vice-president of marketing at the company.

Cognos now calls PowerPlay "business intelligence software." Hill told
Newsbytes that the new PowerPlay 4.0 is easier to use than previous
releases, and is able to retrieve data from a wider variety of
formats. "We think the target market goes much more broadly and much
more deeply into business than previous releases have," he said.

Cognos has taken PowerPlay Transformer, a formerly separate piece of
software that is used to package retrieved information into multi-
dimensional format, and made it part of PowerPlay 4.0.

Administrative functions that previously came separately are now
included in the standard package, and a new briefing book called
Portfolio makes it easier to assemble collections of reports to be
passed on to other managers.

Portfolio uses Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), a compound document
architecture backed by Microsoft. "We've rolled everything into a
single box and we sell it all as a single package," Hill said.

A central idea in PowerPlay is multi-dimensional data analysis, in
which data can be twisted around and viewed from different angles.
Most business data is inherently multi-dimensional, Hill said; for
instance, sales can be broken down by product line, by geographic
territory, by time period, and so on. "That idea's been around for a
long time, but I think it's only now coming to the fore as a conscious
need."

Some spreadsheet packages, such as Lotus' Improv, provide multi-
dimensional analysis features. However, Hill maintained that products
like PowerPlay do the job better than spreadsheets. "We think that
ultimately what the end users are saying is they see spreadsheets as
one thing and these multi-dimensional tools as another." A key
difference is the amount of data the products can handle, he added.

PowerPlay is currently available for personal computers running
Microsoft Windows 3.1. A 386 processor is required and Cognos
recommends a 486. The software also requires four megabytes (MB) of
memory.

Cognos is committed to launch a version of PowerPlay for the Apple
Computer's Mac range of computers, Hill said, and that is expected to
appear early next year.

According to Hill, the company will definitely do a version for the
next release of Windows, code-named Chicago, and is looking closely at
IBM's OS/2 operating system. PowerPlay 4.0 is available immediately
for $895.

(Grant Buckler/19940516/Press Contact: Roberta Carlton, Cognos,
617-229-6600 ext. 2446; Wendy Rajala, for Cognos, 905-338-8532,
fax [phone])


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

Low-Cost Virtual Reality Head-Tracking 05/16/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Executives of
Precision Navigation walked the aisles of Virtual Reality '93
last year and concluded they could deliver better
and less expensive head-tracking technology to the virtual
reality (VR) community. This year, they returned to the show
with Wayfinder-VR, a low cost head-tracking product based on
electronic compass technology.

The high cost of head-tracking, a means of coordinating the visual
image with the movements of the head, has contributed to the high
price of VR headsets. With Precision's new offering, however, that
changes, the company claims.

John Lee, OEM sales and marketing director for Precision Navigation,
told Newsbytes that "most head-tracking units are based on a
transmitting and a receiving unit that allows you to determine where
you are in the virtual world.

"A typical unit will run from $2,200 to $6,000 depending on the
sophistication and requires a number of components. Our unit is self-
contained in one small unit at a cost of $599," he said.

According to the company, Wayfinder-VR is based upon a three-axis
magnetic field sensor and a two-axis tilt sensor. Using the earth's
magnetic field and gravitational pull to detect motion, it does not
require bulky sending and receiving units. Its small printed circuit
board, with an R232 data interface, requires very low power
consumption and offers an 8 hertz (Hz) sampling rate.

Precision has a 30Hz version on the drawing table and predicts a July
shipping date. Noting that most of the current software does not
update very fast, the company told Newsbytes that the next version is
designed to match newer developments of VR software which are just
beginning to surface.

"Our goal is to participate in providing VR solutions at an affordable
price. Today, a developer can put together a developers kit at a
fraction of what it would have cost a year ago," Lee explained.

"Given the volume discount that we can offer OEMs and the advancements
that we now offer in head-tracking technology, accessibility to VR
will be available to more and more industries," he added.

The company is currently in negotiation to license Wayfinder-VR with
several headset manufacturers, Newsbytes understands.

(Patrick McKenna/19940516/Press Contact: John Lee, Precision
Navigation, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00015)

Australia - R.R Donnelley Opens Plant 05/16/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- R.R. Donnelley, which claims to
be one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of
software packaging and disks, has opened an Australian subsidiary to
cater to the Australasian region.

The plant's facilities are likely to fare well in Australia since
Microsoft imports huge loads of ready-to-sell software packages
from overseas manufacturing facilities such as Donnelley's
Singapore manufacturing plant. Now it will be able to
manufacture the disks and packaging in Australia.

Printing of the manuals will still be done at Donnelley's Singapore
plant, Newsbytes understands, though the company may look at adding
printing to its services in 1996. The disks are produced locally from
masters sent electronically from Microsoft in the US.

Microsoft is just one of the many potential customers and the facility
will handle everything from reproducing disks, sourcing the printing
of manuals, local production of packaging, warehousing, and order
fulfillment.

"The introduction of local manufacturing adds a significant portion of
local content to overseas products, making us an attractive partner
under the Australian government's Partnership Program," explained
local R.R. Donnelley managing director, Tony Weber.

"Other benefits include a substantial reduction in parallel importing
and software piracy," he said, adding that other benefits included a
time saving of between two and six weeks as well as cost efficiencies
from local manufacture.

The initial plant is capable of producing at least 50,000
disks a day. The plant employs 20 permanent and 20 casual
staff with the a total head count of 70 expected by September.

(Paul Zucker/19940516/Contact: R.R Donnelley - tel: [phone];
fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00016)

Aldus Pagemaker For Mac To Get Trapping Capability 05/16/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation has
announced a new addition that adds trapping capability to Pagemaker
5.0 for the Macintosh. Trapping is a printing technique that
slightly overlaps printed colors to minimize the effects of
misalignment of the printing plates used in the steps used to
print multiple colors.

The new addition, called Trapmaker Addition for Aldus Pagemaker 5.0,
automatically creates traps for text and objects drawn in Pagemaker
and is designed to make the work of designers, service bureaus and
prepress specialists easier.

Aldus says that Trapmaker uses a color-based approach to trapping
rather than an object-based method. Because Trapmaker places traps
based on color relationships between adjacent edges of objects, only
the part of an object that requires trapping is affected, rather than
the entire object.

Even a single text character can be trapped to each background. The
traps are created from within Pagemaker on native Pagemaker files.
Consequently users do not have to exit the application to build the
traps.

According to Ellen Wixted, associate product marketing manager at
Aldus, Trapmaker's output times are comparable to Quark's but give
the user more control over the prepress parameters, and is easier to
use. "Because it's truly automatic, it produces excellent results
regardless of the user's level of expertise," Wixted said.

Trap parameters defined by the user are set within the Pagemaker file,
and PostScript traps for text and native Pagemaker elements are
included automatically when separations are printed. The user selects
Aldus Trapmaker from Pagemaker's Additions submenu. Parameters such as
trap width and shift limit are defined in the Trapmaker dialog box.
The user can review and modify the default trap types assigned to
color pair combinations by clicking on "Overrides".

Clicking on "Print" lets the user specify print settings. Users can
print to an imagesetter or create a Postscript or EPS file. If an EPS
file is created it contains the trap settings.

Pagemaker includes more than 20 built-in Additions, and over 60
more are available from third-party developers.

The Trapmaker Addition requires Pagemaker 5.0 for the Mac, Apple
Computer's System 6.0.7 or later operating system with Finder 6.1.7
or later. If you're running one of Apple's new Power Mac's you need
System 7.1.2 r later. Aldus recommends a Power Mac, Mac II series,
Quadra or SE/30 personal computer with five to eight megabytes (MB)
of memory. Power Mac users will have to have 8MB of memory. The
software will also run on an LC series or Classic II computer.

The Trapmaker Addition for the Macintosh is scheduled to ship in the
second quarter and will have a suggested retail price of $79.95.

(Jim Mallory/19940516/Press contact: Barbara Burke, Aldus Corporation,
206-628-6594; Reader contact: Aldus Corporation, 800-776-5888 or 206-
622-5500, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00017)

SPA Takes Anti-Piracy Course On The Road 05/16/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- The Software Publishers
Association (SPA) is taking a new anti-piracy training course on a 48
city US tour this summer, beginning May 31 in Boston and ending on
September 9 in Los Angeles.

The one-day training seminar, team-taught by professional educators
and SPA staff, covers issues such as understanding licensing
agreements and copyright laws, developing a workable and effective
corporate software policy, and how to set up a software management
program. Those who take the course and pass the examination at the end
of the day are entitled to call themselves "certified software
manager."

Course materials include a student manual, SPAudit software, a video
titled "We Lost Control," and other materials that include suggested
corporate software management policies. The SPAudit is a program the
trade group representing software companies has developed to help
inventory commercial software on hard disks. The company has
distributed over 150,000 copies of the program since 1990, SPA
spokeswoman Terri Childs told Newsbytes.

SPA decided to launch the 48-city tour after three pilot classes, with
about 130 software professionals, tested the course. According to
Childs, SPA drew the names of those who attended the prototype
training program from SPA's database of individuals who had written
the organization for information or requested copies of SPAudit.

SPA Executive Director Ken Wasch said that the response to the pilot
courses "was overwhelming."

"Computer specialists have long since recognized the difficulty of
managing their software resources and staying within the law. We are
now providing them with a useful method to help monitor their internal
software practices, so that companies may become, and stay, software
legal," he said.

According to Alexis Bishop, deputy director of Maryland's department
of budget and fiscal planning, who attended one of the pilot sessions,
the course "enhances the skills and knowledge of the organization's
employees and provides the organization with an opportunity to improve
their management of software assets."

SPA's courses are designed for about 40 people per session. The
cost is $395, including materials, and breakfast and lunch.

The SPA course will be offered across the country, including stops in
Hartford, New York and Philadelphia; Memphis, Nashville, Louisville
and Cincinnati; Metropark, N.J., Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington;
Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco; Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta and
Birmingham; Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami and New Orleans; Charlotte,
Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis and Detroit; Milwaukee, Chicago,
Minneapolis and St. Louis; Tulsa, Dallas, Houston and Austin; Kansas
City, Denver, Phoenix and Salt Lake City; Portland, Seattle and
Vancouver; Rochester, Montreal and Toronto; San Diego and Orange
County.

(Kennedy Maize/19940516/Contract: Terri Childs, tel: [phone],
ext. 320)


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

 ****VoicePrint Technology Seeks Markets 05/16/94
PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- A company formed
to commercialize a Rutgers University voice-print technology is
sifting through offers after an appearance on CNN.

Barry Frankel, vice president-marketing for SpeakEz, told Newsbytes
his firm's scheme is far superior to a voice-calling system now being
rolled out by Sprint, which is based on work done years ago by Texas
Instruments. "People are saying we have a significant technology
advantage which will become a market advantage," he said.

The code needed to interpret voice-matches now runs on an engineering
workstation but could be put onto an Intel 486-based PC, he said. The
coding itself could go onto the magnetic stripes popular on credit
cards, or onto chip-based "smart cards."

He offered this type of application: "If you have a $25K line of
credit, you might be offered voice security, out-dialing and verifying
a voice print." Voice prints are scored by the software, and turned
into a 7-10 digit number which could be imprinted on a mag-stripe.

"That score goes into the system with the credit card ID and if
there's a question, you have to ask for a voice print." There are other
applications too. "We've figured out how to stop hacking on modems or
over an Internet link, using this technology. It's easily implemented,
and could be rolled out in 12 months," he said.

"Every day we're seeing more opportunity for this technology," he
added. "We were on CNN and got 6 pages of calling activity, from
Japanese trading companies, credit unions, cable providers, banks,
etc. They've got real projects. We broke CNN two weeks ago. It was on
their Science & Technology show. NBC in New York then did a pick-up on
their 6 o'clock news where their local anchor said we'd make a lot of
money," he told Newsbytes.

Mike McKay, senior associate director of the Center for Computer Aides
for Industrial Productivity or CAIP, the Rutgers unit which developed
SpeakEZ, said: "This system is speech- and language-independent. It
takes 10 seconds of speech to enter the system." As a test, "I started
in Thai, then went to English and the system recognized me. Six months
later I came in with a real bad cold and laryngitis and the system got
me again. That is what we refer to as speaker identification, finding
a person from a large database.

"Speaker verification may make the marketplace first," he added.

"For credit cards, the system brings you up, and your voice print goes
against a database of one. We're developing a system for a bank now
that does this, for internal and external transactions. We think the
system can be applied for security, credit cards, ATMs, bank drafts --
you can verify the person to whom you're talking with this system," he
said.

Speak EZ has an exclusive agreement to license the technology from
CAIP, McKay added. It is a development-level company with Ph.Ds on-
staff to develop applications, and business managers on staff to
develop strategic partnerships.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940516/Press Contact: Barry Frankel, SpeakEZ, 609-
734-7444; Mike McKay, CAIP, 908-445-5557)


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

NYU Symposium on Info Highway 05/16/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- New York University
(NYU) is hosting a major conference today for media companies
interested in the information highway. Stephen Slade, professor of
information systems at NYU, told Newsbytes that publishers are
concerned both about protecting copyright and getting paid.

"Peter Yunich of Paramount has spoken here before, and these things
are very much on his mind. People who come here from the technology
perspective see this as a way to distribute information for free, but
publishers don't share that perspective. They do realize, however,
that their roles will have to change. Peter has a vision for his
company," he said.

The conference is being held at the Stern School of Business, located
at 44 W. 4th St. in Manhattan. The keynote address is being given by
Koichiro Hayashi, president of NTT America, and Arno Penzias, senior
vice president of AT&T Bell Laboratories.

This will offer a unique opportunity to gauge the ways in which
Japanese and American telecommunications giants are responding to the
opportunity. Additionally, the symposium seeks to identify the role
digitization will play in many industries' business, technology,
policy and regulation strategies.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940516/Press Contact: Stern School of
Business, Colleen Troy, 212/998-0671)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00020)

Australian Tech-Ed Conference Declared "Successful" 05/16/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994, MAY 16 (NB) -- The Australian Tech-Ed '94
conference has been declared a success by Microsoft. According to the
company, the 750-plus delegates who attended the Australasian event
compared well to the 4,000 attendees in the recent US conference.

Attendees came from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand,
Bahrain, Indonesia, and all states of Australia. They heard Microsoft
evangelists talk on Microsoft tools and products. There were 70
presentations to choose from, including many from local developers.

The Solutions Challenge, held in conjunction with Tech-Ed, gave
attendees the opportunity to show off their Microsoft-based
applications, and possibly win a $15,000 prize -- a trip to Spring
Comdex in Atlanta later this month to demonstrate the winning product
at the Microsoft Solutions Provider stand at WinWorld. Solution
providers included: software manufacturers, public utilities, end-
users and service providers.

One group that was less than happy about the conference was the
International Data Group (IDG) which publishes PC World. Until this
year it had run an annual Windows World conference and show with heavy
Microsoft participation and support, but Microsoft reportedly pulled
out last year, leaving IDG to change the show to PC World '94. And the
timing? You guessed it... both events were on this week.

Microsoft Australia has also introduced its "software to go"
promotion. It consists of the Microsoft Home Pack and the Microsoft
Office Pack that will sell for less than 50 percent of separate RRP
prices.

The home pack includes Microsoft Works, Creative Writer, and Microsoft
Entertainment Pack for AUS$229 (around US$165). There is also a Power
Pack which contains a DOS 6.2 upgrade, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and
the new Microsoft Mouse, also for AUS$229. Free service is guaranteed
until September 30.

Microsoft's local managing director, Chris Kelliher, likened the offers
to fast food outlets that are currently offering family meal deals in
Australia. Customers don't have to stop and try to work out all the
bits and pieces they want. They can just order a pack simply and
easily," he said.

The promotion will be backed by a series of 15-second TV ads that will
reach every Australian eight times, on average, and color brochures in
national publications.

(Paul Zucker/19940516)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00021)

ESPN Screen Savers For Windows 05/16/94
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- An upcoming
advertising promotion from Comp USA will offer a pair of Joe Boxer
sports shorts to the first 20 customers through the door as part of
its anniversary celebration. The sports shorts are a marketing
concept to introduce ESPN Sports Shorts, a compact disc (CD) of
live action video/audio sports clips to be applied to the PC
desktop environment.

This Windows product is the result of Moon Valley Software and
ESPN collaborating for over a year to deliver the best of ESPN in
three- to 20-second video clips and various audio files.

According to Moon Valley, users may create a desktop environment using
favorite team colors, adding personal narratives and chaining video
clips together.

Pete Ryan, CEO and chairman of Moon Valley, told Newsbytes: "We have
specialized with Windows screen savers since the inception of our
first product, ICON Do It. This makes it easy for us to create a
Windows product that is user friendly and easy to install. I
cannot overemphasize the creative contribution of ESPN in the
development of Sports Shorts. Moon Valley has built its
products with the concept that users want their computer
screens to look like their television screens. Sports Shorts achieves
that better than any product on the market," he said.

In 1992, ESPN Enterprises was created to extend ESPN products in many
different fields including multimedia, home video, and electronic
publishing. Approached by Moon Valley, ESPN decided to become involved
in the first ESPN multimedia screen saver. "ESPN provided us with
enough material to make several CDs and we selected what we thought
were the very best," said Ryan.

Since June of 1993, Moon Valley has sold more the 600,000 units
of its most recent CD desktop utility, ROMaterial. Ryan also
pointed out that Moon Valley "has a policy of producing wholesome
products uniquely absent of any content that parents would not want
their children to see."

ESPN Sports Shorts requires an 80386 or higher-based PC, Windows 3.1,
two megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), 10MB of hard disk
space (more depending on files created), a CD drive, a sound card and
speakers, a VGA or better monitor and a graphics card.

The program will ship this month at a suggested retail price of
$39.99. According to the company, it will be available in the standard
US retail channels. Moon Valley expects to distribute in Japan and
parts of Europe within ninety days. The company is currently looking
for resellers in the international market.

(Patrick McKenna/19940516/Press Contact: Rolland Going, The Terpin
Group, tel [phone]; Public Information, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

 ****Mead Selling Lexis, Nexis 05/16/94
DAYTON, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Mead Corporation has
retained Goldman Sachs to help it sell its Lexis and Nexis online
service. A deal should be done by the end of this year, Newsbytes
understands. The outright sale of the company to another firm is
considered most likely, but if Mead doesn't get its price it could
spin off Lexis-Nexis, taking it public.

In a prepared statement, Mead said it was selling to concentrate on
its paper business, but this would also seem to be a good time to sell
the service, which it bought for $6 million in 1968. In 1993 Mead Data
Central represented 12 percent of the company's $4.8 billion in
revenues, which the company's CEO said totaled $576 million, and 16
percent of the $124 million in net income, about $20 million by
Newsbytes' calculations.

Lexis and Nexis are the second-largest information library around,
after Knight-Ridder's Dialog, but they are easier to use than Dialog,
and that issue could increase the company's value as the online market
moves from a niche to a mass market. In early trading May 16 Mead
stock was up over $2 per share, to over $45 per share.

Because of the US economic recovery, Mead has been doing well
of late. The company had net income of $124 million on sales of
$4.8 billion in 1993. The company controls 1.3 million acres of
timberlands, which supply only 16 percent of its requirement for
raw materials.

According to Mead, Lexis and Nexis have hundreds of thousands of
users, not only online but in CD-ROM (compact disc - read only
memory). The databases include millions of documents from over 4,000
sources. Among its assets are The Michie Company, a legal information
and CD-ROM publisher acquired in 1988; Jurisoft, a legal software
company bought in 1989, and Folio Corporation, an electronic
publishing company acquired in 1993. Among Folio's offering is
software used to publish on CD-ROMs.

Lexis and Nexis are best-known for their ease-of-search features,
however. Originally users needed specialized terminals to use the
services, but in the 1980s the company released PC software. Recently
the company released Windows-based software using a service called
Freestyle, which allows for searches in plain English rather than
using traditional search commands.

Most recently, Mead announced a joint venture with Disclosure aimed at
reselling Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including data
from its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval or EDGAR
system.

According to Mead CEO Steve Mason, the sale is motivated by a desire
to "unlock the value of Mead Data Services and Lexis-Nexis for our
shareholders.

"It's not reflected in the share price, and now is the ideal time" to
sell. He said that Mead has achieved 10 straight quarters of revenue
increases, and in two of those quarters Mead Data Central's returns
made the difference. Mason also indicated paying-down debt will be a
major goal with the proceeds -- 46 percent of the company's balance
sheet now consists of debt, and Mason's goal is to cut that to 30-40
percent.

"Mead Data Central is a great business, and has a great future. Today
Mead is the world's largest provider of full text information
services, and a major player in electronic publishing. Mead Data
Central is introducing new products at a record rate, and there's more
to come," he said.

In their questions, analysts speculated on the value of Mead Data
Central and questioned how much of a gain might be lost to taxes.
Mason said Mead's tax basis in Mead Data Central is a little under
$400 million, so any cash received over that would be subject to
capital gains tax. One analyst noted that Knight-Ridder paid 3-4 times
revenues for Dialog five years ago, so Mead Data Central might bring
in $2 billion.

Newsbytes asked about Mead Data Central's technology plant, and how
much of the company's capital it's presently consuming. Company
officials indicated that the level of capital spending at Mead Data
Central is in line with its revenues, but Mason added: "The technology
in that business is rapidly evolving. It will require investment over
time, and has in the past. I feel good about the technology we have in
that business, but investments will continue over time."

In response to other questions, Mason insisted that no one has
approached the company about a sale. "It was entirely driven by
internal reasons. There are no external forces. It did seem with the
Information Highway it was the right time in the external environment
to talk about this," he said.

Mason also denied that a 1993 reorganization at Mead Data Central was
driven by the notion of a sale, indicating it was part of a broad
effort to boost productivity throughout the company.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940516/Press Contact: Mead, Elizabeth L. Russo,
513/495-3312)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00023)

Hewlett-Packard To Buy Out HP India 05/16/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard (HP) has
announced plans to buy the remaining 60 percent stock in HP India,
Newsbytes has learned. The deal will give the computer giant 100
percent control over the operating company.

According to Suresh C. Rajpal, Hewlett-Packard India's president, the
company has already put forth a proposal with the Foreign Investment
Promotion Board (FIPB) and is hopeful of getting an approval soon.
At present, apart from HP, 20 percent of the equity is held by Blue
Star and 15 percent by the promoters of the HCL group. HP India had
earlier planned to offer 25 per cent to the Indian public.

Recently the company changed its plans and decided to acquire the
entire equity. Rajpal claimed that both Blue Star and HCL have agreed
to let HP go ahead with its plan.

HP India manufactures high precision measuring instruments, testing
equipment, and peripherals at its facility in Bangalore. In the last
year ending October 1993, the company lost Rs 2 crore ($0.64
million) over gross sales of Rs 110 crore ($35.5 million). Rajpal
predicts a 60 percent growth and a profit this year.

Hewlett-Packard has a separate joint venture, with 26 percent stake,
HCL Hewlett-Packard Limited, which is India's largest information
technology company.

(C. T. Mahabharat/19940516)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00024)

Microsoft Project 4.0 Now Shipping 05/16/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Microsoft says it is
now shipping version 4.0 of Microsoft Project, the company's ten-year
old project management software.

The software is a tool used to plan and track the progress of projects
and has found use in tasks as varied as planning political conventions
and keeping track of large construction projects. It can produce
schedules as well as Gantt and PERT charts.

One of the new features in Project 4.0 is Intellisense, a technology
already in use in other Microsoft programs that tries to
anticipate what the user wants to do and completing the task
automatically. For example, in Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0
Intellisense anticipate the typing of words and completes the word
without the user having to perform all the keystrokes.

Project 4.0 works with object linking and embedding to allow users to
embed objects such as as Excel chart in a Gantt chart. You can also
write notes on a chart with the included drawing layer. Visual Basic
for Applications is used as the macro language.

Project 3.0 shipped in January 1992. Twelve months later Microsoft
responded to user complaints by issuing a maintenance release to
repair some problems. At the time of the maintenance release a
Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes version 4.0 would probably ship
by the end of 1993.

Microsoft Project 3.0 got a 7.9 rating in overall evaluation conducted
by the National Software Testing Laboratories. The independent testing
lab praised the software for menu organization, mouse functions, and
ease of use.

Project 4.0 has a suggested retail price of $695. Users who acquired
version 3.0 after March 1, 1994, can upgrade at no cost by contacting
Microsoft. Users of earlier versions can upgrade for $149.

(Jim Mallory/19940516/Press contact: Jennifer Allen, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft Corporation, 503-245-0905; Reader contact:
Microsoft Corporation, 206-882-8080 of 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00025)

Court Rules On Microsoft-Stac Case 05/16/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- A federal judge has
denied a request by Microsoft Corporation halt further sales of Stac
Electronics' Stacker software, and ordered Microsoft to withdraw or
destroy any copies of MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2 not already sold by
distributors. The company is also precluded from using the same
technology in Windows NT.

The ruling was an offshoot of an earlier jury verdict that Microsoft
used Stac Electronics' patented technology in its data compression
program Doublespace, which is part of DOS 6.0 and 6.2. After the
earlier decision Microsoft stopped shipping DOS with Doublespace and
has since released MS-DOS 6.21 with Doublespace removed.

Microsoft spokesperson Collins Hemingway told Newsbytes that the
ruling does not preclude Microsoft from supporting MS-DOS with
Doublespace. Hemingway said that the ruling will cause no disruption
in the sale of MS-DOS. "The amount of the old product in the
distribution channel is quite small," he said.

The judge decided not to issue the injunction Microsoft had sought
against Stac Electronics for infringing on Microsoft trade secrets,
saying any further penalty against the California-based company would
be punitive. In the initial ruling Stac was directed to pay Microsoft
$13.7 million for reverse engineering Microsoft software. Microsoft
had to pay Stac $112 million for the patent infringement.

US District Judge Edward Rafeedie issued his oral ruling Friday, and
is expected to issue a formal written ruling later this week.

The judge made his announcement public in an oral ruling from the
bench. A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes the ruling does not
enjoin Microsoft from supporting previously sold copies of the
software.

(Jim Mallory/19940516/Press contact: Collins Hemingway,
Microsoft Corporation, 206-882-8080; Reader contact: Microsoft
Corporation, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

Microsoft To Demo Switched Broadband Network Software 05/16/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Microsoft Corporation
says it will roll out its continuous media server software this week.

Code-named "Tiger", the software is a scalable, distributed,
continuous-media file system that will be a key component of
Microsoft's software architecture for switched broadband networks that
will deliver services such as video on-demand. .

Newsbytes reported in February of this year that the "Tiger" project
was under development. A Microsoft spokesperson told Newsbytes "Tiger"
is a Windows NT-based file server to handle the flow of continuous
media information being predicted for the future.

"The objective is to bring together sophisticated software on high-
volume PCs and telecommunications hardware in a scalable architecture
that is cost effective" the spokesperson told Newsbytes.  Microsoft
hopes to play a key role in what could be a multi-billion dollar
industry.

"Tiger" will be announced and demonstrated by Nathan Myhrvold,
Microsoft senior VP of advanced technology, and Craig Mundie, VP of
advanced consumer technology at the Westin Hotel in Seattle tomorrow
(Tuesday).

(Jim Mallory/19940516/Press contact: Michele Bourdon, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft Corporation, 503-245-0905; Reader contact:
Microsoft Corporation, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00027)

Toshiba Intros Video Playback Upgrade For Its Portables 05/16/94
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Along with the
increasing trend towards notebooks and portable computing, there is
also a slower move towards multimedia capabilities. Now the Computer
Systems Division of Toshiba America Information Systems (TAIS) has
combined the two and announced an optional third-party upgrade to the
its T6600C and T6600C/CD mobile multimedia computers.

The two-slot Zantares/ReelMagic upgrade reportedly adds full motion,
full-screen MPEG-1 (Motion Picture Experts Group) digital video
playback capabilities to the Toshiba systems. The upgrade was jointly
developed by NB Engineering and Paragon Technology.

Howard Emerson, a spokesman for Toshiba, told Newsbytes that the
T6600C and T6600C/CD are clam-shell style, although they are not
notebook computers, but portable. He said that they have two 16-bit
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion slots that are both
used for the upgrade.

In response to a question from Newsbytes concerning a built-in modem
taking up one of those slots, Emerson said that is not a problem as
there is also a separate 16 millimeter PCMCIA (Personal Computer
Memory Card Industry Association) slot which is where a modem would
go.

Said Steve Lair, vice president of marketing for the Toshiba Computer
Systems Division: "The Zantares/Reel Magic upgrade for the Toshiba
T6600C mobile multimedia computers allows us to tap into an emerging
market based upon the MPEG-1 ISO standard to bring popular
entertainment, including feature films, television segments and video
games, directly to the portable computer."

Continued Lair: "The Zantares/Reel Magic add-in upgrade offers an
array of digital video capabilities that, when combined with the
T6600C mobile multimedia computers, demonstrates the impact of full
motion, 30-frames-per-second video for our customers' presentation and
application needs."

Paragon's Zantares board provides a Toshiba Z-connector interface for
delivering digital video to the T6600C's internal color active matrix
display and interfaces with video and hardware-assist multimedia cards
using VGA and feature connector standards.

According to Ralph LaBarge, president of NB Engineering: "Zantares
enables a host of multimedia add-in boards based on MPEG-1, DVI, JPEG
(Joint Photographics Experts Group) and other digital video formats to
be incorporated into the Toshiba platforms. Customers are no longer
limited to a single digital video playback technology, and with
Zantares, they have the flexibility to access new digital video
technology as products become available."

Currently available, the two-slot Zantares/ReelMagic upgrade has a
suggested retail price of $1,395 which includes a Sigma Designs'
ReelMagic MPEG playback board, a Zantares interface board,
installation, documentation, software, an MPEG-1 demonstration CD and
technical support. The upgrade can be purchased directly from NB
Engineering by calling 410/721-5725.

(Ian Stokell/19940516/Press Contact: Howard Emerson, 714-583-3925,
Toshiba America Information Systems)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(SFO)(00028)

HP Intros New Workstations & Graphics Line 05/16/94
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- With so much
attention currently being paid to Apple's reduced instruction-set
computing (RISC)-based Power Macintoshes, and the Power PC chip
architecture generally, it is worth remembering that RISC has
been available for a long time in workstations. Now Hewlett-Packard
(HP) has announced four new PA-RISC-based workstations and a new
graphics product line that offer three-dimensional (3-D) capabilities.

According to HP, the new graphics workstations are the fastest in the
industry available at under $20,000. HP says that the new workstations
are designed for such markets as mechanical design, electronic design
automation and architecture and engineering construction.

The new products include: the Model 715/64, which starts at $9,995;
the Model 715/80, which starts at $13,600; the Model 715/100, which
starts at $19,005; and the Model 725/100, which is expected to be
available in the third quarter, 1994. Also introduced are four new
graphics subsystems: HCRX-8, HCRX-24, HCRX-8Z, and HCRX-24Z.

Claimed Gary B. Eichhorn, HP vice president and general manager of the
Workstation Systems Group: "These new systems deliver outstanding
price/performance. Our 715/64 can deliver eight times the triangles
per second than the SGI Indy R4600! And when you compare our Model
715/100 with HCRX-8Z graphics to the SGI Indigo 2 Extreme, there is no
comparison. We deliver nearly twice the 3-D vector performance at
almost 40 percent less cost."

According to HP, the new HCRX-8, HCRX-24, HCRX-8Z and HCRX-24Z,
"deliver the industry's fastest X Window acceleration on the desktop
and 3-D solids modeling performance that was formerly available only
at the $50,000 price point."

The new systems are also reportedly double buffered, offering eight
overlay planes for increased graphical user interface (GUI)
performance and "smooth movement" of dynamic images. The systems use
an the firm's HP Color Recovery, which allows the simultaneous display
of approximately eight million colors, instead of the usual 256
colors.

The HCRX-8 is claimed to deliver the fastest X Window and 2-D (two-
dimensional) vector performance on the desktop. The HCRX-24 offers the
same performance and will display up to 16.7 million colors
simultaneously. Meanwhile, HP claims that the HCRX-8Z and HCRX-24Z
provide the best price/performance 3-D renderer in the industry.
Advanced features in the systems include alpha transparency,
deformation animation, texture mapping, and antialiased vectors with
the 24Z.

Both system and graphics upgrades are claimed to be fully binary
compatible with existing system. HP says it will offer a 100
megahertz (MHz) board upgrade to users of the Model 725/50 and
725/75 later this year.

The new Models 715/64, 715/80, 715/100, and 725/100 require
the HP-UX 9.05 operating system, which now includes PEX 5.1
runtime, the 3-D graphics API (application programming interface).

The model 715s support up to 256 megabytes (MB) of memory
capacity and 256 kilobytes (KB) of combined instruction and data
cache, while the 725 supports up to 512MB of memory. The
systems also support up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of internal total disk
capacity.

The new workstations are based on the PA-RISC 7100LC processor,
and feature plug-in memory modules, disks and removable media
devices including a 3.5-inch floppy. They also have have built-in
IEEE 802.3 local area networking, an external SCSI-2 (small
computer system interface type 2) port, a Centronics interface, two
RS-232 serial ports, audio connections, HIL and PS/2 (mini-DIN) for
multiple input-device support.

The Model 715/64 starts at $9,995 and includes a 17-inch color
monitor, 32MB of memory and a 525MB hard disk. The Model 715/80,
in the same configuration, is $13,600 and the Model 715/100 is
$19,005. They are already available. HP's computers come standard
with a limited, one-year on-site warranty and a choice of support
options. The HCRX-8 graphics subsystem is $2,500; the HCRX-24 is
$4,000; the HCRX-8Z is $5,500; and the HCRX-24Z is $7,000.

(Ian Stokell/19940516/Press Contact: Vicki Kravitz,
508-436-5254, Hewlett-Packard)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(BOS)(00029)

 ****Apple PowerBook To Draw PC Users With PowerMac Upgrade 05/16/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- Apple's new
PowerBook 500 notebooks and PowerBook 200 subnotebooks offer highly
innovative features and attractive pricing, and when Power Mac
upgrades become available next year, Apple will be able to expand
its base to include current users of IBM-compatible portables,
according to industry analysts contacted by Newsbytes.

"Once the Motorola Power Mac chip ramps out, Apple could be
competing with PowerPC notebooks for $1200 or $1300, and still
making money," said Kim Brown, VP of mobile computing for
Dataquest of San Jose in California. Announced last week, the Motorola
chip is currently priced at $199 in small quantities, according to
Brown. "That's almost as hot as anything Intel is selling," she said.

With initial prices starting at $2,269 for the Series 500 models and
$2,630 for the Series 200 models, the new PowerBooks already compare
well against IBM-compatibles in terms of price performance, suggested
another analyst, Susan Cohen, senior analyst, Computing Strategy
Service, for Forrester Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Randy Giusto, senior analyst, Mobile and Personal Computing Service,
for Norwell, Massachusetts-based BIS Strategic Decisions, concurred on
this point. The 50 megahertz (MHz) and 66 MHz 680LC040 processors
being used in the new models "will definitely get Apple into the
ballpark with the DX-2 and DX-4 systems that are coming out on the
Intel side," he reported. Apple, he added, "will no longer be playing
catch-up."

The analysts also expressed enthusiasm about new features that are not
available yet for IBM-compatibles portables, such as the "intelligent
batteries" and trackpad in the new Series 500 notebook, and the new
PowerBook Control Strip for battery management that is included in the
PowerBook Mobility Bundle for the Series 500 as well as the Series 200
models.

"The trackpad is fantastic. There is nothing mechanical in there that
can either screw up or get gummed up," Brown told Newsbytes. Pointed
out Cohen: "One of the biggest hassles with portable use today is
batteries. The new battery features, combined with the other new
ergonomic capabilities and the good price point, will serve as an
incentive for people to switch over from the PC side."

But the analysts also held some reservations about the new features,
and stressed that the Power Mac upgrade must become available before
the PowerBook makes any major dent in the IBM-compatible side of the
portable market.

Because the new trackpad is sealed, it will not collect dust and grime
like a trackball, according to Giusto. Yet the trackpad may face
similar issues of "sensitivity" and wear encountered by the trackball,
he speculated.

The intelligent batteries are also a "nice feature," he added. Still,
it would have been better for Apple to have called for batteries that
comply with the new Duracell standard being followed by Dell and
Compaq, he said.

The new PowerBooks will probably sell well this quarter, predicted
Brown. "But then, as you get into the next two quarters, you'll
probably have people wondering whether they should buy a new
PowerBook now, or wait until the Power Mac upgrade is ready. The
people who want to be able to run Windows will wait," he added.

Noted Cohen: "Maybe Microsoft will get (the user interface) right
with Chicago, but they haven't gotten it right yet. Still, whether
Apple likes it or not, corporate America is still largely a Windows
shop."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940516/Press contact: Kristin Brownstone, Regis
McKenna for Apple Computer, 408-874-3120)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Apple Cuts Prices On Powerbook, Quadra Models 05/16/94
CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- On the heels of
its introduction of new PowerPC Powerbook notebook computers today,
Apple Computer is lowering prices on its low-end Powerbooks as
well as on desktop Macintosh Quadra models, and some peripherals.
The price cuts range from five percent to 33 percent.

Five low-end Powerbook models are the ones Apple is cutting prices on.
The Powerbook 145B 4/80 with 4 megabytes (MB) of random access memory
(RAM) and an 80 MB hard disk drive has been cut 12 percent from $1,429
to $1,259. The Powerbook 145B 4/120 is now $1,659, cut 17 percent from
$1,369; the Powerbook 165 4/80 is down 18 percent reduced from $1,759
to $1,449; the Powerbook 165 4/160 has been slashed over 25 percent
from $2,099 to $1,549; and the Powerbook 165 4/160 equipped with an
express modem has been dropped the most, 27 percent, from $2,339 to
$1,699. In addition, the Powerbook Express Modem Kit has been cut a
third from $319 to $215.

Apple has been successful with the Powerbook line and held the number
one spot for notebook computer sales until last year when IBM-
compatible personal computer (PC) maker Compaq took the lead. Apple's
distinctive track-ball design has been imitated by others in the PC
notebook world, such as Packard Bell, but the company is changing the
design with its new PowerPC Powerbooks. The new Trackpad is a
triangular shaped space below the space bar that the user touches to
move the cursor.

The company has also discontinued several Powerbook models since the
product's introduction in 1991. The original Powerbook 100 is no
longer offered as well as the 140 model. Newsbytes asked Apple if
these five models were slated for discontinuation as well, but Apple
representative Bill Keegan said it's goal is simply to make the
notebooks more affordable. Apple is trying to move out excess
inventory and feels these price reductions will help.

As for desktop computers, Apple has discounted all the 660 line of
Macintosh Quadra audio/visual (AV) models between 14 and 18 percent.
The Quadra 660AV 8/230 with 1 MB of video RAM (VRAM) has been cut 20
percent from $1,879 to $1,499. Equipped with a compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM) drive, the Quadra 660AV 8/23OCD with 1 MB VRAM has
been lowered 18 percent from $2,159 to $1,779. The Quadra 660AV 8/500
with 1 MB VRAM had the lowest price drop of 14 percent from $2,759 to
$2,369.

The highest end Quadra, the 950 0/1000 with no RAM installed and a
gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive has been cut 15 percent from $7,329 to
$6,229. Apple has aimed the unit at the desktop publishing market, but
is now getting competition from its own Power Macintosh introduction.

Several of the major desktop publishing software vendors, including
Adobe and Aldus, have announced their software is now available in
versions that will run "native" with the new Power Macintosh, the
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) chip-based Macintosh
introduced by Apple in March.

The Apple Power Macintosh 8100 running at 80 megahertz (8100/80)
is $4,952, the Power Macintosh 7100/66 is $3,588.50, and the
Power Macintosh 6100/60 is $2,321.50. Eight MB of RAM for the
Power Macintosh is about $400.

Peripherals that have been reduced include the Apple Laserwriter
Select 300 with a Toner Cartridge included which is now 15 percent
less at $699 from its former price of $819. The Laserwriter Select 300
is 18 percent less, cut from $730 to $600.

Apple has also cut its Onescanner with an Accessory Kit and the same
scanner for the Microsoft Windows PC market 20 percent from $869 to
$699. The Onescanner without the Accessories is 21 percent less down
from $820 to $650. The company has also slightly reduced its 14-inch
red, green, blue (RGB) Macintosh Color Display from $419 to $399.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940516/Press Contact: Bill Keegan, Apple
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00031)

Newsbytes Daily Summary 05/16/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 16 (NB) -- These are the capsules of all
today's news stories:

1 -> Internet High School Online 05/16/94
You can now get a complete education, through high school and some
college, online through the Internet. This seemingly impossible feat
is made possible using the Home Education Resource Network, or HOMER,
a product of IMSATT.

2 -> UK - Toshiba Intros T4800CT Notebook PC 05/16/94
Toshiba Information Systems (UK) has announced a new flagship
notebook, the T4800CT. According to the company, the machine is the
first from Toshiba to feature the new Intel DX4 processor. The machine
uses a clock-multiplied processor running at 75 megahertz (MHz) and
comes with eight megabytes (MB) of memory, expandable to 24MB
internally.

3 -> UK - Small Business Computer Findings Report Issued 05/16/94
Dell Computer has commissioned a home business computer survey
published in Home Run, the magazine for small businesses in the UK.

4 -> Interactive Service, GTE Main Street Seeks Outlets 05/16/94
GTE used last week's National Cable Television Association show in New
Orleans as the launch pad for a major push for its Main Street
service.

5 -> Quarterdeck Ships Desqview/X v2.0 05/16/94
Quarterdeck Office ystems has announced the release of version 2.0 of
Desqview/X, its graphical user interface (GUI) package for the PC. The
package sells for UKP 229, Newsbytes was told by Caroline Edney,
marcoms manager with the company.

6 -> Denmark - Hayes Opens Scandinavian Office 05/16/94
Hayes Microcomputer Products, the modem manufacturer, has opened an
office in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company, which has been servicing
its customers through its distributors in the country, who in turn
feed off the UK office, has created a new company -- Hayes
Microcomputer Products (Scandinavia) Aps -- to operate the new
offices.

7 -> Novell Launches Its Own European Olympics 05/16/94
Novell has decided to operate its own Olympics -- but only Certified
Network Engineers (CNEs) and Enterprise CNEs are allowed to enter. The
aim of the Novell Olympics is to allow almost 13,000 candidates to
slug it out when it comes to proving their technical abilities.

8 -> Roland Instrument Sounds Added To Quicktime 2.0 05/16/94
Apple Computer has teamed up with professional musical instrument
company Roland Corporation to offer Roland's Sound Canvas musical
instrument sound collection for use in the next release of Quicktime.

9 -> Apple Roars In With New PowerBooks 05/16/94
At Macworld '94, Apple debuted its PowerPC range of computers with
promises to make 1994 one of the greatest years in Apple history.
Having delivered the promise of Power PC in desktops and workstations,
Apple has now unveiled a complete new line of six PowerBooks with four
models in the 500 series and two models of the PowerBook Duo 200
series.

10 -> New Jersey BBS Sysop Charged Over Child Porn 05/16/94
A Leonia, N.J., computer bulletin board system (BBS) system operator
(sysop) has been charged with possessing images of child pornography,
following a police raid on his home last week.

11 -> Compaq Intros More Presario Models 05/16/94
Compaq Computer Corporation has expanded its Presario line of personal
computers with the addition of the Presario 660 and 860 models.

12 -> IBM To Unveil New ThinkPad, ValuePoint Models 05/16/94
The IBM Personal Computer Company will announce new models in its
ThinkPad and PS/ValuePoint product lines tomorrow (Tuesday), Newsbytes
has learned.

13 -> Cognos Sees Wider Market For New PowerPlay 05/16/94
A new release of Cognos' PowerPlay software will appeal to a wider
market than previous releases of the data query tool, according to
Neal Hill, newly installed vice-president of marketing at the company.

14 -> Precision Navigation Intros Low-Cost VR Head-Tracking 05/16/94
Executives of Precision Navigation, a compass technology company,
walked the aisles of Virtual Reality '93 and concluded they could
deliver better and less expensive head-tracking technology to the
Virtual Reality (VR) community. This year, they returned to the show
with Wayfinder-VR, a low cost head-tracking product based on
electronic compass technology.

15 -> R.R. Donnelley Opens Australian Manufacturing Facility 05/16/94
R.R. Donnelley, which claims to be one of the world's largest
manufacturers and distributors of software packaging and disks, has
opened an Australian subsidiary to cater for Australasian region.

16 -> Aldus Pagemaker For Mac To Get Trapping Capability 05/16/94
Aldus Corporation has announced a new addition that adds trapping
capability to Pagemaker 5.0 for the Macintosh.

17 -> SPA Takes Anti-Piracy Course On The Road 05/16/94
The Software Publishers Association (SPA) is taking a new anti-piracy
training course on a 48 city US tour this summer, beginning May 31 in
Boston and ending on September 9 in Los Angeles.

18 -> VoicePrint Technology Seeks Markets 05/16/94
A company formed to commercialize a Rutgers University voice-print
technology is sifting through offers after an appearance on CNN.

19 -> NYU Symposium on Information Highway 05/16/94
New York University (NYU) is hosting a major conference today for
media companies interested in the information highway. Stephen Slade,
professor of information systems at NYU, told Newsbytes that
publishers are concerned both about protecting copyright and getting
paid.

20 -> Australian Tech-Ed Conference Declared "Successful" 05/16/94
The Australian Tech-Ed '94 conference has been declared a success by
Microsoft. According to the company, the 750-plus delegates who
attended the Australasian event compared well to the 4,000 attendees
in the recent US conference.

21 -> ESPN Screen savers From Moon Valley 05/16/94
An upcoming advertising promotion from Comp USA will offer a pair of
Joe Boxer sports shorts to the first 20 customers through the door as
part of its anniversary celebration.

22 -> Mead Selling Lexis, Nexis 05/16/94
Mead Corporation has retained Goldman Sachs to help it sell its Lexis
and Nexis online service. A deal should be done by the end of this
year, Newsbytes understands. The outright sale of the company to
another firm is considered most likely, but if Mead doesn't get its
price it could spin-off Lexis-Nexis, taking it public.

23 -> Hewlett-Packard To Buy Out HP India 05/16/94
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced plans to buy the remaining 60
percent stock in HP India, Newsbytes has learned. The deal will give
the computer giant 100 percent control over the operating company.

24 -> Microsoft Project 4.0 Now Shipping 05/16/94
Microsoft says it is now shipping version 4.0 of Microsoft Project,
the company's ten-year old project management software.

25 -> Court Rules On Microsoft-Stac Case 05/16/94
A federal judge has denied a request by Microsoft Corporation halt
further sales of Stac Electronics' Stacker software, and ordered
Microsoft to withdraw or destroy any copies of MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2 not
already sold by distributors. The company is also precluded from using
the same  technology in Windows NT.

26 -> Microsoft To Demo Switched Broadband Network Software 05/16/94
Microsoft Corporation says it will roll out its continuous media
server software this week.

27 -> Toshiba Intros Video Playback Upgrade For Its Portables 05/16/94
Along with the increasing trend towards notebooks and portable
computing, there is also a slower move towards multimedia
capabilities. Now the Computer Systems Division of Toshiba America
Information Systems (TAIS) has combined the two and announced an
optional third-party upgrade to the its T6600C and T6600C/CD mobile
multimedia computers.

28 -> HP Intros New Workstations & Graphics Line 05/16/94
With so much attention currently being paid to Apple's reduced
instruction-set computing (RISC)-based Power Macintoshes, and the
Power PC chip architecture generally, it is worth remembering that
RISC has been available for a long time in workstations. Now Hewlett-
Packard (HP) has announced four new PA-RISC-based workstations and a
new graphics product line that offer three-dimensional (3-D)
capabilities.

29 -> Apple PowerBook To Draw PC Users With PowerMac Upgrade 05/16/94
Apple's new PowerBook 500 notebooks and PowerBook 200 subnotebooks
offer highly innovative features and attractive pricing, and when
Power Mac upgrades become available next year, Apple will be able to
expand its base to include current users of IBM-compatible portables,
according to industry analysts contacted by Newsbytes.

30 -> Apple Cuts Prices On Powerbook, Quadra Models 05/16/94
On the heels of its introduction of new PowerPC Powerbook notebook
computers today, Apple Computer is lowering prices on its low-end
Powerbooks as well as on desktop Macintosh Quadra models, and some
peripherals. The price cuts range from five percent to 33 percent.

(Steve Gold/19940516)