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/nb051994

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(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00001)

Zenith Intros Modular Notebook PCs 05/19/94
BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Zenith Data
Systems (ZDS) has introduced a family of modular notebook systems
available with a variety of 3.5-volt Intel microprocessors and
including local bus video, IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard
disks, 16-bit sound, and the capacity for CD-ROM and amplified
stereo add-in systems.

The company says its new Z-Noteflex notebook computers are
available with a range of Intel microprocessors with clock-tripled
speeds up to 75 megahertz (MHz), including the 33MHz 486SX, 50MHz
iDX2, and 75MHz iDX microprocessors and user-upgradable.  The
Z-Noteflex also supports the Intel 100MHz iDX chip scheduled to ship
later this year.

A range of interchangeable VGA video displays are also available for
the Z-Noteflex, including monochrome and dual-scan color liquid
crystal displays (LCDs). Users can select from a 9.5-inch 256-color
TFT (thin film transistor) active matrix color, 10.3 inch 256-color
dual-scan color, or a 10.4 inch 64-gray shade monochrome display.

Simultaneous VGA support is available on all models via an external
video connection. An optional Flexsite video stand is offered that
serves as an adjustable video stand for the detachable video display.

ZDS is also offering a communications bundle that includes a 14,400
bits-per-second (bps) data/fax PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory
Card International Association) model that includes Traveling
Software's Commworks software. Other options include PCMCIA-
based Ethernet and Token Ring LAN (local area network) adapters, a
travel auto adapter, an AC adapter/charger, and soft and hard
carrying cases.

The company says suggested retail pricing ranges from $2,749 to
$5,999 depending on configuration. Street prices will probably be
$2,529 to 45,519. Z-Noteflex systems will begin shipping at the end
of June.

The units are available with memory up to 24 megabytes (MB) using
4MB and 8MB memory modules. It will also support 16MB modules
when they become available later this year.

User-removable 2.5-inch IDE hard disk drives are available in 200MB,
340MB, 450MB, and 520MB models. A front-mounted 3.5-inch floppy
drive can be swapped for an optional second battery pack the
company says will double the battery life. There are two PCMCIA
Type II slots that combine to provide one Type III slot, one serial
port, one enhanced parallel port, a PS/2 mouse/keyboard/keypad port,
1MB of video RAM, and a bit-aligned block transfer hardware graphics
accelerator.

The 16-bit stereo audio system comes with an integrated speaker
and omni-directional microphone. Audio line jacks for an external
microphone, headphones or speakers are also provided, and the
Microsoft Sound System is pre-installed that supports sound-centric
applications such as voice annotation, voice pilot, or music sound
effects.

An optional Flexshow multimedia companion unit provides a
double-speed 5.25-inch CD-ROM drive, amplified two watt stereo
speakers, additional PCMCIA, an integrated 60-watt power supply,
input/output port duplication, and a MIDI (musical instrument
digital interface)/game port are all built into the Flexshow unit,
which has a retractable carrying handle.

Total weight for the Flexshow, including the docked notebook PC,
is about 14 pounds. ZDS lists the price of Flexshow at $799, and
expects the street price to be about $735.

Z-Noteflex has an 82-key keyboard and an integrated trackball
positioned below the home row. An LCD System Status Panel uses
icons to provide the user with status of the system, including
the status of both batteries.

The company says a single nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) battery
will run color systems for two to four hours, and monochrome
models for three-six hours. The battery pack charges in under two
hours when the system is off, and about three hours while in use.
Color configurations weigh about 6.3 pounds, while mono versions
weigh 5.7. Both weights include the battery pack.

Two-level password is provided and the removable modules are
protected by a component lock-down kit. It also supports an
optional Kensington MicroSaver cable and locking kit. A dual
function accessory called Flexbay serves as either an external
battery charger or an external drive bay for the removable floppy
disk when the second battery is installed in the floppy drive bay.

The company says it has dropped the price of selected desktop
systems as much as $320 effective immediately. Effected models
include the Z-Select 100 and Z-Station 500.

ZDS will preinstall MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups,
Microsoft Sound System 2.0, PCMCIA Card and Socket Services, and an
Indeo video software greeting. Power management provides Standby,
Rest, and Lid Rest modes to conserve battery power.

(Jim Mallory/19940518/Press contact: Glynis Gibson, Gibson
Communications for Zenith Data Systems, 312-868-9400; Reader
contact: Zenith Data Systems, 800-533-0331 or 708-808-4855,
fax [phone]/NOTEFLEX940518/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

Motorola Intros Windows NT PowerPC Development Tools 05/19/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Motorola's Reduced
Instruction Set Computing (RISC) Microprocessor Division has
announced a suite of PowerPC architecture development tools for
Microsoft Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server.

Available tools include Windows NT C/C++ compilers, a device driver
kit, a firmware kit, and a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) kit. The
software set is immediately available and is designed to decrease
software development time and enable independent hardware and
software developers to more easily take advantage of the PowerPC
RISC architecture.

According to Motorola there are already more than 50 Windows NT
developer teams porting products to the PowerPC platform. Many of
these are expected to be demonstrated at the Windows World/Comdex
show that opens its four-day run in Atlanta May 23.

Motorola says it will offer developers a path to the next release of
Windows NT, code named Daytona, by providing general availability
on the PowerPC architecture in the second half of 1994.

Lewis Levin, general manager of Microsoft's Excel business unit,
said Microsoft is already porting its Excel spreadsheet and Microsoft
Word word processing application to the PowerPC platform.

Wordperfect Corporation's Chief Technology Officer David Moon says
the Motorola tools enabled the company to have its 32-bit
Wordperfect x86 Windows NT development up and running on the
PowerPC architecture in two weeks using just one developer.
Wordperfect has already released its native version of Wordperfect
word processing software for the Power Macintosh.

The Windows NT C/C++ cross compilation system enables the
development of PowerPC native applications on x86 Windows NT
systems. Motorola says later this year it will offer native PowerPC
versions of the compilers. It combined its compiler technology with
Microsoft's C/C++ front end to provide support for Win32, the 32-bit
windows programming interface.

The new tool kit provides sample device drivers, binaries and
development tools for hardware developers porting device drivers
to Windows NT-based PowerPC systems. The firmware kit provides
system designers with the ability to develop Windows NT boot
firmware for PowerPC platforms by providing the interfaces
required to load the Windows NT operating system.

The Windows NT HAL kit consists of functions that abstract the
dependencies between Windows NT and the underlying hardware
platform, enabling a single shrink-wrapped version of the Windows
NT kernel to run on all PowerPC platforms. It also provides HAL
specification for the PowerPC architecture and the HAL porting
guide to aid system developers in building single processor and
future symmetric multi-processor PowerPC platforms.

The tools, which sell separately, range in price from $195 to $995
depending on the configuration of the kit.

(Jim Mallory/19940518/Press contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola,
512-891-2839; Reader contact: Motorola RISC Microprocessor
Division, 800-845-6676)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00003)

CompuServe Remodels "Shopping Mall" 05/19/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) --
CompuServe is introducing a graphical interface for its Electronic
Mall. The new interface will change from the static emulation
screen to a graphical interface compatible with CompuServe
Information Manager (CM).

The new interface will provide Mall shoppers with: a "Shoppers
Profile" for storing shopping information such as credit card,
billing and shipping information; an advanced ordering option
which will allow for multiple destination shipping; a "Quick
Search" function that allows for faster custom selections; and
the ability to view high level graphics of products.

According to the company, more than half of the 125 electronic
stores have been converted to the new format and most of the rest
are in the process of doing so.

To stimulate interest in the new interface, CompuServe is offering
a user credit of $5 to all members who visit the Mall and fill out an
evaluation form. Those members participating in the survey will
be entered into a random drawing for a $1,000 online shopping spree.

Similar to other recent announcements by both software and
hardware companies, the renewed interest in customer ease-of-use
is becoming one the most important means for winning new
customers and retaining a satisfied clientele.

Michele Moran, spokesperson for CompuServe, said, "The remodeling
for the mall has been in progress for quite some time but we did not
want to release this until we had something ready for our users."

Those wishing to see the new interface should try AT&T Online Store,
800 Flower and Gift Shop, Digital's PC Store and HarperCollins Online,
among others.

To view the remodeled Mall, users must have the latest version of
CIM; WinCim 1.2 (for Windows), DOSCIM 2.2.2 (for DOS) or MacCIM
2.3.1 (scheduled for release in late Spring '94). The Electronic
Mall, open 24 hours a day, is part of CompuServe's basic services
included in its $8.95 per month fee.

(Patrick McKenna/19940518/Press Contact: Michele Moran,
CompuServe 614-538-3497)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00004)

Corel Revises Product Plans 05/19/94
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Corel Corp. has
changed its plans for the next releases of its CorelDraw and
Ventura software packages, opting to delay the release of Ventura
5 and to offer it as a stand-alone product as well as in a suite
with CorelDraw and other software. The company's Photo-Paint
image-editing software will also be available on its own.

The new release of Ventura, the desktop publishing package Corel
acquired from Ventura Software Inc. in San Diego, Calif., last
August, "doesn't yet meet the standards of reliability that we
want for any product that's going out," Michael Cowpland,
president and chief executive of Corel, told Newsbytes. So, Corel
will release a suite of CorelDraw and other graphics tools, with
a coupon entitling the buyer to receive Ventura 5 when it ships.

Corel also announced that Ventura 5 will be a sold as a
stand-alone product. This is a change from previous plans to
offer Ventura 5 only as part of the CorelDraw 5 suite, while
continuing to sell the existing Ventura 4.2 version by itself.
Both Ventura 4.2 and Ventura 5 will now be available on their
own, company spokeswoman Julie Galla told Newsbytes.

CorelDraw 5 will only be sold as part of the suite which includes
Photo-Paint, CorelChart, CorelMove, Corel Show, CorelQuery, Corel
Mosaic, Corel Trace, Corel Capture, CorelKern, and Corel DB
Editor, along with Ventura when it ships. However, Galla said,
Corel continues to sell version 3 and 4 of CorelDraw as
stand-alone products, for those who don't want all the suite's
functions.

CorelDraw 4 currently has a list price of US$595 or C$695 when
sold on diskettes, or US$395 or C$495 on compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), she said. CorelDraw 3 can be had for about $100.

The CorelDraw 5 suite will sell for US$895 or C$1,195 on
diskettes, and US$695 or C$945 on CD-ROM, Galla said. It is
scheduled to ship May 27.

Corel also plans to offer its Photo-Paint software, a paint and
image editing application, as a stand-alone product. The diskette
version is US$249 or C$349, and the CD-ROM version US$199 or
C$249.

The company had planned to make Photo-Paint available separately
this fall, Cowpland said, but decided to do so sooner to take
advantage of a "window of opportunity" this summer. He claimed
the package has become a world leader in digital photo editing.

Cowpland said Corel has no plans at the moment to spin off other
pieces of the CorelDraw suite as separate products.

Corel also announced that, starting June 1, it will stop
providing unlimited free technical support on a toll-free line.
Each new customer will get a credit good for one technical
support call of up to 15 minutes to a toll-free number. The
company will also continue offering support via a voice-response
system, a bulletin board, and an automated fax system, all using
toll lines, and through a technical support forum on the
CompuServe online information service.

(Grant Buckler/19940519/Press Contact: Julie Galla, Corel,
613-728-0826 ext. 1672)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00005)

Electronic Docum't Systems To Reach $90Bil By 1997 05/19/94
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Despite the
challenges ahead, electronic document systems are becoming
more in demand. According to a survey done for document imaging
association Xplor International, that demand that could grow to
as much as over $90 billion a year by the end of 1997.

Taking paper to and from a digital, electronic form is a market
expected to exceed $70 billion by the end of 1994. Most of the
market is currently in electronic printing.

Electronic document managing systems are not as popular
because of the cost and the difficulty in keeping abreast of the
technology advances, according to Jennifer Mitchell, principal
analyst for market research firm Dataquest's Digital Documents
program. Mitchell said companies with 100 or more employees are
looking for a company-wide document managing system, but the
problems associated with implementing the technology are
slowing acceptance.

Xplor claims companies are overcoming the obstacles to
implementing electronic document systems, especially in the
United States, where 48 percent of the total market share --
$33.7 billion -- will be spent this year alone. The majority of
the market will be in electronic printing, which accounts for
$27.7 billion while the remaining $6 billion was spent on
imaging and micrographics, Xplor said.

While most companies do not consider themselves publishers,
Xplor says it is every company's second business. According to the
Gartner Group, corporate printing is expected jump 50 percent
from 1990 levels to reach 1.5 trillion pages a year by 1995.

Dr. Keith Davidson, Xplor executive director, said the potential
this year for electronic processing in the areas of office
copying, in-plant processing, and commercial printing is more
than three times the projected market sales for 1994. These three
areas combined are estimated in the US alone at $114.6 billion
and at $308.9 billion worldwide in 1994, Davidson added.

Torrance, California-based Xplor International has 1,600
organizations. The group puts on an Electronic Document Systems
Global Conference & Exhibit each year. The 15th Annual conference
is expected to draw 7,000 and will be held at the Phoenix Civic
Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona from November 6 through 11, 1994.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940519/Press Contact: Anne Davison, Xplor
International, tel [phone] ext 239, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00006)

Knowledge Point Intros Windows Employee Review Package 05/19/94
PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- For many
managers the task of reviewing employee performance is a painful
task which involves tracking performance, writing evaluations, and
confronting employees. Addressing these issues with software
applications,  Knowledge Point, a producer of business management
software for the past six years, has announced the shipment of
Performance Now! for Windows.

Mike Troy, founder and CEO of Knowledge Point, told Newsbytes, that,
"From our experience with business software, we explored other
avenues that we felt could use software assistance. Personnel
review has always been a point of pain for many employers and
mangers who often do not have the tools and skills to know how to
do them or how to write them. On the other  hand, employees are
often frustrated by a review that quickly summarizes six months
of work in a few words."

Performance Now! for Windows includes a log for tracking employee
performance between reviews, a Human Resources Advice feature
which provides job description information, a Language Checker to
ensure legally-appropriate wording and the Knowledge Point
Itelli-Text editor for generating clear logical sentences in a
written report.

According to the company, Performance Now is based on a rating
system in use by more the 70 percent of US businesses and offers
a manager a choice of five standard forms that include 26
performance elements such as: work quality and quantity,
teamwork, initiative, judgment, communication skills, and problem
solving.

While some may fear the possibility of being too general or
treating an employee in an impersonal or a bias manner,
Performance Now issues warnings to the manager when a rating
is too high or too low and suggests that more specific information
is required to make a complete review.

Words that are "sensitive" politically or legally, can be detected
by Performance Now, so that racial, ethnic, religious and gender
biases do not effect the review.

Troy continued, "Performance Now may be used in a small company
with three employees or in a larger company with 500 employees.
It provides the most accurate and unbiased personnel review that
one can acquire."

Asked about employment situations where Performance Now is
not applicable, Troy said, "There may be some jobs in which very
specific goals need to be defined for thorough personnel review.
In such cases, we suggest that Performance Now is used in
conjunction with these other parameters."

Performance Now! for Windows runs on IBM and compatible
computers and requires Windows 3.1 or later, four megabytes
(MB) of random access memory (RAM). Available through retail
channels, the program has a current suggested retail price of
$169. Knowledge Point is also offering a special on its suite of
management software for $219, as well as a suite of
Performance Now! for Windows, Descriptions Now! and Policies
Now! for $269.

(Patrick McKenna/19940518/Press Contact: Lin Lacombe,
Knowledge Point, 707-762-0333)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00007)

Japan - IBM Multimedia PC & Sharp Organizer Intro'd 05/19/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- IBM Japan has released
a new version of its multimedia personal computer (PC), complete
with built-in television tuner. Meanwhile, Sharp has announced
that it will release an new hand-writing input organizer in
June.

The price of IBM's low-end multimedia PC is 378,000 yen ($3,780).
The PC is based on the company's PS/V Vision, and is called the
PS/V Vision Tele Paso Compo. In addition to the TV tuner, or
receiver, it also comes with a built-in CD-ROM drive, a sound
board, and speakers. Also, the PC can reportedly be connected
with VCRs, video TV game machines, cassette tape players,
as well as musical instruments using a MIDI (musical instrument
digital interface) feature.

The PC uses a 66 megahertz (MHz) IBM486SLC2 processor. IBM
Japan is planning to add more multimedia features to the PC
in the future. Enhancements being considered reportedly include
a telephone, fax capabilities, and a cable TV feature.

Matsushita Electric and NEC are also planning to release
multimedia PCs.

Meanwhile, Sharp's Pencom upgrade will be sold for 75,000 yen
($750) or 91,000 yen ($910) with the built-in modem. The new
version, called the PI-4000FX, has a large LCD (liquid crystal
display) and a 544 kilobyte (KB) memory. It also has a built-in
fax capability, and weighs only 255 grams. An infrared ray-based
portable printer is also available.

The current version of the Pencom is popular in the Japanese
market, with over 200,000 units sold since its release last
October.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940517/Press Contact: IBM Japan,
tel [phone], fax [phone], Sharp, tel [phone]-
8212, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00008)

DEC Wins 1st Asia-Pacific Manufacturing Deal 05/19/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation has reportedly won its first contract manufacturing
order from an Asian customer, just two weeks after it appointed
a senior executive to spearhead sales in the region.

Under  the deal, Digital will manufacture, test and package memory
modules for Australasia Memory (International) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary
of Australasian Memory of Australia, at its modern, high-capacity
plant in Singapore.

Although Digital has been manufacturing third-party products in
Singapore and three other plants around the world for more than
two years, this is the first agreement signed with a company
located in Asia.

According to John Dutton, managing director of Australasian
Memory (International), Digital was a natural choice to manufacture
its new modules. "We already have a close relationship with Digital
through our Singapore office and we have been distributing Digital
disk drives in Australia for some time," he said.

"We believe we have beaten the world to design and supply the first
switch- settable memory module to cut RAM obsolescence. Our new
AmRam 72-pin memory modules are the first 'universal' single
in-line memory modules (SIMM) on the market. The universal design
means AmRam memory modules can be used in any personal computer
equipment that normally take 72-pin modules, including products
from manufacturers such as Apple, Compaq, HP, IBM, NEC and Digital."

Digital began offering contract manufacturing services in 1992. With
10 contracts in 1993, the revenue grew to more than US$16 million.
The forecast for 1994 is even better.

"We have been actively pursuing business in Asia," says Alvin Ong,
manager of Contract Manufacturing Services for Digital Asia.
"Australasian Memory's requirements made this an ideal project for
us to start with. They came to us with a design which fits exactly
into the manufacturing processes we already have in Singapore."

Digital offers contract manufacturing services at plants in Canada,
Scotland, and the US, as well as Singapore. The company says it
provides a "full" portfolio of services, taking components from
blueprint to finished product.

(Keith Cameron/19940519/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel,
852-805 3510, DEC)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00009)

 ****Internet Address Book Of The Rich & Famous Intro'd 05/19/94
DOBBS FERRY, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- A book has
been introduced listing the Internet addresses of famous people.
Called, "E-mail Addresses of the Rich and Famous," the book lists
the addresses of such celebrities as actor Ed Asner, President Bill
Clinton, Bill Gates, Ross Perot, television anchor-man Tom Brokaw,
MTV's VJ Adam Curry, novelist Ann McCaffrey, and actor Charles
Grodin.

According to Seth Godin, author of the book, it was written as a
"Hoot to give online users an opportunity for a good time and a
chance to schmooze with their favorite celebrity."

However, Newsbytes asked Godin if this book is going to give
the celebrity as much pleasure as the online user?

Godin, told Newsbytes, "It was not my intention to 'out' anyone
or reveal secret addresses or identities. Most of the celebrities we
list have two addresses, one which is private and the other which
is public. We have not attempted to invade anyone's privacy but
spent months gathering information from membership directory
lists, forums and round-table discussions which are commonly
available to anyone online."

Listing more than one thousand addresses, this book is organized
by vocation and category, with a background description and online
address from any of the popular online services such as
CompuServe, America Online, Prodigy, Genie, Delphi, and the
Internet.

"E-mail Addresses of the Rich and Famous" has gained attention
from newspaper articles in the New York Times and the San
Francisco Chronicle, as well as Fortune magazine, who informed
readers that a letter to President Clinton will elicit the
following form response: "Thank you for writing President Clinton
via electronic mail. The President is committed to integrating
this dynamic medium into the White House."

Newsbytes notes that the response an electronic letter receives
often varies little from an everyday form letter. Grodin, speaking
of the problems of mass mailings and "mailbox flooding", said,
"We are trying to popularize a format where letters requesting
information are prefaced by a '?' and letters that are a product
pitch are prefaced by a '$' in the subject heading. The online
communities are attempting to develop enforceable guidelines to
control these problems."

Not everyone was happy over the publication of their online address.
One of the 1,000 names, movie critic Roger Ebert, complained to
Godin, who was surprised that "someone whose address is commonly
found in CompuServe and published in the Chicago newspapers
would make an issue of it."

Published by Addison-Wesley, "E-mail Addresses of the Rich and
Famous" has a suggested retail price of $7.95 and should be on
bookstore shelves nationwide by May 20. Seth Godin Productions
has created more than 75 books including "The Smiley Dictionary,"
"The Video Renter's Guide" and the newly published, "Internet White
Pages."

(Patrick McKenna/19940519/Press Contact: Seth Godin, Seth
Godin Productions, 914-693-7711)


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

Ontario Announces Support For Computing Sector 05/19/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- The province of
Ontario will spend C$10.6 million to implement three of the key
recommendations of an advisory committee that reported earlier
this year on measures needed to support the computer industry in
Ontario.

The provincial Minister of Economic Development and Trade,
Frances Lankin, announced the creation of an Ontario computing
sector resource facility and an Electronic Commerce Institute of
Ontario, both of which were called for in the report of the
Advisory Committee on the Computing Sector in its Agenda for
Action report in January.

The computing sector resource facility, which will get C$9.5
million of provincial money, is to provide business and technical
support to small and medium-sized firms in the province's
computing sector.

The Agenda for Action report suggested this body might also
oversee export marketing consultants in key foreign centers who
would help Ontario firms sell their wares. That is not part of
the initial announcement, trade ministry spokesman John Cooper
told Newsbytes, but might happen in the future.

The Electronic Commerce Institute of Ontario, which will get
about C$1.1 million of start-up funding from the province, grew
out of a recommendation that Ontario should have a group to
promote the use of electronic data interchange (EDI), a way of
exchanging common business documents such as invoices and
purchase orders electronically.

The Electronic Commerce Institute's mandate is to encourage
businesses to use electronic information systems for business
transactions and inventory.

The province also acted on a third Agenda for Action
recommendation by announcing that the existing Council for an
Ontario Information Infrastructure, set up originally to advise
the government on its telecommunications sector strategy, will
also take responsibility for the computing sector.

The Agenda for Action report made a number of other
recommendations, including creation of Expert Investment
Corporations to invest in the computing sector and changes in
provincial procurement practices to make it easier for small
companies to sell to the province. The advisory committee said
implementing all of its recommendations would cost the government
about C$18.8 million, complemented by another C$21.4 million from
the private sector.

Cooper said the province may act on more of the recommendations
in future. Ontario announced action on specific points where the
government felt it could be effective in the short term, he said.

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the
Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA), and the Canadian
Information Processing Society (CIPS), all of which took part in
the advisory council, welcomed the government's announcement,
saying it would strengthen the province's prospects for economic
growth and job creation.

(Grant Buckler/19940519/Press Contact: John Cooper, Ontario
Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, 416-325-6694, fax
416-325-6688; CATA, 613-236-6550; CIPS, 416-593-4040; ITAC,
905-602-8345)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00011)

 ****Computer Associates To Acquire Ask Group 05/19/94
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Computer
Associates International Inc. has hit the acquisition trail yet
again, announcing a deal to buy The Ask Group Inc., maker of the
Open Ingres database server software and other products, for
about $310 million.

CA, which over the years has acquired a number of other software
companies as it grew into one of the software industry's largest
players, said it has made an offer to purchase all outstanding
common shares of Ask at $13.25 per share. With some 23.5 million
Ask shares outstanding, that will work out to between $310 and
$315 million, Deborah Coughlin in CA investor relations told
Newsbytes.

Coughlin said CA saw in Ask "a company that had some great
technology and yet couldn't make it consistently profitable."
Further, she said, Ask's products complement CA's but there is
little overlap between the product lines.

In addition to Open Ingres, Ask sells the Ask SIM/400 series of
manufacturing software for IBM's AS/400 computers, Ask/VisionPro
application development systems for assorted Unix machines and
personal computers, the Ask/Windows fourth-generation language
for personal computers running Microsoft Windows or NT, the
ManMan manufacturing information software, and other software.

The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously
approved CA's offer, officials said. EDS and Hewlett-Packard, the
two largest shareholders in Ask, have agreed to tender their
shares, which represent 27 percent of those outstanding, to CA.

Coughlin said it is too early for CA to comment on what effect
the buyout will have on Ask's management and staff. CA hopes to
close the deal within about 45 days, she said.

(Grant Buckler/19940519/Press Contact: Deborah Coughlin, Computer
Associates, 516-342-2173; Bob Gordon, Computer Associates, 516-
342-2391; Margaret Epperheimer, Ask Group, 408-562-8545; Gary
Filler, Ask Group, 408-562-8474)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00012)

Motorola & DEC Team On Custom Chip Deal 05/19/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Digital Equipment
Corporation has become one of the first partners with Motorola in
a program that helps manufacturers produce custom chips.

Called Flexcore, the Motorola program is designed to help high-
volume manufacturers build customer-specific devices that are
based on Motorola's microprocessor technology.

Digital says, using Flexcore technology, it will be able to produce
the industry's highest capacity 3.5-inch half-height and low
profile magnetic disk drives in the marketplace. "Flexcore enables
us to substantially decrease the component count in our hard disk
drive architecture," says Peter Franklin, DEC's director of
marketing.

The two companies worked together to design a custom processor
based on Motorola's 020 core and standard cell library. Once the
details were worked out, Motorola was able to produce prototypes
in just 30 days. The custom integrated microprocessor has been
designed into Digital's newest family of Value Performance (VP)
class drives with as much as 4.3 gigabytes (GB) of formatted
capacity.

The drives are designed for use in high performance Macintosh
and Windows-based personal computers, workstation, network
file servers, video servers, arrays and RAID (redundant array
of independent disks) systems.

Evaluation units of the VP family of drives are immediately
available, and Digital says volume shipments are scheduled for the
second quarter. Suggested evaluation unit list prices range from
$1,145 to $2,595 depending on the capacity of the drive.

The two companies also have plans in the works to develop
enhanced versions of the current design for inclusion in a future
generation of drives.

(Jim Mallory/19940519/Press contact: Amy Novakoff; Reader
contact: Sue Cozart, Motorola, 512-891-2134)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00013)

Cray Computer Chairman Receives Info Technology Award 05/19/94
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Seymour
Cray, chairman of the financially troubled Cray Computer Corp., is
the recipient of a prestigious award for information technology
innovation.

Cray is the 1994 recipient of the MCI Information Technology
Leadership Award for Innovation. The annual award recognizes an
individual who uses information technology to design, implement,
manufacture or manage technological innovation.

Previous winners since the inception of the award in 1991 have
been Erick Bloch, former director of the National Science Foundation;
Kenneth Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corp; and Gordon Moore,
chairman of the board of Intel Corporation.

Cray was considered by many a child prodigy who, at the age of 10,
created a telegraph machine that translated punched paper tape into
morse code. He built his first supercomputer in 1952, a system that
stored 4,096 words.

In 1972 Cray and a group of scientists founded Cray Research
Corporation. He left that company to form Cray Computer
Corporation, where he worked on a supercomputer using gallium
arsenide instead of silicon in order to improve performance.

Various problems in the development of the Cray-3 forced Cray to
scale down that system, and the company was never able to find a
paying customer after its premiere order was canceled when the
company missed a crucial milestone on the demonstration schedule.

Seymour Cray is now working on development of the Cray-4, a
computer he says will offer twice the level of performance of the
Cray-3. A spokesperson told Newsbytes the Cray-4 should be ready
by the end of the year.

Spending money at the rate of about $11 million per quarter, Cray
Computer Corporation is believed to be nearly out of financial
resources. Company officials would not tell shareholders at its
annual meeting recently exactly how long it could hold out. Cray
Computer stock is currently hovering around $1.50 per share.

(Jim Mallory/19940519/Press and Reader contact: Cray Computer
Corporation, 719-579-6464)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00014)

Colorado Visitor Centers Go Hi-Tech 05/19/94
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Some of the
visitor centers in Colorado are going "hi-tech" in order to show
tourists where to go and what to see.

In Estes Park, Colorado tourists will be able to use an Apple
Computer touch-screen-equipped Macintosh Performa 550 personal
computer to see photographs, maps, QuickTime video and text about
the area. The CD-ROM based program will also offer facts about
hiking trails, road tours, historical data, animal and plant life,
and park ranger interpretive programs.

The project is the result of a joint effort between Johnson Books
Electronics and Rocky Mountain Nature Association of Estes Park
and is titled "Magnificent Rocky: A CD-ROM Guide to Rocky Mountain
National Park. It is the first is a series of multimedia offerings
in Johnson's National Park series. The installation is expected to
be ready by Memorial Day.

In Colorado Springs the Convention and Visitors Bureau is also
offering visitors an electronic guide of the area's highlights. A
touch-screen kiosk has been installed in the bureau's office
that offers videos of wildlife and tourist activities such as the
Air Force Academy, Royal Gorge and Pikes Peak. They can also dial
local hotels and bed and breakfast inns to book a room, or touch a
screen icon to print an area map. The bureau says as many as 500
people a day ask for information about the area.

Some observers contend that tourism promotion in Colorado suffered
an economic setback late last year when voter's turned down a
continuance of the tourism tax imposed on room and car rental and
other travel-related businesses to fund advertising. The Colorado
Tourism Board, the state agency responsible for promoting the state,
operating tourist information centers and publishing state maps, will
close its doors this week due a lack of funding. Other services such
as a toll-free number visitors can call to get Colorado travel
information will end next month.

(Jim Mallory/19940519/Press and reader contact: Kristin Bricker,
Colorado Springs Convention and Visitor Bureau, 719-635-1632;
Richard Croog, Johnson Books, 303-443-9766)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00015)

Brochure Maker Intro'd For Windows 05/19/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- A Seattle
company has announced a software program it claims enables
the non-designer to create professional-looking full color
brochures.

Windows-based Brochure Maker is the brainchild of software
publisher Banner Blue Inc., and printing firm Instacolor Corp.
Banner Blue, a Fremont, California company, also publishes Org
Plus and Family Tree Maker.

Instacolor President Terry Page explained the concept of Brochure
Maker for Newsbytes. "Small and medium sized businesses need to
be able to get full color printing at a price they can afford,"
said Page. "(Brochure Maker) allows people who have no computer
experience and no design talent to sit down and generate their own
color brochure in less than 30 minutes for about one-third the cost
of traditional printing."

Brochure Maker comes with 47 professionally designed templates
with numerous color and spacing options from which the user can
select. Following on-screen prompts the user types the copy, selects
the type style and size and specifies the number of photos or other
images to be used. The size and location of the art fixed.  The
program can print a black-and-white proof copy.

Once the design is complete, the user completes an electronic order
form specifying the number of copies. Brochure Maker automatically
calculates the cost of the printing job. The disk, photos, order
form and payment are then forwarded to Instacolor. Five days later
the company returns a full color proof for final approval. Five days
after Instacolor gets approval from the customer the brochures are
shipped.

Brochure Maker will run on any personal computer running Microsoft
Windows. It is immediately available from Instacolor and Banner
Blue at a suggested retail price of $59.95. Page told Newsbytes the
purchase price is rebated off the cost of the first print job ordered.

(Jim Mallory/19940519/Press and reader contact: Jim Martine,
Instacolor, 800-622-2814 or 206-323-3577)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LAX)(00016)

 ****Intel Deals For Interactive Services Via Cable 05/19/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Chip giant
Intel has announced further steps in its plans to deliver interactive
content to homes through deals it is making with cable television
services and on-line content providers.

The company has announced similar deals to those it entered into
last year with Comcast and Viacom International, but says this
time it is gathering the support it needs to bring to home users
interactive services at 1,000 times the speed of current telephone
delivery.

Intel and General Instrument announced the signing of memoranda
of understanding with cable providers Telecommunications Inc.
(TCI) and Rogers Cablesystems Ltd. of Canada. In addition,
electronic online services America Online and Prodigy, Reuter's
Money Network from Reality Technologies, News Electronic Data,
Redgate Communications/Medior, and Softbank have agreed to
participate as well.

Demonstrations of interactive shopping malls, remote schools
and training centers, information kiosks, advertising billboards,
infomercials, and travel videos delivered via cable to personal
computers are planned for the National Cable Television
Association convention in New Orleans, Louisiana May 23 through
25.

Intel is pushing its new Pentium microprocessor as a key element
of the interactive cable services as well as its cable adapter
technology.

Intel spokesperson John Raftery told Newsbytes that the coming
interactive applications will be "chip hogs," meaning the
applications will require muscle on the part of the microprocessor.
That is in Intel's interest since it wants to sell its more powerful
chips.

Also, Intel plans to provide the cable adapter technology.
Raftery said right now the technology is both a box and an add-on
card, but will probably be squeezed down to fit on the add-on
card alone. Digital signals meant for the computer can be piggy-
backed on top of the radio frequency (RF) cable signal that
does not interfere with television reception because a television
cannot "see" the signal. The Intel cable adapter will act as a
"data stripper" to peel off the digital signal from the cable
feed and provide it to the computer.

Microsoft, who developed the Windows graphical user interface
and is planning to ship a new version, code named Chicago, has
placed its stamp of approval on the Intel cable venture. Last year
at the Western Cable show Intel, General Instruments, and
Microsoft had reportedly been talking about interactive services
via cable.

In fact, Prodigy demonstrated cable delivery of its services in
the booth of General Instruments subsidiary Gerald Communications
running under a modified version of Microsoft's Modular Windows
interface. Modular Windows is the user interface used in the
Tandy video information system (VIS) player which connects to a
television set and uses compact discs (CDs).

Craig Mundie, vice president of advanced consumer technology at
Microsoft, said: "The Intel cable adapter technology expands the
power of existing Windows applications and will enable a range of
new applications for future Windows Chicago users. We're looking
forward to continuing to work with Intel on further low-cost,
compelling solutions for the emerging information marketplace."

There have been plenty of announcements of interactive services
over the last two years, but most involve the assumption the
consumer will buy another box to set on top of the television
set. Reston, Virginia-based TV Answer is planning interactive
services that are broadcast from cell sites, much like cellular
phone transmissions, to set-top boxes with special remote
controls. Hewlett-Packard has agreed to make the set top boxes.

GTE has been experimenting in Cerritos, California, with
everything from optical fiber to cable delivery for a variety of
services including video-on-demand and video telephones. The
IBM/Apple Computer joint venture, Kaleida Labs, is working with
Motorola and Scientific-Atlanta to deliver interactive multimedia
to home consumers via set-top boxes. Time Warner and workstation
vendor Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) have announced they are
working on an interactive multimedia cable system that is being
prototyped first in Orlando, Florida.

Intel, however, says it simply has to put together what is already
available and is not faced with new technology development at all.
Avram Miller, Intel vice president for business development, said:
"The beauty of this technology is that most of the investment is
already made, the PCs are here, the cable is here and multimedia
applications are being developed. The connection of PCs to the
cable system will create a brand new medium with applications
and services for the whole family."

(Linda Rohrbough/19940519/Press Contact: John Raftrey, Intel,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LAX)(00017)

Nextstep 3.2 Beta Free To Qualified HP Users 05/19/94
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Steve Jobs
and his Nextstep operating system may have found a home on the
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Precision Architecture reduced instruction
set computing (PA-RISC) workstation platform. Nextstep 3.2 is
shipping without charge, upon the request of qualified users, in
a pre-release version, for HP's 9000 Models 712, 715, 725, and
755 workstations.

The final release is expected to ship this summer. Retail pricing
has not been set, but Next officials told Newsbytes both the
operating system and the version for developers will be close to
the retail price the company charges for the Intel version of
each product.

The developer's version is also in beta test stages and is expected
to ship in the summer as well. Retail price for the Intel Nextstep
3.2 version is $795 and the Nextstep Developer's version is $2,995.
User qualification is done by both Next and HP, according to
company representatives.

Jobs, former co-founder of Apple Computer, came up with a new
company, Next Computing, after leaving Apple in 1985. He designed
a sleek black box computer and the Nextstep object-oriented
operating system. The Next made in-roads into the financial
services community, but failed to catch on in the mainstream
computing markets. The hardware end of the company was sold
last year.

Next Computing then took the operating system and redesigned it
to run on the Intel microprocessor platform. Last year Jobs
announced he would also supply a version of the Nextstep 3.2
operating system for the HP workstation platform. An agreement
between the two companies called for Nextstep to be available on
the HP Vectra personal computer platform, Nextstep for the HP
workstation, and Portable Distributed Objects (PDO) for the HP-UX
server platform.

Next Computing and HP have also announced plans to target the
telecommunications market as well as the financial services
market. The two companies have announced their first major
telecom customer is McCaw Cellular Communications, which is
already standardizing on Nextstep for customer service
applications.

Next is aiming to provide all the operating system functionality
for an entire company, from PCs to servers. The company claims
moving applications already written for its Intel version of
Nextstep is a fast process because no source code changes are
required.

In addition, Next is shipping Netinfo for HP's version of Unix
servers, HP-UX, which is compatible with the Netinfo bundled
with Nextstep. Netinfo for servers is a database system for
distributed system and network administration and allows
centralized management of Nextstep-based environments. Developed
by Next and Xedoc, a leading portable Netinfo consulting group,
Netinfo provides management capabilities that interoperate with
HP's own Openview network and system management environment.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940519/Press Contact: Karen Logsdon, Next
Computer, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00018)

Quarterdeck UK Intros Sidebar Desktop Windows Package 05/19/94
CHELMSFORD, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Quarterdeck Office
Systems UK has announced Sidebar for Windows, a utility that it claims
allows Windows users to launch programs and manage files on a icon
button basis.

"As Windows users have become proficient using several applications in
Windows, they get more depending about the convenience of launching
programs, organizing daily tasks and managing files," explained
Caroline Edney, newly-appointed general manager with Quarterdeck UK.
"Sidebar combines Windows program and file management, adds a
desktop and launching pad, and takes advantage of 'drag and drop' and
'associations' to make controlling Windows powerful, yet simple," she
told Newsbytes.

According to Edney, Sidebar provides four main benefits: ease of
use, convenience, compactness and speed. Unlike Windows' Program
Manager and File Manager, Sidebar has a single, unified interface that
is billed as providing users with a complete set of system management
tools in an easy to use package.

Built into Sidebar are simple drag-and-drop facilities that allow
files, folders or entire programs to be moved around. This,
Quarterdeck claims, avoids the "nuisance" of complex menus and
dialog boxes.

Within every "Windows" window, Sidebar introduces command line
interface (CLI) access to DOS. This means, the company points out,
that commands that are easier to execute under DOS can be quickly
executed from within the Windows environment.

Sidebar appears to have migrated the folder concepts seen on the Mac
and extended them to the Windows environment. This means, for
example, that groups of files can be grouped into folders, which can
be moved en-masse if required, around the disk directory.

Despite these facilities, Sidebar is quite conservative on its
requirements. The package occupies under a megabyte (MB) of disk
space and needs just under 300 kilobytes (KB) or memory. The
package is available immediately with a retail price of UKP39.95.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940519/Press Contact: Caroline Edney, Quarterdeck
UK, 44-245-496699; Public Contact: Quarterdeck UK, 44-245-496699)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00019)

UK - CompuServe Adds UK Entertainment Reviews 05/19/94
BRISTOL, AVON, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- CompuServe has
announced that reviews of popular films, books and plays available
in the UK are now available on the "basic" area of its service. The
services are available from the Central Press Features (CPF) which
compiles the data for CompuServe.

According to CompuServe, the UK film reviews area (GO UKFILMS)
provides 500 word reviews of the top 10 films currently showing in
the UK, as well as two or three reviews of new releases each week.

Ratings range from one star (wait until it is on TV) to five stars
(probably a classic). A database of current and past reviews is
searchable by rating, director's name and film title.

UK book reviews, meanwhile, (GO UKBOOKS) is billed as covering the
UK's best selling titles in both hardback and soft cover. Lists of the
10 best sellers in both formats are updated weekly. Each book receives
a 400-500 word review and a rating ranging from one star (a perfect
cure for insomnia) to five stars (absolutely compelling). The database
can be searched by rating, author's name and title.

London theater reviews (GO UKTHEATRE) contains reviews of the top 20
shows in London and an additional one or two new shows each week.
Ratings range from one star (try the cinema instead) to five stars
(unmissable). The database is searchable by rating, title, and name
of producer, director, or lyricist.

Last, but not least, the British Books in Print area (GO BBIP)
features a database that is searchable by subject, title, author and
print status. The information available for each book includes
author, title, subject, publisher, date of publication, edition,
binding and list price in Pounds Sterling.

"The introduction of CPF and British Books in Print is one more step
in our effort to add value for UK members by developing a broad range
of UK-specific services," commented Andrew Gray, general manager
at CompuServe UK. "Our UK products now include forums, news and
travel services, company information and historical stock pricing.
We will be adding more of these services on an ongoing basis," he said.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940519/Press Contact: Mike Williams, Compuserve
UK, 44-734-391064; Electronic mail - [e-mail];
Public Contact: Compuserve UK, 44-272-760700; UK Toll Free,
0800-289378)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00020)

UK - AST Unveils Bravo LC Range 05/19/94
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- AST Europe has
announced what it calls the next-generation of its desktop PC range,
the Bravo LC series.

Steve Crawley, the company's product marketing manager, describes
the new machines as pitching for the value end of the market. "Over
the last seven years, our Bravo range of computers have developed a
strong and loyal following of enthusiasts, based upon our reputation
for providing real world value computing solutions," he said, adding
that the new machines are "Energy Star" compliant.

The new LCs are available immediately. The machines are available in
a wide range of processor/speed combinations, ranging from 33
megahertz (MHz) 486SX right through to 100MHz 486DX4. In addition,
all the machines feature a VL local bus/ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) slot with a local bus graphics accelerated video
subsystem and three ISA slots. A range of 14-, 15- and 17-inch
monitors are also available.

With the exception of the basic LC 4/33 (4 megabytes memory),
the new machines all come with a CD-ROM (compact disc - read
only memory) drive. Hard disk sizes range from 170MB upwards.

Pricing starts at UKP645 for a floppy-only LC 4/33s, through to
UKP1,995 for the LC 4/100t with 270MB hard disk.

(Steve Gold/19940519/Press & Public Contact: AST Research,
44-81-232-5000)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00021)

UK - Dataflex Design Intros V.Fast Professional Modems 05/19/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Dataflex Design has announced
it is shipping the Rapier V.Fast range of modems. Based around the
Rockwell VSC chipset, the modems are fully V.Fast-compliant, capable
of speeds of 28,800 bits-per-second (bps) without recourse to data
compression.

"These products are state of the art high performance technology.
With V.Fast we are addressing corporates' key communication needs
immediately, by providing very high data transfer rates, compatibility
with existing standards, security and a migration path to new
standards as they arise," commented Gerry O'Prey, Dataflex's
technical director.

O'Prey was scornful of those manufacturers who have pre-announced
product they cannot ship until later. He said that Dataflex has
deliberately waited until now to announced the modem "as we can meet
demand immediately, rather than pre-announcing products that are not
yet available, which is so often the case in this industry."

The new modems are billed allowing users to send a megabyte of data
in under 90 seconds. Despite the high speeds, the modems are priced at
UKP599 for the PC card version and UKP699 for the desktop version.
This makes for a fast payback on investing in the V.Fast modems, the
company claims.

(Steve Gold/19940519/Press & Public Contact: Dataflex Design,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00022)

UK - Renet Intros 2 Modems, More To Come 05/19/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 MAR 19 (NB) -- Renet Limited, the
Hammersmith-based subsidiary of Lasat of Denmark, has announced
two new modems to go alongside its Bang & Olufsen-style Unique
144 modem. The new modems -- a PCMCIA (Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association) unit and a Compaq notebook-
specific unit -- sell for UKP399, the same price as the Unique.

"We're also going to be bringing in a desktop version of the Unique
later this summer that sells for UKP249. The main difference is that
the unit is mains powered rather than mains/battery, and has a blue
plastic case instead of the Unique's metal and black plastic," Zane
Ryan, Renet's managing director, told Newsbytes.

Ryan is also keen to promote Renet as a connectivity company and
not "just another modem company. Our modems can handle both
synchronous, as well as asynchronous, communications. Lasat
also has a range of network connectivity products for modem and
ISDN (integrated services digital network) links in Denmark. We're
looking at bringing those into the UK later this year as well," he said.

Ryan revealed that, since launching the company at the start of this
year, the bulk of sales of the Unique 144 have been through dealers,
despite the fact that the company has taken out extensive advertising
in computer magazines.

"What we want to do now is to explain to our dealers how remote
networking works. To do this, we're working on a guide to remote
networking -- nothing fancy -- that explains to dealers what the
benefits are. The idea is that they can then pass on these benefit
ideas to their customers," he said.

Why push into a complex area such as remote networking when the
company is doing quite well on the modem sales front? Ryan argues
that a number of changes in the medium by which comms link
operate over will take place in the near future.

"What a lot of people have missed is the fact that the US experts are
predicting that only a small proportion of communications, both voice
and data, will be completed over a fixed wire link by the end of this
decade. Wireless communications are starting to come into their own.
This means that modems, as we know them today, will change,
especially with the onset of digital links," he told Newsbytes.

"This why I want to evolve Renet and not stand still. If we just
sold modems we'd find our sales starting to tail off as wireless
technologies start to take over," he said.

(Steve Gold/19940519/Press & Public Contact: Renet Limited,
tel [phone]; fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00023)

US Robotics Reveals Future Plans 05/19/94
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- US Robotics has
restyled and updated its range of Worldport modems, adding
V.32terbo -- 19,200 bits-per-second (bps) and cellular capabilities.
At the same time the modem manufacturer has taken the wraps off
its V.Fast-equipped desktop Courier range of modem.

Clive Hudson, USR's managing director, admitted to Newsbytes that the
old "boxed" series of Worldport modems were getting long in the tooth,
but said that the restyled series will regain any ground lost to the
competition.

"These restyled modems have been updated, on the outside and the
inside. They put us back where we want to be -- at the top of the
tree in terms of technology," he told Newsbytes.

A new flagship to the USR Worldport -- the dual standard cellular
fax -- will ship in the UK this summer, Hudson said. The top speed of
the unit is V.32terbo (19,200 bps) which can be massaged up to
21,600 bps using USR's proprietary adaptive speed levelling (ASL)
technology.

Steve Bradshaw, USR's product marketing manager, told Newsbytes the
clincher for this new flagship modem is the inclusion of Cellular HST,
making it able to recover a lot faster to problems with cellular
phone/modem links.

"Cellular HST has a retrain time of 200 milliseconds (ms) as opposed
to cellular V.32bis with MNP that can take up to 15 seconds to retrain
between cells," he said, adding that the UKP499 modem works almost
as well over cellular -- albeit at around 12,000 bps -- as over the
wireline (fixed) phone network.

USR has also taken the wraps off a budget portable modem, the
Worldport 2496 Fax, which has an retail price of UKP199. The "street
price" of the unit, according to Hudson, will be around the UKP145
mark, with product available from next month onwards.

The Desktop Courier range also gets a new flagship, the Courier
V.Fast with ASL, along with a shuffle on pricing. Previous retail
prices were in the UKP800 bracket. The V.Fast with ASL unit has an
RRP (recommended retail price) of UKP499, while the existing Dual
Standard Terbo Fax has a UKP449 RRP. The V.32bis Terbo Fax,
meanwhile, has an RRP of UKP399.

"This is a massive reduction in RRP, but aims more to close the gap
between the RRP and the street price. It's less confusing for end
users and dealers alike," he told Newsbytes.

The Courier V.Fast with ASL is billed an "all speeds" unit. To avoid
any confusion, USR will ship its second user guide to modems -- The
Worldport Guide to Portable Computer Communications - to its sales
outlets from the end of this month.

"This guide builds on the success of our Sportster Guide (released
late last year). This time we're aiming to educate end users as to
what they really can do with their portable modems - our portable
modems," Hudson said.

The second guide is endorsed by Carol Vordeman, the TV personality.
The original Sportster guide had Sarah Greene, another TV
personality, as its endorser, Newsbytes notes.

(Steve Gold/19940519/Press & Public Contact: US Robotics - Tel: +44-
753-811180; Fax: [phone]; Toll-free in UK: 0800-225252)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00024)

Microsoft To Sponsor Scholastic Public TV Show 05/19/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Microsoft has
announced it will fund a new education series from Scholastic to
advertise its Microsoft Home software packages. It is the first
time Microsoft has helped fund a public television production.

The Magic School Bus is based on a series of books published by
Scholastic which have already sold over 7 million copies. The 13-
episode run is being done by South Carolina Educational
Television and also has support from The National Science
Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Carnegie
Corporation of New York.

The show is based around a science class taught by a Ms. Frizzle
which is able to take a "Magic Bus" on field trips to such places
as the inside of a human body, the center of the earth, and outer
space. The show helps teach 6-9 year-olds basic science concepts,
but is also aimed at motivating a lifelong interst in the
subject.

While public broadcasting shows do not include advertising inside
them, the identification of sponsors have, in recent years, come
to look increasingly like ads. Scholastic said the show also
enhances its multimedia vision, in the words of vice president
Deborah Forte. "The Magic School Bus television project, perhaps
more than any recent Scholastic venture, has enabled us to use
all of our resources--books, magazines, and television production."

"At this point, Microsoft is corporate underwriter," said
Microsoft spokesman Pat Higgins, asked by Newsbytes why software
was not part of the announcement. "While we expect to have a long-
term relationship, right now we're focusing on the TV show." She
added, however, that no contracts have been signed to provide
Microsoft software in support of the show, and no announcement
would be made on the subject prior to software being released.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940519/Press Contact: Scholastic Inc., Linda
Lehrer, 212/343-6898; Pat Higgins, for Microsoft, 312/263-2135)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

GEIS To Build Network For Microsoft Resellers 05/19/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- GE Information
Services will soon make available the Microsoft Partner Network,
aimed at giving Microsoft resellers easy access to software,
services and other partners around the world.

The network will be available to all Microsoft Channel Partners,
including Microsoft Solution Providers. It will feature
electronic mail, threaded discussion forums and access to
comprehensive databases of Microsoft information.

It is based on the Microsoft Windows operating system using
Microsoft Mail as the standard communications system and
Messaging Application Programming Interface, or MAPI, technology,
as well as GEIS Commerce-Express products and services, which
includes electronic data interchange, or EDI online invoicing.

While GE Information Services is best known for its GEnie
consumer service in the US, it actually owns one of the world's
largest EDI and packet data networks, and that worldwide reach
was attractive to Microsoft, a press release from the two
companies said. The network will buttress efforts by Microsoft to
keep information on its activities current through CD-ROMs. GEIS
is handling billing and subscription, at $450 per year in the
U.S.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940519/Press Contact: Ian Garbutt, for
Microsoft, 503/245-0905; Jacelyn Swenson, GE Information
Services Inc., 301/340-4485)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Rochester Tel Sets Competitive Network 05/19/94
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Rochester
Telephone is winning praise for linking its system to cable
television lines and opening up its market to competition. The
plan was initially filed in February, 1993

New York regulators this week signed what is called a "joint
stipulation" for an "Open Market Plan" from Rochester Tel aimed
at opening up its network to local phone service competition.

Reaction was immediate and favorable. The company said it would
link its phone network to that of Time Warner Cable in Rochester,
allowing for quick two-way TV trials of such services as video-
on-demand. The company will also freeze its rates over a seven-
year period. Formal approval will be given in the fall and new
services will be available next year. It's the first "incentive
regulation plan" signed by the state of New York and could be the
basis for a broader agreement with NYNEX, the regional Bell
company serving the state.

Under the agreement, Rochester Tel becomes a holding company with
two units, a competitive firm dubbed "R-Com" and a regulated
entity dubbed "R-Net." The "R-Com" unit will be freed of all
state control, while "R-Net" will operate under price caps instead
of rate-of-return regulation. "R-Com" will then buy network
access from "R-Net," combining them with other services like
voice mail, data services, long distance and wireless offerings.
Other companies can buy "R-Net" services on the same basis as "R-
Com."

In exchange for winning the right to compete in new markets, like
television, Rochester Tel said it would upgrade its network to
make it more competitive with the new rivals. In addition to Time
Warner Cable, which will now be able to offer phone services in
Rochester, MFS Communications said it would seek to enter the
market, making its first foray into residential phone services.

In addition to winning praise for its plan from regulators and
competitors, Rochester Tel got a thumbs-up from bond-rating
agencies. Duff & Phelps said it raised the ratings on Rochester
Tel's senior unsecured debt to A from A-. It based the upgrade in
part on improvements in its long distance services unit, and the
rating agency said improvements should continue as access charges
decrease with competition, and a recent $110 million equity
offering.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940519/Press Contact: James J. Stork, CFA
of Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co., 312-368-3125; Catherine Duda,
Rochester Tel, 716-777-5897)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

ABI Announces National CD-ROM Phone Directory 05/19/94
LOMBARD, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- R.R. Donnelley's
Metromail unit said it will provide data for American Business
Information's new CD-ROM with 70 million household phone
numbers. Metromail is the direct mail unit of Donnelley, the
nation's largest commercial printer, and its lists are considered
among the most up-to-date in the industry.

The new CD-ROM features 70 million names, phone numbers and
partial addresses from Metromail's electronic compilation of
white page directories. High-speed searches can be done by name
or phone number.

The result is that home-based businesses can get directory
assistance on most numbers for a fraction of the cost of calling
for numbers, which can cost 65 cents per number.

The disks will be distributed through ABI's reseller network, and
bundling agreements have been reached with computer makers
including Compaq, NEC and Mitsumi. The suggested retail price for
the two-disc package is $69.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940519/Press Contact: John Tomkiw,
Metromail, 708-218-6340)


(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00028)

IBM Intros Education Hardware Bundle 05/19/94
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- IBM has announced
new multimedia personal computers (PCs) for schools under the
EduQuest brand line from independent as part of its ongoing
commitment to meet the unique needs of K-12 education.

The new computers, the EduQuest 35 and EduQuest 55, are said to
be multimedia PCs, but double-speed CD-ROM drives on both
machines are options, and there is no mention of modems in the
release. The Clinton Administration has made linking schools to
the information highway a top priority.

"This announcement underscores our aim to provide the K-12
market with products that meet their unique needs,"  said Frank
Vitagliano, director of channel operations for the IBM Personal
Computer Co.  The systems will be bundled with EduQuest
software in all grade levels, he said.

The 35 can be networked, but is designed as a student
workstation. It features a 486 SLC2-25/50 megahertz (MHz)
processor with 4 megabytes (MB) of RAM and IDE (Integrated
Drive Electronics) hard-disks of 133MB, 256MB, or 342MB.

The display is included in the price. The 55 can be purchased
with anything from a 486-33 to a 486-DX 100 processor, and hard
drives up to 540MB. It comes with 4MB of memory, expandable to
64MB. The computers will both be available in July.

Both computers feature a two-element design, with the display
inside the system unit, a front-panel audio system, a single plug
to the wall, and a mouse with a tamper-resistant roller guide.
The computers can also be bolted to desks, making them theft-
resistant. All the systems are covered under IBM's one-year
warranty period, which provides on-site maintenance to schools.

"These are the first ones to be sold since the PC company took
back EduQuest earlier this year," IBM PC spokesman Kristen
Hedlund told Newsbytes. "It had been handled by a third-party
before." About the CD-ROMs, she insisted, "Both have the optional
double-speed CD-ROM drive. Mainly you want to leave it up to the
educators to decide" whether to buy the drives.

Steve Bistritz of EduQuest told Newsbytes, "We see these are more
than multimedia machines. They can be used in a network, in labs,
in a lot of settings. We didn't want to build that price into the
product." He added that the Model 35 prices, including a CD-ROM
drive and a higher capacity disk drive, would cost under $2,000.
He said an entry-level Model 55 will cost $2,250.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940519/Press Contact: IBM, Kristen Hedlund,
914/766-1809)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00029)

Bell Atlantic Announces BAnet Vendors 05/19/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Bell Atlantic has
announced AT&T will be the prime contractor, while General
Instruments and Broadband Technologies will get major contracts,
for its BAnet video-ready networks in six cities. The project
was estimated in the press was reported to cost $11 billion, but
Bell Atlantic called that estimate high. Formal contracts could
be signed in about one month.

One big loser in the announcement was DSC of Plano, Texas, a
maker of digital switches. Its stock price fell sharply in reaction
to the announcement. Stock in the winning companies rose in
price slightly.

Unlike other phone networks like US West and Pacific Telesis,
which announced a single network design, Bell Atlantic actually
announced three separate architectures. In the Washington
suburbs, the company is delivering Asynchronous Digital
Subscriber Line, or ADSL modems, now running at 1.544 million
bits-per-second (bps) and capable of compressed video. In parts of
Pennsylvania and Virginia, Bell Atlantic will deploy a hybrid
fiber-coax system, similar to that of Pacific Telesis.

In parts of New Jersey, the company is building fiber-to-the-curb
networks. Five of the seven states where Bell Atlantic does
business have approved "incentive regulation" plans to allow the
upgrades, said Bell Atlantic President James Cullen hosted a
press conference attended by Newsbytes.

"You shouldn't think that once you announce an architecture you're
staying with that the rest of your life. This will change as
prices change," Cullen said.

Cullen added, "We're assuming open competition, for access and
toll services. We're optimistic the debate on Capitol Hill will
be resolved in a way that will let anyone enter any market in 2
years, and unbundle all networks. Customers will demand choices,
including choices in long distance markets." He criticized a bill
now before the Senate, sponsored by Ernest Hollings of South
Carolina, saying it would keep Bell companies out of long
distance markets until the 21st century.

Cullen called BAnet powerful and flexible, saying that, "As a
result, Bell Atlantic customers will be the first in the nation
to get video services through their local phone companies." He
said BAnet will be expanded to up to 20 markets in five years
and said BAnet will offer the "Best video service in the country.
It's a great alternative to video stores and cable. By 1996
they'll receive a commercial interactive multimedia TV product."

Bell Atlantic group President Stu Johnson said the actual
spending will be done with a "just-in-time approach" matching
cost and revenue opportunities. He also said that "any
information provider can lease space on this network," and it
will be a common carrier.

Bell Atlantic said it will file for construction permits later
this month with the Federal Communications Commission under
Section 214 of the 1934 Communications act. "The pace and level
of the investment contemplated will depend on three factors --
one is market response, second is the competitive situation, and
third is the state regulatory framework," said Johnson. "We call
today on the FCC to expedite the 214 filings, for the FCC to
approve these and other applications as quickly as possible. Some
have been on file for 12 months, but we've been assured it will
be expedited, that some will be done in 60-90 days."

A Virginia court ruling, allowing Bell Atlantic to offer video
services on its own, helped move the upgrades forward, Cullen
said. "We're still the only provider among the regional Bell
companies allowed to transmit our own video along our own
networks. We believe we have a solid business plan to make a
success of this move into the video consumer marketplace.

Larry Babbio, Bell Atlantic executive vice president,
acknowledged that the hybrid fiber-coax approach will be the
primary upgrade path. AT&T officials have said in the past that
the "baseband" approach, with a heavy use of coaxial cable like
that used by cable TV competitors, is the most economical network
upgrade path. New Jersey regulators and legislators, however,
approved a new regulatory scheme there allowing for use of
Broadband Technologies' "passband" approach. Broadband has
compared the two schemes to similar Local Area Networking
schemes proposed a decade ago, noting the market finally went
with the "passband" approach.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940519/Press Contact: Eric Rabe, Bell
Atlantic, 703-974-1720)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00030)

 ****Systems Support Expo - Tech Support Trends 05/19/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- Multivendor
support, a "second wave" of outsourcing, and a two-tiered "triage"
model represent three of the top trends in tech support today,
judging from comments raised by IBM, DEC, Novell, Hewlett-Packard,
and AT&T executives in a keynote panel at the Systems Support Expo
now going on in Boston.

The tech support movements stem from the expansion and increasing
distribution and complexity of customers' networks, together with
a proliferation of multivendor hardware and software, the five
speakers said.

"Tech support is a difficult job, and it's going to get even more
difficult," according to Richard Busto, Availability Services
Director for IBM. A corporate network today, for instance, might be
running 100 different kinds of hardware and software products, from
70 different vendors, he pointed out.

Years ago, product purchases were centralized at corporate data
centers, but these days, "users keep adding all these things that
you don't even know about," added Busto. The biggest challenge for
internal tech support staff today is, in essence, "how to deal with
all this stuff."

The emerging patterns are placing "more intensive service
responsibilities" on internal support specialists, noted Dawn
Gilbert, VP of sales for DEC's Multivendor Customer Services for
the Americas. At the same time, companies are calling on support
staff to "keep costs down."

Comments of audience members indicated that they agreed with the
vendors' observations. One tech support specialist in the audience
reported that, over the past few years, the network at his company
has exploded from 2,000 to 6,000 pieces of equipment. "We can't do
everything," he explained. "So we are offloading (outsourcing) all
non-essential services."

Another audience member said that, at the federal agency where he
works, 10,000 users are now supported by a technical staff of 200.
"And we keep losing more people," the conference participant added.
The agency has also turned to outsourcing to cope with this
situation. Application development is one of the areas that "goes
out."

Several others in the audience noted that their organizations are
now considering outsourcing again, even though their earlier
attempts at outsourcing were unsuccessful. One participant said
that the network at his company has simply "grown too big" to be
operated without outsourcing.

For their part, large product vendors have responded by re-
organizing their own support services for more effective
outsourcing support, forming alliances with other companies for
multivendor support, and establishing "triage" models for client
support, the panelists said.

Deborah Nelson, marketing manager of HP's Americas Support
Marketing Center, likened the tech support "triage" to the
"generalist" and "specialist" approach used in medicine. Product
vendors are handling the easiest questions they receive through
"frontline generalists," she said. More difficult problems are
relayed to staff specializing in different types of hardware and
software.

Novell realized the importance of multivendor support early on,
said Chad Ruel Allred, director, Services Planning and Programs,
for Novell. But Novell represents a "unique case," he acknowledged,
since only two percent of the products used on Novell networks are
from Novell.

For other vendors, multivendor alliances are a more recent
phenomenon. AT&T, for example, first moved to its current
multivendor thrust about two years ago, said Ken Johnston,
Services VP, AT&T Global Information Solutions.

One audience member asked the panelists how they handle multivendor
support. Allred replied that Novell's approach involves
cross-training and exchange of technology and product literature,
in addition to frequent contact with other companies.

Nelson said that, at HP, multivendor support is supplied through a
variety of means, ranging from informal communications between
companies to formal alliances. One factor involved is "how often we
work with the other vendor," she maintained.

IBM also follows a variety of multivendor support models, according
to Busto. What is most important in multivendor support is a "win-
win" outcome for the vendors, as well as for client organizations,
he remarked.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940519/Reader and Press Contact: United
Publications, 207-846-0600)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 05/19/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 19 (NB) -- These
are capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Zenith Intros Modular Notebook PCs 05/19/94 Zenith Data Systems
(ZDS) has introduced a family of modular notebook systems available
with a variety of 3.5-volt Intel microprocessors and including local
bus video, IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard  disks, 16-bit
sound, and the capacity for CD-ROM and amplified  stereo add-in
systems.

2 -> Motorola Intros Windows NT PowerPC Development Tools 05/19/94
Motorola's Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) Microprocessor
Division has announced a suite of PowerPC architecture development
tools for Microsoft Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server.

3 -> CompuServe Remodels "Shopping Mall" 05/19/94
 CompuServe is introducing a graphical interface for its Electronic
Mall. The new interface will change from the static emulation  screen
to a graphical interface compatible with CompuServe  Information
Manager (CM).

4 -> Corel Revises Product Plans 05/19/94 Corel Corp. has changed its
plans for the next releases of its CorelDraw and Ventura software
packages, opting to delay the release of Ventura 5 and to offer it as
a stand-alone product as well as in a suite with CorelDraw and other
software. The company's Photo-Paint image-editing software will also
be available on its own.

5 -> Electronic Docum't Systems To Reach $90Bil By 1997 05/19/94
Despite the challenges ahead, electronic document systems are becoming
more in demand. According to a survey done for document imaging
association Xplor International, that demand that could grow to  as
much as over $90 billion a year by the end of 1997.

6 -> Knowledge Point Intros Windows Employee Review Package 05/19/94
For many  managers the task of reviewing employee performance is a
painful  task which involves tracking performance, writing
evaluations, and  confronting employees. Addressing these issues with
software  applications,  Knowledge Point, a producer of business
management  software for the past six years, has announced the
shipment of  Performance Now! for Windows.

7 -> Japan - IBM Multimedia PC & Sharp Organizer Intro'd 05/19/94 IBM
Japan has released a new version of its multimedia personal computer
(PC), complete with built-in television tuner. Meanwhile, Sharp has
announced  that it will release an new hand-writing input organizer in
June.

8 -> DEC Wins 1st Asia-Pacific Manufacturing Deal 05/19/94 Digital
Equipment  Corporation has reportedly won its first contract
manufacturing  order from an Asian customer, just two weeks after it
appointed  a senior executive to spearhead sales in the region.

9 ->  ****Internet Address Book Of The Rich & Famous Intro'd 05/19/94
A book has been introduced listing the Internet addresses of famous
people. Called, "E-mail Addresses of the Rich and Famous," the book
lists the addresses of such celebrities as actor Ed Asner, President
Bill  Clinton, Bill Gates, Ross Perot, television anchor-man Tom
Brokaw, MTV's VJ Adam Curry, novelist Ann McCaffrey, and actor Charles
Grodin.

10 -> Ontario Announces Support For Computing Sector 05/19/94 The
province of Ontario will spend C$10.6 million to implement three of
the key recommendations of an advisory committee that reported earlier
this year on measures needed to support the computer industry in
Ontario.

11 ->  ****Computer Associates To Acquire Ask Group 05/19/94 Computer
Associates International Inc. has hit the acquisition trail yet again,
announcing a deal to buy The Ask Group Inc., maker of the Open Ingres
database server software and other products, for about $310 million.

12 -> Motorola & DEC Team On Custom Chip Deal 05/19/94 Digital
Equipment Corporation has become one of the first partners with
Motorola in a program that helps manufacturers produce custom chips.

13 -> Cray Computer Chairman Receives Info Technology Award 05/19/94
Seymour Cray, chairman of the financially troubled Cray Computer
Corp., is  the recipient of a prestigious award for information
technology  innovation.

14 -> Colorado Visitor Centers Go Hi-Tech 05/19/94 Some of the
visitor centers in Colorado are going "hi-tech" in order to show
tourists where to go and what to see.

15 -> Brochure Maker Intro'd For Windows 05/19/94 A Seattle  company
has announced a software program it claims enables  the non-designer
to create professional-looking full color  brochures.

16 ->  ****Intel Deals For Interactive Services Via Cable 05/19/94
Chip giant Intel has announced further steps in its plans to deliver
interactive content to homes through deals it is making with cable
television services and on-line content providers.

17 -> Nextstep 3.2 Beta Free To Qualified HP Users 05/19/94 Steve Jobs
and his Nextstep operating system may have found a home on the
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Precision Architecture reduced instruction set
computing (PA-RISC) workstation platform. Nextstep 3.2 is shipping
without charge, upon the request of qualified users, in a pre-release
version, for HP's 9000 Models 712, 715, 725, and  755 workstations.

18 -> Quarterdeck UK Intros Sidebar Desktop Windows Package 05/19/94
Quarterdeck Office Systems UK has announced Sidebar for Windows, a
utility that it claims allows Windows users to launch programs and
manage files on a icon button basis.

19 -> UK - CompuServe Adds UK Entertainment Reviews 05/19/94
CompuServe has  announced that reviews of popular films, books and
plays available  in the UK are now available on the "basic" area of
its service. The  services are available from the Central Press
Features (CPF) which  compiles the data for CompuServe.

20 -> UK - AST Unveils Bravo LC Range 05/19/94 AST Europe has
announced what it calls the next-generation of its desktop PC range,
the Bravo LC series.

21 -> UK - Dataflex Design Intros V.Fast Professional Modems 05/19/94
Dataflex Design has announced  it is shipping the Rapier V.Fast range
of modems. Based around the Rockwell VSC chipset, the modems are fully
V.Fast-compliant, capable of speeds of 28,800 bits-per-second (bps)
without recourse to data compression.

22 -> UK - Renet Intros 2 Modems, More To Come 05/19/94 Renet Limited,
the  Hammersmith-based subsidiary of Lasat of Denmark, has announced
two new modems to go alongside its Bang & Olufsen-style Unique  144
modem. The new modems -- a PCMCIA (Personal Computer  Memory Card
International Association) unit and a Compaq notebook- specific unit
-- sell for UKP399, the same price as the Unique.

23 -> US Robotics Reveals Future Plans 05/19/94 US Robotics has
restyled and updated its range of Worldport modems, adding  V.32terbo
-- 19,200 bits-per-second (bps) and cellular capabilities.  At the
same time the modem manufacturer has taken the wraps off  its
V.Fast-equipped desktop Courier range of modem.

24 -> Microsoft To Sponsor Scholastic Public TV Show 05/19/94
Microsoft has announced it will fund a new education series from
Scholastic to  advertise its Microsoft Home software packages. It is
the first  time Microsoft has helped fund a public television
production.

25 -> GEIS To Build Network For Microsoft Resellers 05/19/94 GE
Information  Services will soon make available the Microsoft Partner
Network,  aimed at giving Microsoft resellers easy access to software,
services and other partners around the world.

26 -> Rochester Tel Sets Competitive Network 05/19/94 Rochester
Telephone is winning praise for linking its system to cable
television lines and opening up its market to competition. The  plan
was initially filed in February, 1993

27 -> ABI Announces National CD-ROM Phone Directory 05/19/94 R.R.
Donnelley's  Metromail unit said it will provide data for American
Business  Information's new CD-ROM with 70 million household phone
numbers. Metromail is the direct mail unit of Donnelley, the  nation's
largest commercial printer, and its lists are considered  among the
most up-to-date in the industry.

28 -> IBM Intros Education Hardware Bundle 05/19/94 IBM has announced
new multimedia personal computers (PCs) for schools under the
EduQuest brand line from independent as part of its ongoing
commitment to meet the unique needs of K-12 education.

29 -> Bell Atlantic Announces BAnet Vendors 05/19/94 Bell Atlantic has
announced AT&T will be the prime contractor, while General
Instruments and Broadband Technologies will get major contracts,  for
its BAnet video-ready networks in six cities. The project  was
estimated in the press was reported to cost $11 billion, but  Bell
Atlantic called that estimate high. Formal contracts could  be signed
in about one month.

30 ->  ****Systems Support Expo - Tech Support Trends 05/19/94
Multivendor support, a "second wave" of outsourcing, and a two-tiered
"triage" model represent three of the top trends in tech support
today, judging from comments raised by IBM, DEC, Novell,
Hewlett-Packard, and AT&T executives in a keynote panel at the Systems
Support Expo now going on in Boston.

(Ian Stokell/19940519)