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/nb052094

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

Compton's Encyclopedia In Chinese Translation 05/20/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- One of the most
successful multimedia compact discs (CD) ever sold, Compton's
Encyclopedia is about to be translated into Chinese as a text
edition with plans to develop a CD for distribution in
mainland China within three to four years.

More than a year ago, Commercial Press of Beijing, now a
privately owned company, began working with Compton's to
establish an alliance to create a text-based version of
Compton's Encyclopedia. Commercial Press of Beijing has been a
leading publisher in China since 1897 with a focus on translations,
textbooks, and foreign dictionaries. They have published more than
200 language dictionaries and currently their revised edition of "Ci
Yuan, Dictionary of Current Chinese, Xinhua Chinese Dictionary" has
a circulation of 120 million copies.

"We are pleased to have been chosen by Commercial Press as
the first young people's encyclopedia to be published in
China. Their experience and professionalism in publishing and
in translations gives us a confidence that we find exceptional
in companies today," said Dr. Stanley Frank, president of
Compton's Learning Company, speaking to Newsbytes.

Commercial Press has begun the arduous task of translating
the encyclopedia and, as sections are completed, Compton's
own Chinese translators will verify the work in its Chicago
headquarters. Dr. Frank continued, "We know the translations
of Commercial Press meet the most rigorous standards applicable.
With their decades of experience we anticipate a very smooth
translation process."

The value to Compton's is the electronic rights to the Chinese
translation which it will retain. While many onlookers might
wonder about the worth of electronic rights to a CD sold in
China, Dr. Frank told Newsbytes, "Many people do not realize
that Chinese couples in urban areas are still limited by a
requirement of one child per family. With the commitment they
have towards education and the one child per family ruling,
many families are willing to devote a substantial part of their
income for their child's education and advancement. Compton's
feels certain that these electronic rights will lead to a
tremendous market of new users in the future."

(Patrick McKenna/19940519/Press Contact: Christine Kohlstedt, Pat
Meier Associates PR, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00002)

CompuServe Offers Newton Developers' Forum 05/20/94
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- From its
Developers Conference, Apple admitted the success of its
personal digital assistant (PDA), the Newton, is not what
the company had hoped for, but it intends to stand by
its investment and continue to develop and support research,
applications, and third party developers.

As a sign of further support and commitment to the
Newton, CompuServe has announced the opening of Newton
Developer's Forum as one of its extended services areas,
priced a $4.80 per hour at 1200 and 2400 bits per second (bps)
or $9.60 per hour at 9600 and 14,400 bps.

Lue Kirk, marketing manager for CompuServe, told Newsbytes,
"We are the largest independent source of support for Apple
products and we have a large online community of Apple users
on the Mac and as Newton users. We are committed to bringing
them the latest information and the best expertise available
through our forums."

Although this forum is called a "developers' forum," CompuServe
wants to make sure customers know that this forum will be
open to a wide range of users from the novice to the
advanced applications developer. Presently, Apple is
not a direct participant in CompuServe forums and forum
expertise is provided through a number of experts and industry
leaders under the guidance of Neil Shapiro, a founder of MacUser.

The new forum will offer tips, information, and programming
techniques for the MessagePad and the ExpertPad platforms and
concentrate on both Macintosh and Windows Programmers'
Toolkits. A marketing section will allow users to share both
application ideas and marketing strategies of the Newton.

Kirk continued, "Over the next couple of months we will be
holding a contest to develop shareware applications for the
Newton MessagePad. There will be a number of different
categories for participants to compete for prizes, one of
which will be a developers toolkit."

New members to CompuServe who wish to join the forum will
be given a free membership kit which includes CompuServe's
MacCIM interface software, a free month of unlimited basic
services, and a $15 credit for extended services.

(Patrick McKenna/19940518/Press Contact: Michelle Moran,
CompuServe, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00003)

Systems Support Expo - Microsoft Drivers On CD 05/20/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- At Systems
Support Expo in Boston, Microsoft has unveiled a CD-ROM (compact
disc - read only memory) that includes drivers for the entire
line of Microsoft software products, code samples, articles, and
utilities, along with the latest patches for Windows NT.

The new Microsoft TechNet Supplemental (Drivers & Patches) CD,
which contains a total of some 900 drivers, is being bundled with
the latest edition of the TechNet CD that is supplied to Microsoft
TechNet subscribers.

The two discs represent the first CD-ROMs from Microsoft to be
offered with unlimited user licenses, said Rick Tharlakson,
technical account manager for Microsoft, speaking with Newsbytes on
the show floor.

The new supplemental disc also provides the first patches for
Windows NT to be available on CD-ROM, added Jennifer Viland,
product manager.

The disc is the first of a series of supplemental monthly CDs that
will be sent to Microsoft Technet subscribers, according to Viland.
Future supplemental discs in the series will include patches for
LAN Manager, Windows for Workgroups, and LAN (local area network)
Manager.

Viland told Newsbytes that previous CD-ROM disks from Microsoft
have been available only on either a single user or "single server,
single user" basis, effectively limiting use of the disc to one
user per site.

Microsoft decided to change its licensing policy to meet the needs
of small companies with multiple users of Microsoft products, as
well as the requirements of large technical support staffs at
corporations, she explained.

Microsoft started to issue quarterly service packs with code
updates to Windows NT last fall, Viland said. The new Microsoft
Technet Supplemental CD will allow users to install all of the
Windows NT patches at once, using an installation program included
in the CD, she added.

The availability of Microsoft drivers and code updates on CD-ROM
will lessen users' reliance on online services, according to
Viland.

The Microsoft TechNet CDs that accompany the supplemental discs
contain the complete Microsoft Knowledge Base, in addition to
utilities for Windows NT, Windows for Workgroups, Windows, DOS, and
other Microsoft products; Microsoft training materials; "customer
solutions," magazine articles; and conference session notes for
Microsoft developers' conferences.

In a demo, Viland showed Newsbytes how TechNet CDs can be searched
for "entire articles" containing specified keywords, as well as for
sections of articles containing the keywords. The articles are
listed for the user in order of the number of incidences of the
specified keyword, she noted.

The price for 12 monthly TechNet and TechNet Supplemental (Drivers
and Patches) CDs is $295 for a single user license, or $695 for a
single server, unlimited users license. For more information or to
joining Microsoft TechNet, call 800-344-2121, extension 3003.
Outside the US or Canada, call 402-691-0173 for local contact
information.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940519/Reader Contact: 800-344-2121, extension
3003; Press Contact: Gregg Smith, Microsoft, 206-936-9327)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00004)

Rockwell Portable MicroTracker GPS Receiver 05/20/94
KWAI CHUNG, HONG KONG, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Rockwell has reduced
the height of its NavCore MicroTracker global positioning
system (GPS) engine by 30 percent. This is good news
for marine, aviation, automatic vehicle location (AVL),
personal computer and industrial applications designers.

The five-channel, low-power receiver, introduced in 1993, now
measures only 2 X 2.8 X .38 inches yet maintains the same high
standards included in the original receiver, Rockwell contends.

"The NavCore MicroTracker is designed to operate with an
inexpensive, passive antenna in most applications, enabling
OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to reduce production
costs of their end products," said Edwin Chen, Asia Pacific
marketing manager for Rockwell International.

Standard features of the MicroTracker, which can track as many
as nine satellites simultaneously, include a time-to-first
fix of 20 to 30 seconds (from a warm start) and a normal
operating temperature range of -30 degrees C to 75 degrees C.

Other features of the MicroTracker include a dynamic tracking
capability when used in dense forest cover and urban
environments, as well as under conditions where severe
vibration and shock are present.

Production quantities of the new MicroTracker are available
now at a price of US$316 for quantities of 100.

(Keith Cameron/19940520/Press Contacts: Edwin Chen, Rockwell,
886-2-720 0282; James Irwin or Katherine Chiu, EBA, 852-545 7022)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00005)

Asia Personnel Roundup 05/20/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- COL Ltd, Hong Kong's
leading computer services company, has appointed Hong Kong
information technology industry veteran Eila Chin as
director of the company's Dun & Bradstreet Software business
unit. Hammond Ho has also joined the company. And Digital
Equipment Corporation has announced the appointment of Norris
L. Hickerson, a specialist in infrastructure development, as
its first country manager for Vietnam.

Except for a short stint in Australia, Eila Chin has worked
in the computer industry in Hong Kong since the early seventies,
when she was administrative assistant to Mr Brian Pascoe,
founder of Computer Processing Services (CPS). CPS and COL
were the only two independent mainframe-based computer bureaus in
the territory at that time.

In her new position, Chin will be responsible for all sales and
marketing activities for Dun & Bradstreet Software, for which
COL is sole distributor in Hong Kong.

"Eila Chin's experience in business development and management
in the information technology industry," said COL's Managing
Director Richard Weatherstone.

Chin joins COL from Ross Systems Asia Ltd, where she has been
managing director since 1991. Before joining Ross Systems,
she spent five years with Price Waterhouse Hong Kong as senior
manager, Management Consultant Services, where she was
responsible for a range of projects from strategic
systems design and planning to project management and systems
implementation.

Hammond Ho also joins COL from Ross Systems Asia where he has
been account manager since 1990, with responsibility for sales,
consulting, client support and technical support. Earlier he
spent two years with Toppan Moore (HK) Ltd as senior consultant,
then manager of systems marketing, providing pre-sale
and post-sale support to customers in the financial services
industry.

Hickerson, formerly business manager for the infrastructure
industries at Digital Asia, has worked for the company for
seven years. Until his latest appointment, he was responsible
for business development in the fields of transportation,
utilities, construction and the environment.

"Norris is a natural choice to head up our efforts in Vietnam,"
said J. Graham Long, vice president and director of sales at
Digital Asia. "He has a basic understanding of the problems
facing the Vietnamese government ministries as they ease
into a market-driven economy.

Norris has already identified many areas that will benefit from
information technology and will consult with the various
ministries on their planning for the next 10 years. "Vietnam
is in the enviable position of being able to start afresh
with the latest technology, leap-frogging older legacy systems,"
added Long.

Digital's temporary representative office has been open in
Hanoi since the US trade embargo was lifted, but more suitable
quarters are now being sought. Digital's operations in Vietnam
will focus on supporting PC resellers at first. The company
formed three PC reseller agreements in September 1993 - with
3C in Hanoi, and with SciTech and CIIC in Ho Chi Minh City.
These integrated dealers are already selling the company's
PCs along with PC networking products and servers.

"We intend to continue exploring options for a more substantive
business presence in Vietnam," said Hickerson. "As we have done
in other parts of the world, we will provide support for the
education and training of Vietnamese students. Our intention
is to assist the Vietnamese IT community to develop its
software engineering capabilities to meet internal needs,
and eventually to develop exportable products.

Before joining Digital, Hickerson taught at the Hong Kong
Polytechnic for 14 years, first as principal lecturer in
the Civil and Structural Engineering Department, and then
as chairman of the Department of Mathematics and Computing.

Earlier, Hickerson was head of the Civil Engineering
Department at Tennessee Technological University. His interest
in computing infrastructure development started when he
worked for the Tennessee State Department of Transportation,
where he designed one of that state's first cloverleaf
highway overpasses.

(Keith Cameron/19940419/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel 852-8053510;
Richard Weatherstone, COL, 852-798 4798)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00006)

Directory Assistance On CD 05/20/94
BETHESDA, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- From a small
home office to a large corporate concern, monthly charges
for directory assistance calls accumulate quickly and may
account for an unwanted monthly surprise. Enter a CD with
directory information, designed to replace your calls to
directory assistance.

The once-free directory assistance service now accounts for
substantial telephone company and long distance carrier revenue.
After a 1993 Supreme Court decision, which denied copyright
protection of White Pages information, companies such as
Digital Directory Assistance (DDA) have been able to publish
these public listings.

Their disc is called PhoneDisc, a cross-platfom (DOS, Mac
and Windows) compact disc (CD) which lists US telephone
directory information, reflects the expansion of CD read-only
memory (ROM) drives in the personal computer (PC) industry
and the dramatic savings resulting from information delivery
on CDs.

Available in three versions, PhoneDisc Residential, PhoneDisc
Business and PhoneDisc PowerFinder, which combines full featured
residential and business listings, the prices are
$79 for the residential or business, and $249 for the
PowerFinder version.

Lou Navarro, vice president of sales for DDA, told Newsbytes
that with local information calls costing $.25 or more in some
locations and long distance information calls costing $.75
plus the long distance toll, "our products are selling out as
quickly as we can produce them. Once a user is accustomed to
the very simple commands needed to use our CDs, it is only a
matter of minutes to search the entire country for directory
information."

DDA acknowledges that recent changes of addresses and phone numbers
cannot be incorporated into a CD, but mentions that $129 quarterly
updates are available for companies in need of more current data.
There is also offer a combination price of $599 for the complete
PhoneDisc PowerFinder version with three quarterly updates.

Noting that both the phone companies and DDA are not completely
accurate, Navarro said, "Our database provider, Database
America, originally excluded White Page information which
did not list an address, so we are currently about 80%
accurate. In the past six months all White Page directory
data has been included and will be coming out in our
quarterly updates."

PhoneDisc Residential features more than 81 million listings
nationwide on two discs and PhoneDisc Business comprises 9.5
million business listings on a single CD. PhoneDisc PowerFinder,
previously PhoneDisc Reverse, integrates both business
and residential with more than 91 million listings on five discs.
The additional disks are necessary to incorporate the indexing
capabilities needed for the extended features on each disc.

In 1987, DDA was contracted by the Nynex Company, a Northeast
Bell company, to develop the search software and compression
technology for their listings. Navarro continued, "Our first Nynex
product sold for $10,000 a year and it is now $6500 with 100%
accuracy and that is just for the Northeast area. In 1990, we
saw a lot of interest to produce national directory information
products, so we began our first national product which not too
long ago sold for $2000 as the residential version, Phone Disk
USA residential."

DDA is currently considering an international business directory,
but wants a larger installed base of CD drives worldwide before
any serious production is undertaken. The company has also
installed a limit to downloads to prevent the creation of large
mailing lists.

"A product like ours could eliminate the list industry overnight
and that is not our intention. We have designed our product to be
used as one would use dialed directory assistance, but with many
more features," said Navarro.

PhoneDisc is a cross-platform product for Windows, DOS and
Macintosh users and requires a CD-ROM drive. The residential CD
allows only simple name searches, while the business and
PowerFinder versions feature multi-searching capabilities, exporting
and alternate spellings. Currently, versions of PhoneDisc for DOS
and Mac users are available from major US software retailers.

In July, PhoneDisc will be available for Windows, Windows NT
and the upcoming Chicago platform. DDA also offers the two
residential CDs and one business CD in a combo-pack for $129.
This pack does not offer the full features listed for the
PowerFinder version.

(Patrick McKenna/19940519/Press Contact: Karen Thomas, Thomas
Public Relations, tel [phone]; Product Information, tel 800-284-
8353)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00007)

Australia - Payphone Cost Rise 05/20/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Public payphone calls
in Australia are to rise by a third in September. This is the
first rise in eight years. The calls will go to AUS40c from the
present 30C (around US30c from 22c).

The rise covers all payphones operated by Telecom throughout
Australia, a mixture of card-only and card-plus-cash phones.
In addition, private owners operate Gold and Blue phones from
private businesses such as shops and hotels. There is no
limit to what the owners of these can charge for local calls,
but 40c is common. Telecom said it is making the increase
in order to be able to "continue to provide an efficient
and up-to-date service to all regions of Australia."

An unusual feature of the increase is a recognition of the fact
that payphones are likely to be used by low income earners,
pensioners and the unemployed. As a one-time offer, these
people will be given a free $4 phone card which is the
equivalent of the increased price on 40 calls.

Telecom Australia's other change this year is the beginning of
the swapover to 8-digit phone numbers throughout the country,
but with only a handful of area codes. These will replace the
existing 7-digit codes of the main capital cities and the 6-digit
codes of other areas. Telecom has promised that the changeover
will not be used as an excuse to increase call charges

(Paul Zucker/19940520/Contact: Elizabeth King, Telecom Australia
Payphone Services tel. [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(SYD)(00008)

Sega Attacks Grey Market Software In Australia 05/20/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Australian computer games
distributor Sega Ozisoft is taking action against alleged
non-approved importers of Sega software.

Head of Sega in Australia Kevin Burmeister said Melbourne
solicitors Clayton Utz had begun proceedings against three
Melbourne importers, and a number of others could expect to hear
something.

Burmeister said his company would ask the courts to "protect
the thousands of children who buy unlawful versions of Sega
games and equipment, then find they don't work or can't be
serviced in Australia." The games king described the grey
importers as a multi-million dollar business that is out
of control.

"We are determined to stop their activities and seek damages
that could escalate to hundreds of thousands of dollars. One
of the problems with pirate importers is that most of their
games are not made to work in Australia. Unscrupulous
companies set up as legitimate retailers in Asia, Europe
and the US so they can buy products at wholesale prices from
the legal distributors there. They bring them into
Australia and take advantage of our marketing and advertising
to re-sell them. They take no responsibility for customer
support or the honouring of warranties.

"We also run the risk of versions of video nasties, the kind
of games Sega would not publish, appearing in Australia.
The grey importers don't care about our censorship laws,
quality or consumer support. We have written to companies
whom we suspect of being involved in the grey import trade.
Many have backed off but a few have ignored our warnings.
We are going to get rid of them to protect our good name
and the confidence thousands of young people have in Sega
products."

(Computer Daily News/19940520)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00009)

Motorola, Microsoft Wordperfect Execs Address COMDEX 05/20/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- The top bosses at
Microsoft, Motorola, and Wordperfect will be the featured
speakers at this year's combined COMDEX/Spring and Windows
World trade show in Atlanta.

This year's annual computer industry rites of spring at the Georgia
World Congress Center will feature Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill
Gates, Motorola President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher
Galvin and Adrian Rietveld, Wordperfect Corporation president and
CEO.

Gates' Windows World keynote speech will address many of the more
than 100,000 computer professionals from 100 companies
worldwide expected to be in attendance on May 23, the day the show
opens its four-day run. Gates will speak about the convergence of
cable, telephone, and information superhighway industries and
Microsoft's place in that emerging multi-billion dollar industry.

Galvin's COMDEX address on May 24th is titled The Home of the
Future, Interactive Ready. Galvin says he will talk about how the
converging technologies will impact the interactive American home.

Rietveld's CEO Perspective on Tuesday afternoon is titled "Getting
the Software Out of the Way of Your Work." He will discuss how
computers are enhancing and managing the human voice and telephone.

(Jim Mallory/19940520/Press contact: Cheryl Delgreco, Interface
Group, 617-449-6600)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00010)

Individual Software Intros Career Planning For Mac 05/20/94
PLEASANTON, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Apple
Computer Macintosh users looking for career help bundled into
resume-maker software are the targets of Individual Software's
ResumeMaker for Macintosh with Career Planning.

The company claims that job seekers often need more help and
career advice than simple resume form software can offer.
Individual's new software package provides planning guidance
and career support with the addition of Richard Nelson
Bolles', "New Quick Job-Hunting Map, which is adapted from
his book, "What Color Is Your Parachute?"

Speaking to Newsbytes, Kathleen Turnbull, spokesperson for
Individual Software, said, "Our research of current and past
users of ResumeMaker indicated a desire among the users
for not only a good format for writing cover letters
and resumes, but a further development of career help and advice.
With the addition of Career Planning, users have the tools for
getting started on their job search, organizing and managing
job leads, contacts and follow-up."

With a suggested retail price of $49.95, ResumeMaker for
Macintosh with Career Help features different resume styles,
an index card-like form for information cataloging and
editing, a Guided Letters section which creating broadcast,
cover and thank you letters, an action-word glossary, a word
processor with spell checking, mail merge capabilities, an
activity log, address book, calendar, and a Prospects section
for tracking job leads.

Turnbull continues, "Our resume software will reduce the
considerable time a person would spend trying to organize and
format a resume. Now with the addition of Career Planning,
our software will help a user actually think through the
entire job searching process."

This program requires a Macintosh II or later and System 6 or
higher. The program is not native to the PowerPC and the company
has no plans to write it for the PowerPC, a spokesperson told
Newsbytes. It is currently available in most retail channels.

(Patrick McKenna/19940519/Press Contact: Kathleen Turnbull,
Individual Software, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00011)

Portugal Gets Plastic Card Fever 05/20/94
LISBON, PORTUGAL, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Credit cards have never taken
off in Europe to the extent they are acceptable in the US. This may be
due to the availability of Eurocheques, a guaranteed checking account
system that operates on a multi-currency, multi-country basis.

The last 12 months, however, has seen Eurocheques give way to Electronic
Cash, a European debit card system that operate along similar lines to
the Eurocheque system. Now Portugal's main bank card issuer has
announced plans to offer the logical extension - the electronic purse.

The electronic purse offered by Sociedade Interbancaria de Servicos
(SIS) will be Europe's first national replacement system for petty
cash. According to SIS, which issues the Multibanco Cirrus-affiliated
automated teller machine (ATM)/debit card which is widely used in
Portugal, the purse card -- which has yet to be named -- will not
compete with the Multibanco ATM/debit card, but will be for smaller
value transactions.

SIS staff told Newsbytes that the card will be very much a national
electronic cash system and not international, as is the case with the
Multibanco/Cirrus card.

The Portuguese move means that Portugal leapfrogs ahead of the
Midland/Natwest/British Telecom Mondex electronic purse trials
currently taking place at selected sites in the UK. Like Multibanco,
the SIS electronic purse system will center around smart cards --
plastic cards with onboard microprocessors -- that can be reloaded
with "cash" at ATMs, banks and other public points.

Most card issuers now see the continuing march of the plastic debit
card as inevitable, as consumers rebel against paying interest to
credit card issuers. Last year saw Visa, the world's largest credit
card issuing organization, swallow the Plus international debit card
organizations.

This week sees Visa open its first Supersite Visa ATM at the Tom
Bradley International Airport Terminal in Los Angeles. The ATM offers
a wide range of transactions and offers international Plus and Visa
card users the ability to draw US dollars in cash on their cards.

Plans are in hand to open more Visa Supersites at 16 international
airport arrival halls during the next year, including John F. Kennedy
Airport, New York; Changi Airport, Singapore; and Heathrow Airport,
England. The Commercial Bank of Greece is expected to announce that
it will open a SuperSite in Athens this summer.

Most experts predict that plastic debit cards, both electronic purse
and standard debit, will be an international payment medium for
travellers within the next few years. According to Visa, the concept
of international cash withdrawals is still a new phenomenon.

It was back in March of 1984 that the first intercontinental ATM
transaction took place. A traveller to Sydney, Australia, used her
Visa card to get Australian dollars from her bank account located in
Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in the US.

(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19940520/Press & Public Contact: Sociedade
Interbancaria de Servicos - Tel: [phone]; Visa (Press Only
Please) Roseann Clavelli, Visa International, Tel, US - 415/432-
3439)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00012)

Compaq Expands Scottish Plant - 300 New Jobs 05/20/94
ERSKINE, SCOTLAND, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Compaq has announced plans to
invest another UKP 10 million in its European manufacturing facility
in Erskine, Scotland. The expansion will bring another 300 jobs to the
already bustling factory.

The expansion plans are on top of UKP 7 million expansion plans
announced in January of this year. That expansion installed two
printed circuit board (PCB) production lines at the plant and added
250 jobs to the payroll. This second expansion plan adds another three
PCB production lines to the facility.

According to a spokesman for Compaq, the expansion is a direct result
of the continuing sales explosion that Compaq has experienced over the
last few years. "Compaq doubled its production of PCs in 1993 compared
to 1992, and customer demand requires rapid growth in 1994," he told
Newsbytes.

According to Compaq, all five of the new PCB production lines at
Erskine will be using the latest surface-mount technology (SMT). PCBs
are scheduled to begin rolling off the two lines announced in January
by the end of July, with all five PCB lines scheduled to be in
operation by the end of this year.

Announcing the extra investment plans, George Devlin, managing
director of Compaq Computer Manufacturing, said: "The growth in demand
for Compaq PCs continues to be very strong, requiring prompt response
to meet customer needs -- and to achieve our corporate goal of becoming
the No 1 PC supplier worldwide by 1996.

"With a growing number of Compaq manufacturing sites around the globe,
I'm pleased that Erskine has benefited from this investment," he
added.

Devlin said that "Locate in Scotland," the government's business
expansion agency for Scotland, has been working closely with Compaq on
the expansion project.

The Erskine facility is arguably one of the fastest expanding
facilities of its type in the European computer industry, Newsbytes
notes. To date, Compaq has invested around UKP 86 million since the
Erskine facility opened up in 1987.

Today, the facility employs more than 800 staff and sprawls over
540,000 square feet. The plant acts as the main supplier of computer
hardware to Compaq's European, African, and Middle Eastern markets.

(Steve Gold/19940520/Press Contact: Dave Currer, A-Plus Group for
Compaq Computer UK - Tel: [phone]; Public Contact: Compaq UK -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

British Telecom Profits Continue To Climb 05/20/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Despite high layoff charges and
massive capital investment programs, British Telecom has turned in
even higher profits for 1993 than for 1992. The telecoms giant has
immediately flown into a storm of protest from consumers who, a year
ago, were crying out for severe regulation on BT over its excessive
profits.

During 1993, BT generated profits of UKP 2,760 million on sales of
13,680 million, compared with profits of UKP 1,970 million on sales of
13,240 million. While sales rose 3.3 percent, profits soared by 40.1
percent, Newsbytes notes.

In its defense, BT claims that its profits were boosted by a fall in
layoff costs to UKP 517 million in 1993 from 1,030 million in 1992.
Senior BT staff say that a further 15,000 jobs will go this year will
which will eat into the profits for the current year.

BT has cut its workforce from 244,000 to 156,000 in the past four
years, a reduction of 36 percent. This year's planned reduction of
15,000 has an estimated cost of UKP 750 million attached to it, BT
claims.

The reason for the high cost of this year's round of layoffs,
according to Robert Brayce, BT's director, is that most of the staff
involved are senior managers and that, because of this, he hoped they
would go on a voluntary basis -- hence the high layoff costs, to
induce staff to leave voluntarily.

Industry watchers have decried BT Chairman Iain Vallance's performance
related bonus over the last year. According to the accounts, this
year, Vallance stands to make an extra UKP 185,000 over and above his
salary of UKP 465,000.

Vallance, meanwhile, said that BT will phase in per-second billing for
its customers at the end of this year, with all customers paying on
the new rate -- rather than at 4.2 pence units -- by this time next
year. "The full impact of these will not be felt until the coming
year, in which further significant price reductions will be made,"
Vallance said.

(Steve Gold/19940520/Press & Public Contact: British Telecom - Tel:
[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

Sweden - Ericsson Scores Chinese, Japanese Contracts 05/20/94
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- L M Ericsson has announced it
has secured a series of lucrative telecoms contracts with China and
Japan. The Chinese contract is to expand one of Shanghai's two
cellular phone networks, while the Japanese contract is for the
installation of Japan's second digital mobile network.

According to Ericsson, the Chinese contract is worth more than 200
million Swedish Crowns and calls for the delivery and installation of
extra analog cellular phone exchange hardware in the Shanghai area.
The equipment operates to the European ETACS (extended total access
communications system) standard, Newsbytes was told.

"The expansion will give the Chinese network a total capacity of more
than 50,000 subscribers. Two more expansion schemes are being
discussed at this time," a spokeswoman for Ericisson told Newsbytes.

Ericsson added, meanwhile, that the second digital network in Japan --
the Kansai network -- is now up and running, more than 60 days ahead
of schedule. Further expansion of Japan's second digital network,
which conforms to the global system for mobile (GSM) communications
international standard (known as personal digital communications --
PDC -- in Japan), is also planned.

The GSM digital mobile phone standard allows for users to move freely
between different networks that have roaming agreements, even on an
intercontinental basis. Calls will "follow" the user, while outbound
local calls can be made on a GSM network, just as if the user was a
subscriber to the local GSM service.

Financial details of the Kansai network deal have not been revealed
by Ericsson.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940520/Press & Public Contact: Ericsson
Telefonaktiebolgat LM - Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00015)

House Panel Rebufs Administration On Encryption 05/20/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- The House Foreign
Affairs Committee has dealt a sharp blow to the White House on
its plans for weak encryption through the use of the National
Security Agency's Clipper chip. The committee has voted to
reauthorize the Export Administration Act with provisions
proposed by Rep. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that allow software
publishers to export software with any kind of encryption
capabilities they choose.

Cantwell's amendment adds a new section to export act that
addresses computer hardware, software and technology for
information security. The new subsection has three major
provisions:

The Secretary of Commerce would have exclusive authority over
exports except those specifically designed for military use.
This takes the Defense Department out of the determination of
what can be exported. In the past, the Pentagon could block
exports of what it considered "dual use" technologies, which,
from time-to-time, has included personal computers, and software
such as dBASE, Paradox and several major spreadsheet programs.

The government would be barred from requiring an export
license for export of "generally available software," defined
to mean mass market commercial or public domain software. The
inclusion of public domain software would mean that there is no
problem using the several strong encryption algorithms
available on the Internet and elsewhere on bulletin board
systems.

The government would be required to grant export licenses for
software to commercial users in any country "to which exports
of such software has been approved for use by foreign financial
institutions." But Commerce would not be required to grant the
export license if there is "substantial evidence" that the
software will be diverted or modified for military or terrorist
use.

Business interests have been making a strong move to defeat the
administration's plan for weak encryption technology that the
government would be able to crack. "For no good reason, we're
dealing with real risk and real loss to our industry," Scott
McNealy, chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems, told
Fortune magazine recently. "Why would an international company
want the US government to be able to eavesdrop on them?"

The Clinton administration has been pushing the Clipper chip, a
hardware encryption device, as a defacto encryption standard.
Under the administration's proposal, the government would
continue stringent exports controls on encryption, with the
exception of Clipper technology. So, while use of the Clipper
chip would be voluntary, it would also be economic suicide to
avoid including Clipper technology, say software industry
officials.

But the government has insisted on Clipper. Says FBI Director
Louis Freeh, "Without this initiative, the government will
eventually become helpless to defend the nation from terrorism
and other threats...that can be interdicted...by lawful
electronic surveillance."

"It has been very frustrating, to put it mildly, to watch the
administration agree to the liberalization of exports on other
high-tech goods but remain recalcitrant in their position about
the export of generally available software," says Robert
Holleyman, president of the Business Software Alliance.
The Foreign Affairs Committee did not buy the administration
argument, and there doesn't seem to be much support for the
White House on this issue anywhere in Congress. "Overall, there
has been a very negative response to Clipper in Congress,"
BSA's Kim Willard told Newsbytes.

With the export act approved by the committee, it can now come
to the House floor for a vote. Willard said she expects floor
action in June.

In the Senate, a similar measure on exports and encryption has
been introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Murray is
likely to offer her measure as an amendment to the export act
when the Senate Banking Committee takes it up this summer.
The success of the Cantwell amendment is something of a coup
for the 36-year-old freshman, who represents the Seattle
"Sofware Sound" area of software companies, including
Microsoft. Few first-termers are successful in winning
amendments to major legislation.

But Cantwell has had friends in important places in the 103rd
Congress. She is a protege of House Speak Thomas Foley,
another Washington Democrat.

(Kennedy Maize/19940520/Contact: Kim Willard, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00016)

Baby Bells Bash Long-Distance Rates 05/20/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- The regional Bell
operating companies are crowing about a new Federal
Communications Commission report that indicates long-distance
prices have climbed nearly 10 percent in the past year. The
Bells are using the report in their lobbying campaign to win
access to the long-distance market.

"We have looked at the numbers and believe we can offer the
service at lower prices," Bill McCloskey, a lobbyist in Bell
South's Washington office, told Newsbytes. McCloskey also
points out to reporters that AT&T May 13 announced a four
percent hike in rates to some business users.

The FCC report, "Trends in Telephone Service," shows that
residential prices for interstate toll calls rose 9.6 percent
from March 1993 to March 1994, measured by the Consumer Price
Index. Long-distance prices went up 6.5 percent in 1993.
But the price hikes are recent. In the 10 years since the
consent decree that dismantled the AT&T empire, according to
the FCC figures, long-distance prices have fallen in seven
years, including more than 12 percent in 1987 and more than
nine percent in 1986.

The Baby Bells are trying to stymie the Senate rewrite of the
national telecommunication law, Sen. Ernest Hollings' S. 1822.
The bill would require the seven Bell companies to demonstrate
they have competition in their local markets before letting
them into the long distance markets.

The Competitive Long Distance Coalition, an ad hoc lobbying
group made up of the major long-distance carriers, is lobbying
for the Hollings bill. "The CLDC believes that the solution to
this issue is to require that there be competitive alternatives
to the Bell monopolies in local markets before the Bells are
allowed into the already competitive long distance market," Al
McGann, executive director of the CLDC, told Newsbytes.

The coalition is distributing a pamphlet titled, "Ten Years
Later, The Regional Bell Monopolies Are At It Again," which
argues that the Baby Bells are milking consumer to fund
unregulated businesses.

The long-distance carriers have support from consumer advocates
on the issue. "These funds have not been plowed back into the
telephone network," Mark Cooper, research director of the
Consumer Federation of America, told Newsbytes. "Capital
spending as a percentage of cash flow by the RBOCs has declined
from over 80 percent at the time of divestiture to around 65
percent today. Instead, massive resources have been diverted
out of the economy."

(Kennedy Maize/19940520/Contact: Bill McCloskey, Bell South,
tel [phone]; Al McGann, CLDC, tel [phone], fax
202-887-5027; Mark Cooper, CFA, 301-384-2204)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00017)

Canadian Computer Show Cancelled 05/20/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- What was for many
years Canada's principal computer show has been cancelled this
year. The Canadian Computer Show would have celebrated its 25th
anniversary this fall.

Ross Horton, manager of computer shows for Industrial Trade and
Consumer Shows (ITCS) in Toronto, told Newsbytes the computer
industry just was not showing enough interest in the
Toronto-based show this year, and ITCS decided it would be
"better to make the decision now."

ITCS runs seven regional computer shows in cities across Canada,
and plans to continue those, Horton said. He added that the
company hopes to return to the Toronto market in 1995 with a new
show, but has no detailed plans to discuss at the moment.

Horton blamed a weak economy and increased competition for the
show's demise. A major factor was undoubtedly the launch last
year of COMDEX/Canada, a spinoff of the mammoth event held each
fall in Las Vegas and each spring in Atlanta. The Interface
Group, the Needham, Mass., company that runs COMDEX, has already
announced that this year's COMDEX/Canada will take over
additional space in the Toronto SkyDome to handle the spillover
from the adjoining Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Interface has
also announced plans for regional COMDEX shows in Montreal and
Vancouver.

Last fall's edition of the Canadian Computer Show was smaller
than it had been in some years, with booths for about 250
exhibitors. Some speculated at the time that new competition
might kill it, though Horton told Newsbytes in an interview
during the show that "we're not going away."

(Grant Buckler/19940520/Press Contact: Ross Horton, Industrial
Trade and Consumer Shows, 416-252-7791, fax [phone])


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

****Computer Monitors Recalled Due To Fire Risk 05/20/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Dell Computer, in
conjunction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC),
says it is voluntarily recalling approximately 63,000 color
monitors due to the possibility of the units catching fire.

Dell told Newsbytes the recall applies only to the Model DL-1460NI
14-inch Super VGA color monitors. The display units were sold
direct by Dell and through Sam's Club, Costco, Price Club, and
CompUSA.

The CPSC says internal components in the monitors, which were
supplied by a Taiwanese manufacturer, can overheat and cause a fire.
So far 32 users have reported overheating and in 10 of
those instances the monitors have caught fire. Dell says no injuries
resulted and the fires did not spread beyond the monitor.

Dell spokesperson Roger Rydell told Newsbytes use of the word
"fire" might be an exaggeration. He described the situation as more
of a melting.

Users can determine the model of the monitor by checking the
identification plate located on the rear of the unit. The model
number is found in the upper left corner of the ID plate. Dell
stresses that only model DL-1460NI 14-inch units are suspect.

Newsbytes readers who have this monitor should immediately unplug
the monitor and contact Dell at 800-913-3355 between the hours of
9AM and 9PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday and 11AM to 3PM
Eastern Time on Saturday. The company will send packing materials
via overnight service. Airborne Express will pick up the monitors
for return to Dell.

As an alternative method users can contact Dell through its
computer bulletin board to arrange for repair. Rydell says
turnaround time for the repair is expected to be 3-5 working days.

Rydell declined to reveal the cost to Dell for the recall but said
"it is not going to be of material consequence." He said the repair
is a technically simple task for Dell technicians.

Newsbytes readers are cautioned not to use their monitor if is one
of the affected units.

Consumers can report any product they believe to be defective to
the CSPC by calling the organization's toll-free number. A TTD system for
hearing and speech impaired consumers is also available.

(Jim Mallory/19940520/Press contact: Roger Rydell, Dell Computer
Corporation, 512-728-4100; Reader contact: 800-913-3355 (to
arrange repair via phone or 512-728-8528 for repair via Dell's
bulletin board; CSPC 800-638-2772 (voice) or 800-638-8270 (TTD))


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00019)

Halifax To Join List Of Canadian Free-Nets 05/20/94
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA, 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Another
free-net -- a public-access network accessible using personal
computers and terminals -- is due to open in this east coast city
within the next month.

The Chebucto Free-Net is currently being tested and will open to
the public by June 21, said David Trueman, a member of its board
of directors.

Free-nets are like bulletin boards, but do not charge for access
and are non-profit operations supported largely by donations of
money and equipment. They are meant to provide access to
information. The first free-net opened in Cleveland in 1986.
Canada has free-nets in Victoria and Trail, British Columbia, and
in Ottawa. Several others are in the organizing stages.

The steering committee for the Halifax operation was set up last
September, Trueman told Newsbytes. Its board of directors
includes representatives from Dalhousie University, the Halifax
public library, the Nova Scotia government, and private business.

"Broadly speaking it's about local community development ... and
making community information available," Trueman said. "It's seen
as a logical extension of what libraries are all about."

The Chebucto Free-Net will provide online access to library
listings and information from government, schools, universities,
and professional organizations.

(Grant Buckler/19940520/Press Contact: Ellen Sherlock, Chebucto
Free-Net, 902-425-2061, Internet [e-mail])


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

Great Bear To Acquire MicroBase 05/20/94
MORAGA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Great Bear, a
software publisher and developer, continues its acquisition strategy
with a letter of intent to acquire MicroBase of Tempe, Arizona.

December 7, 1993, Newsbytes reported Great Bear's purchase of the
Sofia, Bulgaria firm, Logatronix. That purchase provided Great Bear
with a stable of Eastern European computer programmers to develop
new software in Great Bear's areas of entertainment and
health-related titles.

According to Great Bear, MicroBase will offer extensive retail
channel and sales expertise to the Great Bear family. John Lukrich,
vice president and CFO for Great Bear, told Newsbytes, "We expect
the paperwork for this acquisition to be finalized by the end of this
month and we are pleased to announce that Great Bear will retain the
location in Tempe and all of the existing employees as well. We share
a very similar strategy for the development, publishing, and sales of
interactive, multimedia titles. Our combined resources will increase
business opportunities and speed software development."

Great Bear has focused its products on the home market with
entertainment titles such as Sports Freekz with Gilbert Gottfried
and How to Be Perfect, as well as general titles such as the
All Music Guide, The New American Library of Quotes, Portraits
of American Presidents and the American Library Desk Reference
Set.

From its HealthSoft division, Great Bear markets Medical
Dictionary and Family Health Guide and the Complete Guide to
Prescription and Non-Prescription Drugs.

While the products have concentrated on Windows users, the firm
has not ruled out porting certain titles to the Mac.

The addition of MicroBase will add PlayBall, 401 Great Letters,
MicroSqueez and the environmental title, "green explorer" (the
company titles the product in lower case), to the Great Bear
line of products.

Typical of the speed of growth and aggressive acquisition
strategies of computer companies, Great Bear exemplifies this
trend by its relatively short history. It began in 1992 and
went public on June nineteenth, 1993. Newsbytes was told
that Great Bear is continuing its aggressive acquisition
strategy, but at this time there is no further comment on
possible negotiations.

(Patrick McKenna/19940520/Press Contact: Maria Amundson, A&R
Partners, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

Home Shopping Pioneers Merge 05/20/94
BETHESDA, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Shoppers Express
of Bethesda, Maryland, which offers phone-based and computer
based shopping services, is merging with ShopperVision of
Norcross, Georgia, which is working on an interactive shopping
system to debut on Time Warner's Full Service Network this fall.
The new company will be called ShopperVisionExpress, Inc.

Shoppers Express President Elan Blutinger will be chief
executive of the new company, and said in a press statement the
company now feels it can reach the mass market, "through
television technology that consumers will find fun and easy to
use while replicating the in-store shopping experience at a very
low cost." A spokesman said Shoppers Express, which is privately
held, expects 1994 revenues of about $50 million.

Shoppers Express was founded in 1987 and has a national network
of retailers that service more than 40 percent of the US
population. Among the markets offering their wares through
Shoppers Express are such leading supermarket and drugstore
retailers as Safeway, Kroger, Vons, Winn-Dixie, Eckerd Drug,
Hook-SupeRx, Arbor Drugs and Drug Emporium.

Kara Kernan, the company's vice president, marketing, told
Newsbytes that of even more importance are pending agreements
with CompuServe and America Online that will bring those
audiences within reach of its merchants.

"You can't pick up the newspaper without reading something about
interactive home shopping, but there's no content," she said.
"That's different with our company. We're in 456 percent of the
country now, and while we now offer just phone and fax
currently, we'll soon be on America Online, and then CompuServe,
and the Time Warner test."

The merger sees new competition coming from the Home Shopping
Network, QVC, and planned cable shopping channels put together by
US West and Macy's. "I do see us competing eventually with some
of the interactive home shopping channels -- eventually that's
where you'll see us. But we've also been getting into different
venues, like office supplies and pet supplies, and mass
merchants. We may be providing services for the home shopping
channels down the road. We're the only same day fulfillment
company in the US -- we provide services the same day."

Kernan also described how the company operates. First-time
customers have their credit cards checked by Litle, a transaction
processor in New Hampshire, before first orders are processed.
"When you first enter your order, we capture not only our
delivery time but your form of payment. We then run it through a
check to make sure it's not a bad credit card. If not we continue
your order. In our current system we don't have pricing -- with
ShopperVision's test in Time-Warner we will. We'll post an
estimated figure. When you sign for the order," on deliver, "it
goes back to us and we'll do the final processing of the credit
card. It's like a car rental transaction, or like a hotel."

The resulting transaction costs are slightly higher than for
regular merchants, "especially since we don't do the volumes a
supermarket does. But the retailer absorbs the credit card fee --
there's no margin in the transaction."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940520/Press Contact: ShopperVisionExpress,
Kara Kernan, 301/229-2700)


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

Telecom Mergers Still On Hold 05/20/94
TULSA, OKLAHOMA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- At the annual
meeting of The Williams Companies, President Joseph H. Williams
said no decision has been made regarding an offer to sell it
WilTel subsidiary to LDDS Communications, the nation's fourth
largest long distance company.

Since LDDS made its offer known on May 4, stock in Williams,
which also owns gas pipelines, has risen 13 percent in value,
despite the fact that WilTel represents just 39 percent of the
company's sales. LDDS is a major WilTel customer, which has grown
through acquisitions to reach sales of $1.3 billion last year,
with roughly 3 percent of the US long distance market. LDDS and
WilTel are currently negotiating new service contracts.

Billionaire John Kluge owns 20 percent of LDDS through a
complex merger among his Metromedia, Resurgens Communications,
LDDS and Advanced Telecommunications last year. But LDDS stock,
the currency in any merger, has been falling in price, resulting
in the cancellation of LDDS' plans to acquire ACC Corp. of
Washington last week.

If Williams is planning on just taking the LDDS offer, other
moves made at the annual meeting would contradict that intention.
The company approved a two-for-one stock split and took on two
new board members, former US West Chairman Jack MacAllister and
former FCC member Ervin S. Duggan,, now president of the Public
Broadcasting Service. Williams is said to be considering a number
of options, including continued ownership of WilTel, taking LDDS
up on its offer, an alliance with one or more partners, the spin-
off of WilTel, or the creation of targeted stock like the General
Motors' E shares used for EDS.

Speaking of EDS, no announcements have been made since it and
Sprint said Tuesday they were contemplating a merger. But
analysts are having a field day. EDS is said to be desperate to
escape the umbrella of General Motors. Sprint is said to be
anxious about new competition from LDDS and possible future
competition from regional Bell companies. Most analysts, however,
seem to think the combination makes sense, since it would give
Sprint the size needed to compete with MCI and AT&T, as well as a
systems integration niche.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940520/Press Contact: Jim Gipson, The Williams
Companies, 918-588-2111)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00023)

 ****WordPerfect Service Setting Industry Standard 05/20/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- The best way to
build a tech support program is to listen closely to what users
tell you, and then "delight" them with programs that meet their
needs, said Kim Cooper, VP of services for WordPerfect, in a
keynote talk at Systems Support Expo, a conference held this week
in Boston by the industry publication Service News.

In introducing the keynoter, Allison Harris, editor of Service
News, told the audience that WordPerfect has "changed support from
a `catch-as-catch-can' proposition in the software industry to a
right that you deserve, an `entitlement' for you."

WordPerfect has pioneered in the industry by recognizing that "when
you call up a company, you deserve to get an answer, and from a
qualified individual, not somebody who can spare five minutes away
from the development effort," she elaborated.

Although this orientation seems like a basic tenet in the support
industry today, that was not always the case, Harris explained.
"WordPerfect has raised the bar in support. Other software
companies have had to match that standard."

When Cooper stepped to the podium, he reported that WordPerfect's
tradition of listening to customers was launched by Alan Ashton,
the company's first CEO, and has continued through the years with
a series of new measures such as "disk jockeys on hold," a SWAT
team for cross-platform support, and two recently introduced
fee-based support options.

Now in the works, he added, is a WordPerfect support center in
Quebec that will provide tech support in Quebecois, the French
Canadian dialect.

The WordPerfect product as we know it today stems from a word
processing program Ashton wrote in the summer of 1979 for a Data
General Eclipse minicomputer owned by the city of Orem, Utah,
according to the VP. Several years ago, when Cooper was
WordPerfect's marketing director, he paid a surprise visit to the
city building where Ashton, then a professor at Brigham Young
University, had created the original word processor.

Cooper told the audience in Boston that, when chatting with city
workers in Orem, he found what they remembered best about that
historic summer was Ashton's "big smile," accessibility and
willingness to take their suggestions. In one instance, Ashton
stayed awake in the city building all night long just to add a word
processing feature a worker had requested. "You could see there was
a `perfect fit' between the person writing the software and the
people using it," Cooper noted.

Ashton "didn't have a lot of business experience. He didn't know
how to take out a business loan," Cooper acknowledged. "But I
really do believe one of the reasons we were ever put on the map
was because of (Ashton's) service experience...We were fortunate
 ...to have a CEO who was wired that way."

News of Ashton and his word processor spread by word of mouth, and
soon, other organizations with Eclipse minicomputers were asking if
they could license the program, he continued. Ashton requested and
received the licensing rights from the city of Orem, and founded a
company then known as SSI.

In the early years of SSI, company support centers sprang up at
several sites worldwide. During this period, staff arrived at ideas
about how to offer support, "the optimal size of a (support) team,"
and the best kinds of tools to use for support, the keynoter said.

Six years after its founding, the company broke the $100 million
sales mark. At the time, a New York Times reporter wrote, "SSI, a
small software company in obscure Orem, Utah, becomes a huge
success in an already overcrowded word processing market by
providing customers with toll-free technical support assistance.
Expect competitors to respond with similar technical support
programs."

A year or two later, Cooper added, WordPerfect decided to
consolidate all tech support staff at a new "super center" in Orem
that would "bring together all the efficiency pieces and customer
satisfaction pieces of what we'd learned."

Meanwhile, he said, Brigham Young University had built a large new
football stadium in Provo, Utah that was creating traffic
jam throughout the area. In response, a small local radio
station started an "Eye in the Sky" helicopter service that
presented reports on the local traffic picture, including
projections on how long it would take to travel down various
streets. The station's traffic updates were interspersed with
music.

Stuck in yet another traffic snarl one day, Cooper and his
co-workers decided to switch on the radio. The WordPerfect
employees noticed that knowing how long they would be delayed
helped them to relax, and started talking about how this concept
might be applied to tech support.

The "disc jockeys on hold" program that emerged is a "quasi radio
station" that combines "good, soft music" with periodic updates on
how long customers can expect to wait to have their calls answered.
Cooper explained that callers might hear these words: "If you're
waiting for Macintosh, three people are ahead of you, and there is
a minute-and-a-half wait."

The "hold jockeys" program has noticeably lessened callers' anxiety
and frustration at being placed on hold, so that WordPerfect
technicians no longer need to spend as much time "getting through
the emotions" of callers before dealing with technical problems,
according to Cooper.

The program has also drawn considerable media attention, first from
the computer press, and then from media outlets such as Newsweek,
the Los Angeles Times, the Toronto Star, and the British
Broadcasting Service (BBS).

WordPerfect had discontinued standard tours of its tech support
super center, since the stream of visitors was disruptive to the
point that tech support staff was beginning to feel like "zoo
animals," he said. But when requests started to come in from the
likes of Victoria's Secret and the winners of the Malcolm Baldridge
Awards, the company was intrigued enough to arrange a few special
tours.

WordPerfect's SWAT program for crossplatform support was launched
in the wake of the release of WordPerfect Office. It turned out
that many of WordPerfect's customer organizations did not have an
individual on board who was familiar enough with multiple platforms
to "hook up all the hardware, let alone the operating systems and
the applications," according to Cooper.

WordPerfect first dealt with this situation by dispatching some of
its technicians to client sites, he said. But then the company
determined it would be more efficient to provide most of the
crossplatform support by phone, sending staff on the road only as
needed.

WordPerfect then mounted an "intensive" three- to four-month effort
to recruit specialists in crossplatform support on a nationwide
basis, and train them to be part of its new SWAT team.

WordPerfect's new "fee for service" program adds two new levels of
support to the vendor's traditional toll-free tech support,
according to Cooper. The new Priority Service promises access to
second-line technicians. The new Premium Service provides three
levels of support -- Platinum, Silver, and Gold -- that are
targeted at the needs of organizations of various sizes.

Cooper told the audience that he conceived the idea of offering
specialized support to organizations after receiving some criticism
of WordPerfect's tech support at another conference for tech
support experts.

After that earlier conference, Cooper called some of the conference
attendees for more input on the kinds of improvements they would
like to see. The Premium Service program that resulted was then
extensively beta tested, with conference attendees among the test
participants. "WordPerfect had beta tested products before, but
this was the first time we had ever beta tested a service program,"
he noted.

The Priority Service emerged during a major "spike" in demand that
followed the release of WordPerfect 6.0 last year, he added.
Overnight, the number of daily tech support calls received
skyrocketed from 6,500 to 65,000. Priority Service was created as
an alternative to waiting on hold.

"People were saying to us, `We know what you're going through, but
frankly I can't afford to take a chance on when I get assistance,
and I'm willing to pay,'" the VP explained. WordPerfect came to
recognize that, due to growing segmentation within the industry, a
"one-size-fits-all" approach to tech support was no longer enough,
he maintained.

WordPerfect is now establishing a supplemental tech support center
in Quebec, he added. The need to better support French Canadian
users was one of the reasons for the choice of location. Most of
the French-speaking technicians in Orem have been schooled in
Parisian French, while most of the French-speaking callers are from
Quebec, according to Cooper.

In an interview with Newsbytes at the close of his talk, the VP
noted that WordPerfect has also introduced an online interactive
support service called SpaceWorks, and a fax retrieval service
known as InfoShare.

SpaceWorks allows dial-in users to access and search the same
informational database used by WordPerfect technicians, ask
questions about WordPerfect products, and download files like
drivers, demos, and utilities.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940520/Press Contacts: Lyle Ball, WordPerfect,
801-228-5060; United Publications, 207-846-0600)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00024)

Quantum #1 In Hard Disk Drives, Rough Competition Ahead 05/20/94
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- Quantum
has gone from the number three spot in the realm of hard disk
drive shipments, to number one, according to market research firm
Dataquest. But 1994 will be a fight for survival for all the top
manufacturers, despite increased demand, due to the highly
competitive nature of this sector, the market research firm said.

The top six manufacturers hold 89 percent of the market
worldwide. Those top six companies in 1993 were Quantum with 20.1
percent, Seagate with 19.9 percent, Conner Peripherals with 18.7,
IBM with 10.6 percent, Western Digital at 10.0 percent, and
Maxtor with 9.7 percent.

Phil Devin, vice president and chief analyst of storage
technologies for Dataquest, said: "The disk drive industry is
entering into a period of partnership and consolidation because
of a rapid increase in competition brought on by fast recording
density gains, short product life cycles, and continuing price
reductions."

Last year, price competition brought hard disk storage prices
down to less than a dollar a megabyte. Devin asserts that
increasing competition will narrow the field even further and
disk drive makers with strong cash positions and those who own
considerable intellectual property will have the advantage.

Last year was a tough one for this market segment. Several
manufacturers reported higher revenues, but lower earnings or
even losses. Quantum said its 1993 revenues were up 26 percent to
$2.1 billion but showed only 2.6 million in earnings. Conner,
IBM, Maxtor, and Western Digital all reported losses for their
1993 fiscal years. Conner also dropped from its number one spot
in shipments for 1992 to number three. Dataquest said despite the
consistent growth in units, disk drive revenue dropped from $19.0
billion in 1992 to $18.1 billion in 1993 as a result of large
price reductions.

The market for disk drives will continue to grow, however. Unit
shipments in 1994 are expected to jump 16.5 percent, according to
the market research firm.

Partnership is already beginning. Seagate announced a cross-
licensing deal with Toshiba that allows each company to use a
number of magnetic mass storage technologies covered by the
patent of the other. Seagate has also consistently held its
second place market ranking, according to Dataquest.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940520/Press Contact: Paul Wheaton, Dataquest,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

GTE Selling World Class Network 05/20/94
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- While the regional
Bells announce information highway upgrades, GTE is rolling out
the big marketing guns, pushing existing improvements under the
tag-line World Class Network.

GTE units in Florida and elsewhere are touting telecommuting,
teleconferencing, and remote medicine applications, many of them
using integrated services digital network, or ISDN, circuits. To
install ISDN, all phone companies need to do is load new software
on existing digital switches. Once that's done, customers can be
offered two 64,000 bit/second digital channels, and a 16,000
bit/second signaling channel, which can be used for voice, fax,
or data traffic as they see fit.

GTE spokesman Barbara Walker said the company is currently
investing $3 billion per year in its network, with over 60 fiber
rings under the Synchronous Optical Network, or SONET standard
already installed, and ISDN available more generally. But she
acknowledged that the World Class Network idea is mainly a
marketing theme for existing improvements, not an upgrade on the
scale of Bell Atlantic, US West, or Pacific Telesis, which are
turning their systems into something resembling cable television
systems, with fiber rings linked to coaxial cable.

"What we're doing is re-packaging some services, and have folks
understand they're not futuristic. There's a misunderstanding of
what's available and what's not. We sell desktop
videoconferencing services today," for instance, something many
customers don't realize. "The prices have also come down. Our
desktop videoconferencing product is over an ISDN line, which we
have in many states, and you can buy the whole system, including
the computer, for under $5,000."

Still, she added, "World Class Network is an umbrella for our
strategy aimed at business customers. We want them to be aware of
our services, and know we don't provide a cookie-cutter
approach."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940520/Press Contact: Barbara Walker, GTE,
214-718-6917)


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

FCC At Full Strength 05/20/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- For the first time
in two years the Federal Communications Commission is at full-
strength with five members.

The final two open seats on the five-member panel were filled
late on May 19 when Senators approved, by unanimous consent, the
nominations of Rachelle Chong and Susan Ness to join James
Quello, Andrew Bartlett, and Chairman Reed Hundt on the regulatory
board overseeing the information highway.

Chong, a Republican, was supported by Republican leader Robert
Dole of Kansas. Ness, a Democrat, had worked on the Clinton
campaign. Both will immediately face a host of controversial
issues.

On the day the two were confirmed, the other three commissioners
were going through some of them. The FCC adopted rules requiring
the regional Bells and GTE to let smaller competitors like MFS
and Teleport offer "tandem switching services," which could lower
access charges for the local end of long distance calls. The
Bells will argue that this should mean higher local rates, but
that's a battle that will take place before state regulatory
bodies.

The FCC will also have to face the task of creating rules for the
information highway based on the 1934 Communications Act, as
bills in Congress to re-write that act seem doomed in the face of
Bell opposition. The first hint of what's to come came in a
petition from the National Cable Television Association asking
for a probe of Bell Atlantic's upgrade plan, which they claim is
in violation of FCC procedures. The irony here is that the NCTA
is now in federal court charging the FCC's attempt to reregulate
its members rates violates the Constitution.

Finally, the FCC chose to hear more comment on a proposal
designed to let callers take billing through their preferred
long distance carriers on pay-phone or collect calls. That would
require a new routing system for long distance calls, which the
companies are reluctant to implement.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940520/Press Contact: FCC Press Office, 202-
632-5050)


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

America Online Prepares For Cable Show 05/20/94
VIENNA, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- In preparation for
its appearance at the National Cable Television Association show
in New Orleans, America Online made a number of announcements
regarding its work with cable.

AOL said it signed agreements to create special sections for a
number of additional cable networks, including Bravo, Cinemax,
Comedy Central, The Discovery Channel, HBO, and The Learning
Channel, which will include interactive bulletin boards,
discussions with producers and guests and show schedules. These
are in addition to existing areas for C-SPAN, CNN, Cartoon
Network, Court TV, the Sci-Fi Channel and the NBC television
network, and the coming launch of a section for the LifeTime
cable net. The service also has TV listings through its alliance
with the Tribune Company, and an agreement with Journal Graphics
to provide transcripts of popular interview shows.

For operators, America Online signed agreements with TCI, making
it the online service of choice for use in that company's teacher
training center in Colorado. That service delivers America Online
through Zenith cable modems at speeds of one million bits/second.

America Online is also working with General Instrument and Intel,
and is part of upcoming advanced cable trials sponsored by Viacom
and Comcast. The company will also boast of its pending merger
with Redgate Communications, which offers satellite and other
services, at the show. Said President Steve Case in a press
statement, "Our goal is to be a leader in developing services for
the broadband marketplace." At its NCTA booth, America Online
will provide demonstrations of these cable modem services.

Finally, America Online announced it now has 800,000 subscribers,
continuing its rapid growth. The subscriber count has tripled in
the last year, and Case expects to pass the one million subscriber
mark this summer. Spokesman Pam McGraw emphasized to Newsbytes
that the service is conservative in how it counts subscribers.
"We count someone as a subscriber as someone who's signed-on and
has a subscription to America Online," and takes users off when
they close their subscriptions.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940520/Press Contact: Pam McGraw, America
Online, 703-556-3746)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00028)

Company Results Roundup 05/20/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- This is
a regular feature summarizing company results not covered
elsewhere by Newsbytes: MicroAge Inc., Datametrics Corp.,
Superconductor Technology Inc., Photronics Inc., Telebit Corp.,
Credence Systems Corp., Datron Systems Inc., Interphase Corp.

While MicroAge recorded record net income for its second
quarter, computer peripherals maker Datametrics reported an
increase in revenue for the quarter and a small loss for the
six month period. Superconductor Technology posted a small
loss for its quarter, while Photronics posted increased sales
and income. Telebit says its order rate has slowed, while
Credence reported record results for its second quarter.
Datron posted revenues for 1994, against a loss for 1993,
and Interphase managed a small income for the quarter,
although a loss for the six months period.

MicroAge Inc., (602-929-2414 ), reported record net income of
$5.2 million for the second quarter ended May 1, 1994, up 145
percent from the second quarter of 1993, on a 45 percent revenue
increase to $530 million. Second quarter 1994 earnings per share
were 41 cents, an increase of 78 percent over the 23 cents
reported for the like quarter last year, representing MicroAge's
30th consecutive profitable quarter. Net income totaled $9.7
million on revenue of $1 billion for the first six months of
fiscal 1994. Net income and revenue increased 151 percent and 44
percent, respectively, when compared to prior year results of
$3.9 million and $693 million. Revenue increased 45 percent to
$530 million compared to $365 million for the second quarter of
fiscal 1993. Revenue growth during the quarter was primarily
driven by increased sales to large accounts, sales to new
resellers and same location sales growth.

Datametrics Corp., (818-341-2901), a producer of computer
peripherals and communications products, announced results for
the second fiscal quarter and six-month period ended May 1, 1994.
Revenues for the quarter increased approximately 25 percent, to
$6.7 million, compared with $5.4 million during the second
quarter of fiscal 1993. Net income for the second quarter was
$29,000, compared with net income of $175,000 for the same
period in fiscal 1993. For the six-month period, revenues rose
15 percent to $12.4 million, from $10.7 million for the first
six months of fiscal 1993. Net loss for the period was $213,000,
versus net income of $1.4 million, for the comparable period.

Superconductor Technology Inc., (805-683-7646), announced
sales revenues of $1,401,000 for the first quarter that ended
April 2, 1994; as compared to $1,460,000 of sales and sub-licensing
revenue in the same period of 1993. The loss for the first quarter
of 1994 was $387,000 or 7 cents per share, compared with a 1993
first quarter net loss of $207,000 or 6 cents per share.
Superconductor Technologies is a commercial supplier of high-
temperature superconductor (HTS) products for the medical imaging,
telecommunications, high-speed computing, and aerospace
electronics markets.

Photronics Inc., (203-775-9000), a major independent photomask
supplier, reported its fiscal second-quarter sales and net income.
For the three months ended April 30, 1994, sales were $18,641,477,
as compared with $10,643,653 for the same period last year. Net
income for the quarter was $2,110,634, or 32 cents per share,
compared with $1,022,008, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.
Sales of $37,498,633 were reported for the six months ended April
30, 1994, as compared with $21,922,860 for the same period last
year. Six-month net income for 1994 was $4,385,089, or 66 cents
per share, compared with $2,097,466, or 38 cents per share, in
1993.

Telebit Corp., (508-441-2181 ) says that, although it has
experienced a slower order rate, it expects to be profitable for
the quarter ending July 2, 1994. As a result of the company's
slower order rate, the company expects that its book to bill
ratio for the current quarter will be less than one. The
company's balance sheet remains materially unchanged from the
April 2, 1994 position, at which point in time it had in excess
of $15 million of cash and cash equivalents. Telebit designs,
manufactures and markets a family of LAN (local area network)
and host access products

Credence Systems Corp., (510-657-7400), reported record
results for its second quarter ended April 30, 1994 with net
sales of $24.7 million, a 43% increase over the $17.2 million
for the comparable quarter of fiscal 1993. Net income for the
second quarter rose 423% to $3.8 million compared to $0.7
million for the comparable period last year. Earnings per share
were 33 cents per share, up from 8 cents per share for the prior
year's second quarter. For the six-month period ended April 30,
1994, net sales were $47.4 million, compared to $33.8 million
for the like period a year ago, a 40% increase. Net income for
the six-month period rose 413% to $7.1 million (62 cents per
share), compared to $1.4 million (16 cents per share) for the
prior period. Credence is a manufacturer of automatic test
equipment for the semiconductor industry

Datron Systems Inc., (619-747-3734), a provider of products
and services addressing the needs of radio and satellite
communication markets, announced results for the fourth
quarter and 1994 fiscal year ended March 31, 1994. Net income
for the year was $5,251,000 or $2.10 per share, compared with
a net loss of $8,367,000 or $3.32 per share for the prior
fiscal year. Fiscal 1994 revenues were $65,636,000, a 21
percent increase from fiscal year 1993 revenues of $54,104,000.

Interphase Corp., (214-919-9000), announced net income of
$219,000, or 5 cents per share for the quarter ended April 30,
1994. The second quarter earnings were an improvement over
both the net loss of $1,495,000, or 33 cents per share for the
first quarter of fiscal 1994, as well as the net profit of
$45,000, or 1 cent per share reported for the second quarter
of fiscal 1993. The company's net loss for the six months
ended April 30, 1994, was $1,276,000, or 29 cents per share,
which included a $1,148,000 pretax provision for strategic
realignment reported in the first quarter. Net income for
the first six months of fiscal 1993 was $351,000, or 8 cents
per share. The company reported revenues of $9,735,000 for
the second quarter ended April 30, 1994, as compared with
$9,295,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 1994. However,
reported revenues were less than the $10,928,000 reported for
the second quarter of fiscal 1993. Revenues for the six months
ended April 30, 1994, were $19,030,000, as compared with
$22,044,000 reported for the same period last year. Interphase
is a major supplier of FDDI (fiber distributed data interface)
workstation network interface cards.

(Ian Stokell/19940520)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)

Personnel Changes Roundup 05/20/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- This is a
regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered
elsewhere in Newsbytes: Unisys Corp., The Software Toolworks Inc.,
Eastman Kodak Co., the Information Industry Association, Wyle
Laboratories, Checkmate Electronics Inc., Photonics Corp., Bell
Microproducts, Ericsson, and Books That Work. Computing pioneer
Thomas D. Rowan Jr., as died of cancer.

Unisys Corporation, (215-986-6948) has named Alan G. Lutz as
president of its Computer Systems Group. In this position, Lutz is
responsible for all aspects of Unisys commercial product operations
including design, manufacturing, product marketing and OEM (original
equipment manufacturing) channel sales. He replaces Hugh Lynch who
has announced his retirement effective June 1, 1994. Between 1991
and 1993, Lutz was president of Switching Networks, Northern
Telecom's largest product group, and earlier was president of Public
Networks. Between 1987 and 1991, Lutz concentrated on Northern
Telecom's Integrated Network Systems, a US development,
manufacturing and service operation that included six factories
and two laboratories. His earlier assignments were in NT's Federal
Systems, DMS 100 Division, Station Apparatus and Terminal
Products units.

The Software Toolworks Inc., (415-883-3000), a publisher of
education, edutainment and multimedia software, announced the
promotion of James D. Fisher to the post of senior vice president
Entertainment. Fisher was Toolworks' vice president of marketing.
At the same time, Toolworks announced Joan Ziegler has joined
the company as senior vice president, multimedia and edutainment.
Prior to the Toolworks, Ziegler was senior vice president for Hi
Tech Expressions, active in all aspects of management from
public relations to product acquisition to marketing and sales.
Ziegler and Fisher will have direct profit and loss responsibility
for their respective business units. Fisher will run the entertainment
business unit, while Ziegler runs the multimedia software operation.
Both positions report to David Grenewetzki, executive vice president
product development.

Eastman Kodak Company (716-724-4513) has appointed Michael P.
Benard director, communications and public affairs and vice
president. Benard had been acting director of communications and
public affairs since September when David J. Metz, senior vice
president and director of communications and public affairs, retired
after a 30-year career with Kodak. Previously, Benard had been
director of corporate communications. In his new post, Benard has
overall responsibility for internal and external communications,
government affairs, corporate identity, product publicity, media
relations, community relations and contributions. Benard joined
Kodak in 1986 as a senior speechwriter, and subsequently held
several management positions.

Albert Shuldiner joined the Information Industry Association
(202-626-1149) as assistant general counsel. He will assume
primary responsibility for telecommunications issues affecting
IIA's membership base. In his role, Shuldiner will help develop and
represent positions for the 26-year-old association before federal
agencies, in Congress and in the courts. He will also provide legal
advice to the association on intellectual property, contractual,
antitrust and tax matters. Before joining IIA, Shuldiner represented
telecommunications and media companies as an attorney in the
Washington office of Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle.

Joseph A. Adamczyk, 50, has been elected executive vice president
of Wyle Laboratories (213-626-4524). Adamczyk retains his post
as president of the Electronics Marketing Group and continues to
report to Ralph L. Ozorkiewicz, president and chief operating officer.

Checkmate Electronics Inc. (404-594-6000), announced that
Raymond J. Homa, director, president and chief executive officer,
died in a plane accident this week. Also killed in the accident was
Richard W. Harding, Jr., vice president - Engineering at Checkmate
Electronics. Homa, 55, joined Checkmate as president and chief
executive officer in February 1990 after serving as a consultant
to the company during the previous year. Harding, 46, joined
Checkmate as director of engineering in 1989 and became vice
president of engineering in 1990.

Computing pioneer, Thomas D. Rowan Jr., died of cancer at his
home in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the age of 73. Rowan worked at
Engineering Research Associates of St. Paul, in a team that
included the founder of Control Data and the founder of Cray
Research. He specialized in working with vacuum tubes as well
as problems associated with data storage, before the days of
microchips. He attended Catholic University in Washington, DC,
under the GI Bill, graduating in 1950 with a degree in electrical
engineering. He received a Master of Science degree in
industrial management from MIT in 1961. He is survived by his
wife and five children, and 13 grandchildren.

Photonics Corp., (415-962-9550), involved in wireless
connectivity products, announced the appointment of Scott
T. Schnell as vice president of marketing. In his new position,
Schnell is responsible for strategic marketing, product
positioning and public relations for the company. Schnell
recently served as director of sales for the AppleSoft Products
Group at Apple Computer, where he managed worldwide demand
creation and distribution for Apple's system software and
retail software products. Prior to that, he started Apple's
Software Dispatch electronic software distribution business,
and served for five years as director of evangelism and
developer events, where he was responsible for marketing Apple
technology to developers worldwide. Schnell earned a bachelor
of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University
of Utah, and holds a master of business administration degree
from Harvard University's Graduate School of Business.

Bell Microproducts, (408-451-9400), announced the
appointment of Richard E. Hoff to the position of vice
president and general manager of the company's Manufacturing
Division. Hoff will be responsible for the Division's
manufacturing and operations functions and will report
directly to W. Donald Bell, president and CEO of Bell
Microproducts Inc. Bell Microproducts Manufacturing Division
provides turnkey contract manufacturing of printed circuit
board assemblies. Hoff was formerly vice president of
manufacturing for Tanon Manufacturing Co., where he was
responsible for contract PC board assembly, process
engineering and materials management. He has also held
senior management positions with Western Microtechnology,
ELXSI, and Intersil.

International telecommunications company, Ericsson,
(212-685-4030), announced organizational changes in its
US operations, with Bo Hedfors assuming overall responsibility
for all Ericsson activities in the US. Hedfors, currently
president of Ericsson Network Systems Inc., will take on the
additional role of president of Ericsson GE Mobile
Communications Inc., succeeding Ronny Lejdemalm. Hedfors
was also appointed president of Ericsson North America Inc.,
which will be restructured by merging EXU and the subsidiary
units into one organization. Meanwhile, Leif Kallen, currently
president of Ericsson North America Inc., has been appointed
chairman of The Ericsson Corporation. Joseph Hagan, vice
president of Ericsson GE Mobile Communications Inc., has been
given the additional responsibility of general manager of the
Ericsson facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
George Fath, in addition to his current position as vice
president of Ericsson Ge Mobile Communications Inc., will now
also assume the role of general manager of the Ericsson
facility in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Books That Work, a developer and publisher of interactive
software devoted to the home how-to market, (800-242-4546),
announced that it has added Eric J. Levin, Robert Citelli and
Kim Bergeron to its management team. The new members will fill
the newly created roles of chief financial officer, vice
president of sales and director of marketing. Prior to joining
Books That Work, Levin was an independent corporate finance
consultant, providing capital raising and contract CFO
services to high tech and specialty retailing companies in
Boston and the Bay Area. Prior to that, he was a vice president
at Ingoldsby, O'Connor and Co., a Boston merchant bank and
turnaround firm. Citelli joins the company in the newly created
position of vice president of sales. Prior to joining Books
That Work, he was vice president of sales and channel
marketing for MySoftware Company. Bergeron was previously vice
president of european operations for software developer Fifth
Generation Systems Inc.

(Ian Stokell/19940520)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00030)

Networking Roundup 05/20/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- This is
a regular feature, summarizing networking news not covered
elsewhere by Newsbytes: AT&T Global Information Systems, Wyse
Technology Inc., Bull, Banyan Systems, Wellfleet Communications
Inc., and Ross Systems Inc.

AT&T Global Information Systems, (513-445-5236), formerly NCR
Corp., announced the availability of AT&T's StarGROUP LAN Manager
bundled with Novell's UnixWare 1.1. StarGROUP LAN Manager, the AT&T
Global Information Solutions implementation of LAN Manager for Unix
Systems, offers UnixWare support to provide open systems software
capabilities for customers with an embedded base of Intel servers
from a range of vendors. The company says that the combination
provides a migration path for customers who need an open systems PC
networking "solution" that interoperates "seamlessly" with mini and
mainframe resources over TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/
Internet Protocol). With StarGROUP and UnixWare, LAN Manager and
NetWare clients can share a TCP/IP database while the same server
provides file, print and communications services to LAN Manager
clients. StarGROUP LAN Manager bundled with Novell's UnixWare 1.1
includes the English language tape media version of both StarGROUP
and UnixWare Application Server 1.1 products. The introductory
pricing for the 5-user product bundle is $795 and the unlimited-user
version is priced at $7,995.

Terminal manufacturer, Wyse Technology Inc., (408-473-2015),
announced the addition of four models to its WYSEnet family of
terminal servers. The new models, based on the use of twisted-pair
wiring in an Ethernet network, offer options for connecting serial
devices such as terminals, printers, modems and personal computers
to an Ethernet network. The WYSEnet line is based on the Ethernet
Thinnet cabling media. They also support the "point-to-point" (PPP)
networking protocol, an alternative to Serial Line Internet Protocol
(SLIP) that communicates IP packets over a serial line as well as
Maintenance Operation Protocol (MOP) Remote Console. The WYSEnet
terminal server is available in four- and eight-port versions for
both Unix and DEC VAX environments. The TCP/IP version is available
for Unix environments, while the multiprotocol version supports both
TCP/IP and Local Area Transport (LAT) for DEC VMS systems. WYSEnet
also features a Turbo Session Support Utility mode that allows both
Unix and DEC VMS hosts to be displayed simultaneously on WY-520 or
compatible terminals for increased flexibility. Pricing for the
new WN-5204 with four-ports supporting TCP/IP is $890; for the
WN-5208 with eight-ports supporting TCP/IP is $1,090; for the WN-5304
with four-ports supporting both TCP/IP & LAT is $990; and the
WN-5308 with eight-ports supporting both TCP/IP & LAT is $1,290.

Bull, (508-294-6602), announced a new generation of
large and mid-sized Bull DPS 7000 enterprise servers based on
an "innovative" parallel multiserver architecture. The new
platforms, which the company claims significantly reduce the
cost of mainframe operation, include the high-end Bull DPS
7000/800 Series and the mid-range Bull DPS 7000/4x5 Series.
They were introduced together with new peripherals and software
enhancements for client/server applications. The new Bull DPS
7000/800 Series can simultaneously handle up to 7,000 users
in a transaction-processing environment, and is intended for
large to very large organizations. The series includes six
models that range from compact multi-processor versions to
large, redundant-configuration versions, priced from about
$1 million to $4.4 million. The new Bull DPS 7000/4x5 Series,
comprises seven models, and can simultaneously handle up to
1,000 users, which range in price from approximately $175,000,
for an entry-level model supporting 160 users, to $875,000.

Banyan Systems, (508-898-1000), announced that the company
has established a university strategic partnership with the
University of Michigan, with the goal of promoting the sharing
of information and technology to further customer satisfaction
in the area of enterprise wide networking. Under terms of the
deal, Banyan will provide the University of Michigan with
both free and discounted products, support, training, and
access to future Banyan developments. In exchange, the
University will support and promote the use of Banyan products
throughout its organization, and will "explore opportunities
with Banyan for mutual development in new and emerging
technical areas."

Meanwhile, Wellfleet Communications Inc., (508-436-3655),
and Racal-Datacom Inc., (305-846-5609), signed a
worldwide reseller agreement designed to give both companies a
larger share of the growing world router market estimated at
$1.7 billion in 1993 by International Data Corp. (IDC).
Racal has added the complete Wellfleet multiprotocol router
product line to its existing portfolio of internetworking
products for sale on a worldwide basis. The reseller agreement
links Wellfleet's router technology with Racal's position in
digital network access at remote branch offices for such
vertical markets as banking, insurance, and financial industry
firms. Under the agreement, Racal's sales and customer support
groups have begun training and certification for the sale of
Wellfleet's line of multiprotocol routers

Ross Systems Inc. (404-851-1872) says it is now delivering
client/server versions of its Renaissance PROMIX, a suite of
manufacturing applications designed for process manufacturers.
The Renaissance PROMIX suite includes Process Planning, Process
Manufacturing, Process Costing, Inventory Control, Warehouse
Management, Purchase Order Processing, Sales Order Processing,
Sales Analysis, Accounts Receivable, Sales Forecasting and
Distribution Resource Planning. Ross Systems used GEMBASE, the
company's open application development environment, to develop
the PROMIX, part of the company's Renaissance CS product line.
According to the company, GEMBASE is an ideal client/server
application development tool because it builds commercial-strength
applications that are database-independent. In addition, Ross says
its client/server application suites operate in mixed environments,
which combine computers with Windows 3.x, X-Window terminals and
character cell terminals. Pricing for the Renaissance CS product
line varies according to a number of site-specific parameters.
However, application prices generally range from $35,000 to
$50,000 per module. User-based pricing is also available.

(Ian Stokell/19940520)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 05/20/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 20 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Compton's Encyclopedia In Chinese Translation 05/20/94 One of
the most successful multimedia compact discs (CD) ever sold,
Compton's Encyclopedia is about to be translated into Chinese as a
text edition with plans to develop a CD for distribution in mainland
China within three to four years.

2 -> CompuServe Offers Newton Developers' Forum 05/20/94 From its
Developers Conference, Apple admitted the success of its personal
digital assistant (PDA), the Newton, is not what the company had
hoped for, but it intends to stand by its investment and continue to
develop and support research, applications, and third party
developers.

3 -> Systems Support Expo - Microsoft Drivers On CD 05/20/94 At
Systems Support Expo in Boston, Microsoft has unveiled a CD-ROM
(compact disc - read only memory) that includes drivers for the
entire line of Microsoft software products, code samples, articles,
and utilities, along with the latest patches for Windows NT.

4 -> Rockwell Portable MicroTracker GPS Receiver 05/20/94 Rockwell
has reduced the height of its NavCore MicroTracker global
positioning system (GPS) engine by 30 percent. This is good news for
marine, aviation, automatic vehicle location (AVL), personal
computer and industrial applications designers.

5 -> Asia Personnel Roundup 05/20/94 COL Ltd, Hong Kong's leading
computer services company, has appointed Hong Kong information
technology industry veteran Eila Chin as director of the company's
Dun & Bradstreet Software business unit. Hammond Ho has also joined
the company. And Digital Equipment Corporation has announced the
appointment of Norris L. Hickerson, a specialist in infrastructure
development, as its first country manager for Vietnam.

6 -> Directory Assistance On CD 05/20/94 From a small  home office
to a large corporate concern, monthly charges for directory
assistance calls accumulate quickly and may  account for an unwanted
monthly surprise. Enter a CD with directory information, designed to
replace your calls to directory assistance.

7 -> Australia - Payphone Cost Rise 05/20/94 Public payphone calls
in Australia are to rise by a third in September. This is the  first
rise in eight years. The calls will go to AUS40c from the  present
30C (around US30c from 22c).

8 -> Sega Attacks Grey Market Software In Australia 05/20/94
Australian computer games  distributor Sega Ozisoft is taking action
against alleged  non-approved importers of Sega software.

9 -> Motorola, Microsoft Wordperfect Execs Address COMDEX 05/20/94
The top bosses at Microsoft, Motorola, and Wordperfect will be the
featured  speakers at this year's combined COMDEX/Spring and Windows
World trade show in Atlanta.

10 -> Individual Software Intros Career Planning For Mac 05/20/94
Apple Computer Macintosh users looking for career help bundled into
resume-maker software are the targets of Individual Software's
ResumeMaker for Macintosh with Career Planning.

11 -> Portugal Gets Plastic Card Fever 05/20/94 Credit cards have
never taken off in Europe to the extent they are acceptable in the
US. This may be due to the availability of Eurocheques, a guaranteed
checking account system that operates on a multi-currency,
multi-country basis.

12 -> Compaq Expands Scottish Plant - 300 New Jobs 05/20/94 Compaq
has announced plans to invest another UKP 10 million in its European
manufacturing facility in Erskine, Scotland. The expansion will
bring another 300 jobs to the already bustling factory.

13 -> British Telecom Profits Continue To Climb 05/20/94 Despite
high layoff charges and massive capital investment programs, British
Telecom has turned in even higher profits for 1993 than for 1992.
The telecoms giant has immediately flown into a storm of protest
from consumers who, a year ago, were crying out for severe
regulation on BT over its excessive profits.

14 -> Sweden - Ericsson Scores Chinese, Japanese Contracts 05/20/94
L M Ericsson has announced it has secured a series of lucrative
telecoms contracts with China and Japan. The Chinese contract is to
expand one of Shanghai's two cellular phone networks, while the
Japanese contract is for the installation of Japan's second digital
mobile network.

15 -> House Panel Rebufs Administration On Encryption 05/20/94 The
House Foreign Affairs Committee has dealt a sharp blow to the White
House on its plans for weak encryption through the use of the
National Security Agency's Clipper chip. The committee has voted to
reauthorize the Export Administration Act with provisions proposed
by Rep. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that allow software publishers to
export software with any kind of encryption capabilities they
choose.

16 -> Baby Bells Bash Long-Distance Rates 05/20/94 The regional Bell
operating companies are crowing about a new Federal Communications
Commission report that indicates long-distance prices have climbed
nearly 10 percent in the past year. The Bells are using the report
in their lobbying campaign to win access to the long-distance
market.

17 -> Canadian Computer Show Cancelled 05/20/94 What was for many
years Canada's principal computer show has been cancelled this year.
The Canadian Computer Show would have celebrated its 25th
anniversary this fall.

18 -> ****Computer Monitors Recalled Due To Fire Risk 05/20/94 Dell
Computer, in conjunction with the US Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC), says it is voluntarily recalling approximately
63,000 color monitors due to the possibility of the units catching
fire.

19 -> Halifax To Join List Of Canadian Free-Nets 05/20/94 Another
free-net -- a public-access network accessible using personal
computers and terminals -- is due to open in this east coast city
within the next month.

20 -> Great Bear To Acquire MicroBase 05/20/94 Great Bear, a
software publisher and developer, continues its acquisition strategy
with a letter of intent to acquire MicroBase of Tempe, Arizona.

21 -> Home Shopping Pioneers Merge 05/20/94 Shoppers Express  of
Bethesda, Maryland, which offers phone-based and computer  based
shopping services, is merging with ShopperVision of  Norcross,
Georgia, which is working on an interactive shopping  system to
debut on Time Warner's Full Service Network this fall.  The new
company will be called ShopperVisionExpress, Inc.

22 -> Telecom Mergers Still On Hold 05/20/94 At the annual  meeting
of The Williams Companies, President Joseph H. Williams  said no
decision has been made regarding an offer to sell it  WilTel
subsidiary to LDDS Communications, the nation's fourth largest long
distance company.

23 ->  ****WordPerfect Service Setting Industry Standard 05/20/94
The best way to build a tech support program is to listen closely to
what users tell you, and then "delight" them with programs that meet
their needs, said Kim Cooper, VP of services for WordPerfect, in a
keynote talk at Systems Support Expo, a conference held this week in
Boston by the industry publication Service News.

24 -> Quantum #1 In Hard Disk Drives, Rough Competition Ahead
05/20/94 Quantum has gone from the number three spot in the realm of
hard disk drive shipments, to number one, according to market
research firm Dataquest. But 1994 will be a fight for survival for
all the top manufacturers, despite increased demand, due to the
highly competitive nature of this sector, the market research firm
said.

25 -> GTE Selling World Class Network 05/20/94 While the regional
Bells announce information highway upgrades, GTE is rolling out  the
big marketing guns, pushing existing improvements under the
tag-line World Class Network.

26 -> FCC At Full Strength 05/20/94 For the first time  in two years
the Federal Communications Commission is at full- strength with five
members.

27 -> America Online Prepares For Cable Show 05/20/94 In preparation
for  its appearance at the National Cable Television Association
show  in New Orleans, America Online made a number of announcements
regarding its work with cable.

28 -> Company Results Roundup 05/20/94 This is a regular feature
summarizing company results not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes:
MicroAge Inc., Datametrics Corp., Superconductor Technology Inc.,
Photronics Inc., Telebit Corp., Credence Systems Corp., Datron
Systems Inc., Interphase Corp.

29 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 05/20/94 This is a regular feature,
summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere in Newsbytes:
Unisys Corp., The Software Toolworks Inc., Eastman Kodak Co., the
Information Industry Association, Wyle  Laboratories, Checkmate
Electronics Inc., Photonics Corp., Bell  Microproducts, Ericsson,
and Books That Work. Computing pioneer Thomas D. Rowan Jr., as died
of cancer.

30 -> Networking Roundup 05/20/94 This is a regular feature,
summarizing networking news not covered  elsewhere by Newsbytes:
AT&T Global Information Systems, Wyse  Technology Inc., Bull, Banyan
Systems, Wellfleet Communications  Inc., and Ross Systems Inc.

(Wendy Woods/19940520)