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(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00001)
Watermark To Image-Enable Fax And Label Software 05/26/94
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- In the
two latest deals out of more than a dozen forged so far with other
vendors, Watermark's software will be used to "image-enable"
SoftLinx's Replix for Windows fax management software and Advanced
Labeling Systems (ALS) Inc.'s LabelMAX Director.
In an interview with Newsbytes about the licensing deals, Peter
Brumme, senior VP for sales and marketing, said that SoftLinx will
use Watermark Explorer Edition to let users view, retrieve,
highlight, and annotate fax documents sent and received via Replix
for Windows.
ALS will employ Watermark Discovery Edition to give similar
capabilities to users of LabelMAX Director, along with voice
comments, redlining, "objecting linking and embedding (OLE)
document properties," and a few other extra tools that are
included in Discovery, Newsbytes was told.
The "OLE document properties" permit users to "associate a certain
set of properties with an image," Brumme explained. Watermark's
less expensive Explorer Edition is "really more the 'true OEM'
(original equipment manufacturer) version," he noted. Discovery
Edition, however, "has been used in an OEM role, as it is with ALS,
in cases where more annotation is needed and document properties
are important."
The OLE 2.0 compatibility incorporated in Watermark Image Server
and Professional Edition, two new products announced last month,
will be migrated over time to all Watermark products, including
Explorer and Discovery, according to Brumme.
Since Watermark's founding early last year, the Burlington,
Massachusetts-based company has established agreements with "a
dozen or two" application software and hardware vendors, the senior
VP told Newsbytes. The deals with SoftLinx and ALS, he said,
represent a category of "OEM licensing deals" that also encompasses
several other applications, including three major document
management systems: PC DOCS, Seros, and WordPerfect's SoftSolution.
Watermark has also arrived at a number of co-marketing
relationships, such as a bundling deal with Pentax for its line of
scanners, and an arrangement with Delrina in which Watermark
software is used to read the WinFax Pro inbox. Co-marketing
agreements with other vendors call for joint seminars, mailings,
and channels.
In addition, Watermark software works in conjunction with
WordPerfect In-Forms, WordPerfect Office, and all OLE-compliant
Microsoft applications, the senior VP pointed out.
The new Replix for Windows, he said, will let Windows users access
SoftLinx's Unix-based Replix fax server for exchanging fax
documents with each another, as well as with users of Sun, HP and
IBM workstations, and X Windows and character-based terminals that
are connected to the Replix server. Like other Replix products,
Replix for Windows will also allow document exchange with outside
fax servers and fax machines.
Fax recipients with Replix for Windows installed on their PCs
will be able to annotate and highlight documents, in addition to
changing, adding to, and manipulating previously created markups.
Other recipients of documents annotated with Replix for Windows
will be able to view the annotations, but will not be able to
access the markups for modification or manipulation.
LabelMAX Director is used by product manufacturers and graphics
designers for an electronic approval process that involves routing,
viewing, marking up, tracking, and reviewing labels, Brumme said.
The product works with ALS' LabelMAX Designer for label creation
and LabelMAX Producer for label printing.
LabelMAX end users run the gamut from "graphics artists who are
charged with designing a nice-looking label, to law departments who
need to make sure that FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
ingredients listings are correct, to production control people who
are looking to see that certain kinds of warning labels are
attached."
Next month, Watermark will probably announce another OEM deal,
calling for inclusion of the Explorer Edition on a CD-ROM law
forms application, Brumme told Newsbytes. "We've also been
talking with vendors of accounting software applications," he said.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19940525/Reader Contact: Watermark Software, 617-
229-2600; Press Contacts: Kevin Lach, Watermark, 617-229-2600, ext
228; Leahanne Hobson or Peter Gorman, Copithorne & Bellows for
Watermark, 617-252-0606)
(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00002)
Compaq UK Unveils Two More Presario PCs 05/26/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) - Compaq Computer UK has unveiled
two new additions to its Presario range of PCs -- the 660 and the
860 CDS. Both machines are billed as fast, with the 860 CDS coming
in a new minitower case.
According to Compaq, both machines are easy to use and "combine
speed with power and multimedia capabilities." They are both
available immediately in the UK.
In parallel with the launch of the new machines, Compaq has
announced it is pre-installing Microsoft Publisher and Golf onto
all its Presario systems at no extra charge. These packages are
in addition to Tabworks and MS-Works, which have been pre-installed
on the Presario range since their launch.
Dave Clarke, UK marketing director with Compaq, said that the two
new Presarios join the 433 and CDS 633 models unveiled earlier
this year. These new machines, he said, broaden the company's
machines available specifically for the consumer.
"Compaq first entered the consumer market in August of last year,
and in only four months attained 2.2 percent of the UK private PC
market in terms of units shipped in 1993, according to Dataquest,"
he said, adding, "Across Europe, the private PC market is estimated
to grow to 2.2 million units in 1994, representing 23 percent of
the overall PC market.
"With Compaq's goal to become the leader in the consumer
marketplace, these products represent the next evolutionary step
to provide consumers with products that serve their needs in
terms of ease of use, performance, software choice and choice of
form factors," he said.
The Presario 660 is billed as being ideal for consumers who are
looking for the best value and technology in a desktop PC.
Powered by the AMD 486SX2/66 processor, the UKP1,200 (and up)
machine has a 200 megabyte (MB) hard disk.
The Presario 860 CDS, meanwhile, comes with multimedia facilities
and is pitched at the "edutainment" marketplace. According to
Compaq, the machines comes with a 66 megahertz (MHz) 80486SX2
processor, internal double speed compact disc read only memory
(CD-ROM) drive, 270MB hard disk, Creative Labs SoundBlaster Sound
Card, twin speakers, a microphone and a musical instrument
digital interface (MIDI) card. The machine starts pricing
from UKP1,360.
(Steve Gold/19940525/Press Contact: Dave Currer, A-Plus Group
for Compaq Computer UK, 44-753-790700; Public Contact: Compaq
UK, 44-81-332-3888)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00003)
UK - Pinacl Products Intros Fiber Optic Cable System 05/26/94
RHYL, CLWYD, WALES, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Pinacl Products, has
unveiled Unitex, a fiber optic product that it claims provides a
cost-effective "solution" for internal and external cable
installations.
The fiber optic system is a rugged, loose tube that can be fitted
internally or externally to provide a resilient fiber optic link,
the North Wales-based company claims.
The USP (unique selling point) of Unitex, according to the company,
is that it eliminates the need for different types of cable and
their associated connectors, and splice boxes.
John Oliver, Pinacl's product marketing manager, said that the
company is primarily concerned with manufacturing products that
address the current needs of the market.
"That's why we were one of the first developers and suppliers of
an internal/external cable, a demand that has grown over the last
12 months, with users becoming increasingly aware of the
performance and cost benefits. We've enhanced the concept further
by offering greater cost savings and higher performance," he said.
Unitex comes in a standard cable format with between one and 12
strands of 250 micro fiber optic fibers, all contained in a central
polymeric buffer tube, three millimeters in diameter and
strengthened with aramid yarns. The central part of the tube is
wrapped in kevlar, a strong man-made material, and then
oversheathed in polypropylene. A final layer of water-resistant and
mechanically sound compound is then coated on the outside.
According to Pinnacl, the resultant cabling is capable of
withstanding 1000 Newtons. Pricing on the cabling depends on user
requirements, the company says.
Pinnacl is a cabling and networking company based in Rhyll, a
coastal town in North Wales. The company employs 150 staff and has
an annual turnover of UKP20 million. It has two divisions - Pinacl
Products and PCSL, the latter of which specializes in networking
and cabling infrastructure design.
(Steve Gold/19940525/Press & Public Contact: Jane Harrard,
marketing manager, Pinacl Products, tel 44-745-589224,
fax 44-745-584780)
(NEWS)(UNIX)(DAL)(00004)
Informix Dynamic Server 6.0 On Pyramid SMP Computers 05/26/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Informix
Software is now making available its parallel database product,
Informix Online Dynamic Server 6.0, on the Nile series and
MIServer ES series symmetrical multiprocessor (SMP) enterprise
server computers offered by Pyramid.
SMP computers are claimed to be some of the world's fastest and
Informix says it has added special benefits and features to the
Online Dynamic Server database to take advantage of the parallel
processing environment.
The software can break up database queries, sorts, and indexing
into parallel using the simultaneous processing capability
inherent in the multiprocessor server to speed these time-
consuming tasks.
Informix says its Online Dynamic Server offers enhanced disk
mirroring, offering faster performance, while still making that
critical exact copy on a second drive as a safeguard against disk
failures.
The software also offers parallel backup and recovery. The
archives can be made onto the backup devices in parallel,
speeding backup time. Recovery is also faster in parallel,
especially if the system uses multiple tapes, Informix said.
The Informix Online Dynamic Server for Pyramid Nile and MIServer
ES series systems is expected to be available in June. Informix
is offering a toll-free number for customer information on the
server software.
(Linda Rohrbough/19940525/Press Contact: Elaine Knechtel,
Eastwick Communications for Pyramid, tel 415-306-4191,
fax 415-306-4193/PYRAMID940526/PHOTO)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)
DB/Expo - 30,000 Attendees Expected 05/26/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) --
Blenheim's sixth annual DB/Expo opened this week at the Moscone
Center in San Francisco to a large crowd of attendees eager to
visit more than 700 exhibits, nine conferences and an almost
constant program of noted speakers.
Predicting an attendance of more than 30,000, Blenheim will
feature: Andrew S. Grove, president and CEO of Intel; Jerre Stead,
chairman and CEO for AT&T Global Information Solutions; Colin
White, conference director; Dr. Robert Epstein, executive vice
president of Sybase; Umang Gupta, president and CEO of Gupta
Corp; Dr. Jim Gray, corporate consulting engineer with DEC; Don
Haderle, IBM fellow and director of Data Management; Philippe Kahn,
president and CEO of Borland; and Steve Mills, general manager of
IBM Software Division.
From the trade show floor Amdahl, AT&T, IBM and White Cross
are exhibiting massive parallel processor technology.
Meanwhile, in contrast, client/server database products and tools
are to be found at every corner. In keynote speeches, speakers
questioned and debated whether client/server technology has really
fulfilled its promises and saved the money its promoters claimed,
or will the reported revival of mainframe technology signal a new
era marked by renewed interest and sales, claimed by network gurus.
Highlighting this show is IBM's fully integrated hardware,
software and service of mainframes to networks. With massive
parallel technology, the company promises to deliver every piece
of the picture to re-establish a mainframe revival.
This new parallel technology does not come cheap, as companies may
easily spend more than $1,000,000 to enter high-level processing.
For companies whose mainframe computing requirements are not as
high, White Cross, a United Kingdom company, demonstrated entry-
level massively parallel processor technology beginning in the
$200,000 range.
Over the years, conference goers walk out of trade shows with the
promise of the latest and greatest due to be released in the next
six months. A trend among exhibitors from BD/Expo, both large and
small, seems to stand out, perhaps in response to too many false
promises in the past. From IBM to the smallest vendor there was
an emphasis on "viewable and available now."
Among those products, the highlight is "objects" and while
programmers still have employment, the manipulation of "objects"
as the technique for future development is dominant in tools and
in databases.
The new products unveiled at the show have come from more than
sixty companies including Digital Equipment, Cray, Empress
Software, Hands On Learning, Matisse, Must, Oracle, Next, and
Unisys.
Blenheim also announced that the 1995 DB/Expo would run
concurrently with Networks Expo from May 2-4, 1995, in San
Francisco.
One odd sight in the exhibit area was an eight-plus foot
tall transformer, robot-looking giant called Number Nine,
provided courtesy of Symantec. The robot was actually David
Rawlins, its creator from Logan Enterprises of Greensboro,
North Carolina.
(Patrick McKenna/19940525/Press Contact: Jill K. Reynolds,
Blenheim, 415-966-8934/LOGAN940526/PHOTO)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DEN)(00006)
Motorola Paging System Quiets Retail Stores 05/26/94
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- If you're tired
of hearing loud paging announcements as you wind your way through
the aisles of a favorite store, help is on the way from Motorola's
Customer Owned Paging Operation (MCOP).
The company has announced Shopper's Delight, a wireless technology
that cuts down on much of the annoying loudspeaker chatter, and
speeds up response to incoming phone calls for product information.
According to MCOP Director Steve Spiro, Motorola developed the
system after research showed that customers want a quieter store
environment, faster response time when requiring assistance, and a
way to avoid wasting precious time waiting for in-store assistance.
Motorola spokesperson Valeri Polcyn told Newsbytes that one
component of the system, developed in conjunction with California-
based Indyme Electronics Inc, utilizes wireless call boxes
strategically located throughout the store.
Called Shop Talk, the system allows a shopper who needs help to
press a button on the box and a sales person is automatically
contacted via the pager he or she wears and sent to the customer's
location.
For consumers calling by phone, a high speed paging terminal enables
the store's telephone operator to send a message to the right
employee via Motorola's People Finder system. If that person is
unavailable the system automatically routes the call to another
employee.
According to Polcyn, the Shopper's Delight system could be
installed for as little as $2,000, depending on the number and
style of the pagers used.
Indyme has already installed the system in about 30 Super Kmart
Centers. The centers sell groceries and general merchandise and
average 160,000 square feet in size.
(Jim Mallory/19940526/Press and reader contact: Valeri Polcyn,
Motorola, 407-364-3687; Steve Deal, Indyme Electronics Inc,
619-268-0717)
(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)
H/R Pack Employee Tracking Software For PCs Intro'd 05/26/94
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- d&b Solutions Inc., has
announced H/R Pack software, a database program to track employee
information, benefit schedules, and training records.
H/R Pack is a non-Windows product that ships with a PIF file and
an icon for users who want to run it under Microsoft Windows. The
program has more than 90 pre-determined data fields. Data can be
recalled using criteria for any field or combination of fields.
d&b Solutions spokesperson B.R. Winkler told Newsbytes that H/R
Pack can export information in an ASCII comma delimited
format that can then be imported for use in many popular word
processing, spreadsheet and databases. It can also import data
which has been exported in the ASCII format from another program.
Winkler said H/R Pack was initially developed as a custom software
package for one client. "We had a lot of people expressing interest
so we turned it into a marketable product." It will track an
unlimited number of employees.
The single user version of H/R Pack has a suggested retail price of
$295 and is available directly from d&b Solutions Inc. There is
also a network version that sells for $495 for use on an unlimited
number of nodes. The company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
(Jim Mallory/19940526/Press contact: B.R. Winkler, d&b Solutions
Inc, 713-293-8361; Reader contact: d&b Solutions Inc, 713-293-8361
or 800-856-7330, fax 713-293-8372/HRPACK940526/PHOTO)
(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00008)
Easel Boosts Windows, Notes Support 05/26/94
BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Easel
Corp. has added "native" support for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows
environment, and support for Lotus Development Corp.'s Notes
workgroup software to its line of software development tools.
The company introduced the ESL Technology Family, including some
new development tools and upgrades of existing Easel software.
With the introduction of ESL for Windows, Easel now offers native
Windows development support, explained Bill Driest, director of
product marketing. In the past, developers could write applications
for Windows but they had to use ESL Workbench running on the OS/2
operating system. "You were left with having to test in the native
Windows environment without a lot of supporting tools," he said.
ESL for Windows includes ESL QuikStep, a source-code project
manager and interactive source-level debugger meant to simplify
testing and maintenance of ESL for Windows applications.
While Easel has added support for Windows, there are no immediate
plans for Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. Driest said
that by Microsoft's own admission NT is expected to be used
mainly on servers, and Easel is focusing on development tools for
client PCs. The next release of Windows, code-named Chicago,
definitely will be supported, he added.
ESL Workbench 4.0 is the latest release of the company's
integrated development software for client/server applications.
A highlight of the new release is support for Lotus Notes. Using
application programming interfaces (APIs), ESL applications can
act as front ends to Notes databases, company officials said.
Documents created by ESL Workbench 4.0 applications can be added
to a Notes database and Notes documents can be read into ESL
Workbench 4.0 applications.
ESL Renovator 4.0 is the latest update of a suite of Easel
software, including ESL Workbench and the Easel language for
Windows or OS/2. It also includes Wizard, a library of reusable
code meant to "give a head start for the developer" in creating
applications, Driest told Newsbytes.
The new products are due to ship worldwide in June. ESL Workbench
will cost from $3,900 to $10,900 depending on configuration. ESL
for Windows will sell for $4,900 to $9,900, also depending on
configuration. ESL Renovator 4.0 for Windows will be $7,900 and
the OS/2 version will list at $9,900. These prices are for the
United States.
Easel has subsidiaries in Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom,
and sells its software in a total of 28 countries worldwide.
(Grant Buckler/19940526/Press Contact: Christine Simeone, Easel,
tel 617-221-3072, fax 617-221-3099; Public Contact: Easel,
617-221-2100)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00009)
"Totally Wireless" Store Opens In San Jose 05/26/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Announcing what
it claims is the first wireless products retail outlet, Skyway Cellular
has opened "Totally Wireless" in San Jose, California, to provide a
"single source" for wireless information, sales and service.
Newsbytes notes that in the corner of almost every trade show,
wireless technology appears at a booth where perspective customers
walk around trying remote computing on personal digital assistants
(PDAs). From the Apple platform to DOS-based systems, companies
have been developing wireless communications for wide area
networks (WANs) and local-area networks (LANs).
Newsbytes has previously reported on the use of wireless
technology in a number of different LANs including those used in
hospitals, warehouse/inventory sites, and large offices.
According to Michael Merrill, president of Skyway Cellular, who
spoke to Newsbytes, "There is the impression that the public sees
this as a futuristic product and does not know that there are a
number workable products on the market now. In many cases,
wireless technology is more common in a wide area network than
in a LAN."
Currently, the wireless market is reportedly greater for
portable computer users who may communicate through cellular
phone connections or through RadioMail two-way messaging.
While communication through cellular technology is relatively
expensive, Merrill pointed out that many portable computing users
do not realize how easily and inexpensively two-way remote
communications can be established. "Using a packet data modem, a
notebook user may send and receive electronic-mail using
RadioMail's two-way messaging and e-mail service. This allows
for instant communication with all electronic addresses which
gateway through Internet," said Merrill.
Typically, a packet data modem lists for $399 and RadioMail's
monthly charge of $89 covers unlimited 24-hour use.
"Totally Wireless" offers cellular modems and data interfaces,
RadioMail two-way paging, wireless modem connections, integrated
wireless systems that include cellular phones, wireless delivery of
e-mail, news and stock quotes to notebooks and PDAs, wireless LAN
equipment, wireless credit card terminals for merchants and
back-up phone systems and switching capabilities.
Michael Merrill further told Newsbytes that approximately twelve
stores are planned for California in the next twelve to sixteen
months.
(Patrick McKenna/19940524/Press Contact: Julie Saperstein,
Skyway Cellular, tel 408-366-5950; RadioMail address:
SKYWAY@RADIOMAIL.NET)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00010)
Nanao Bundles Color Management Software With Monitors 05/26/94
TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Nanao has
announced plans to bundle Sonnetech's Colorific, a product billed
as the "first software-only color management system," with its
FlexScan monitors for PCs and Macs.
Sonnetech will be offering Colorific through bundling deals only,
and Nanao will be the first monitor maker to provide the software,
a Nanao spokesperson told Newsbytes. Colorific is now in beta
testing, and is scheduled for general availability in July, he added.
The new color management software supplies the same ability to
"calibrate" (match the colors between) monitors and printers as
competing hardware-and-software systems priced from $200 to
$1,000, according to the spokesperson. Colorific is also easier
to use, he maintained.
Unveiled at Comdex in Atlanta, the plans call for Torrance,
California-based Nanao to ship Colorific free of charge to all
customers who return Nanao warranty registration cards. PC users
will receive an edition of Colorific that complies with Kodak's
color management system. Mac customers will be sent a version of
Colorific for Apple's ColorSync.
Nanao offers a similar deal with Berkeley Systems' After Dark
screen-saver software. However, the After Dark deal only applies
to Nanao's "green monitors," he said. In contrast, the Colorific
software will be available to customers who purchase any Nanao
model. All Nanao Flexscan models support PCs as well as Macs,
he said.
Colorific's new software-only calibration capabilities make a
great deal of sense today, now that color printing is moving to
the desktop level, the spokesperson maintained.
Competing calibration systems require the use of hardware
components, as well as software that is often more complex than
Colorific, he contended. The learning curve for these other
calibration products tends to be too steep for users who are not
professional graphics designers, he added.
The user can install and implement Colorific in ten to 15 minutes,
according to the spokesperson. The software asks the user to select
the type of monitor, and then to perform a series of simple "color
matching" exercises designed to assure that the colors seen on the
monitor are "true," and will be accurately reproduced by the
printer being used.
The versions of Colorific that will be shipped to Nanao customers
will list all FlexScan models on a menu, along with a "standard
VGA" setting for non-Nanao monitors.
The user will only need to implement Colorific once, unless changes
occur in ambient lighting or temperature level, two environmental
factors that can affect color calibration.
Nanao is among a handful of vendors that have started to bundle
software to "add value" to their monitors in an atmosphere of
heated price wars, according to the spokesperson. Other bundling
deals have included the inclusion of proprietary "power down"
software with Optiquest and Viewsonic monitors, and the packaging
of Corel Draw with NEC monitors, he noted.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19940525/Reader Contact: Nanao, 310-325-5202;
Press Contacts: Brian Mast, Nanao, 310-325-5202, ext 112; Leslie
Schroeder for Sonnetech, 408-446-9158)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00011)
AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 05/26/94
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- By John Hastings.
As expected, Intel has stated that its prices on the Pentium CPU
(central processing unit) chips will drop dramatically before the
end of this year. In some cases, prices will fall by 50 percent.
This aggressive pricing is an attempt to preempt unprecedented
competition in the chip industry. In less than a year Cyrix and IBM
will be marketing the Cyrix M1 chip and Advanced Micro Devices will
introduce its K5 chip. The M1 is expected to equal the performance
of the Pentium, while the K5 is expected to run 50 percent faster
than the Pentium. During the next year, some RISC (reduced
instruction-set computing)-based CPU chips will incorporate
hardware emulation of the Pentium processor. The PowerPC should
be the first to outrun the Pentium. The most powerful chip available
should be Digital Equipment's Alpha CPU.
Some experts feel Intel is attempting to force the industry to adopt
the Pentium CPU chip by curtailing production of the 486 chips. If
computer makers can only get Pentium chips in the quantities they
need, they will be forced to place their marketing efforts behind
that processor. Intel has stated it expects to sell six million
Pentium chips this year, but is well behind that pace.
Meanwhile, Motorola announced the next version of the PowerPC
chip. The 603 chip offers Pentium level performance in a low
power chip suitable for portable computers. Motorola's pricing
surprised the industry at less than one third the price of most
Pentiums.
Many notebook computer users have upgraded from monochrome
screens to color. While pleased with the newer screens, most users
have been disappointed with the shorter battery life. The problem
with color screens is due to the bright backlighting necessary with
color. Unlike monochrome screens, the backlighting is not optional
with color. The design of the screen makes backlighting mandatory.
In some notebooks, the backlighting consumes up to 70 percent of
the battery power. A new color screen just announced by Sharp
eliminates the need for backlighting, using a highly reflective film
instead. With battery life comparable to monochrome screens, this
screen could give a significant boost to the demand for color
notebook computers. Sharp expects the new screens to appear
before the end of the year.
The ability to print on multi-part forms will keep the dot-matrix
printers alive, but they will never regain the prevalence they once
held. Prices of other technologies have dropped to competitive
levels. In addition, print quality and sound levels make laser and
ink-jet printers more popular. Last year laser printers out-sold
dot-matrix printers for the first time.
The following prices are for May 20, 1994.
Average Average
Buyer's Seller's
Machine Bid Ask Close Change
IBM PS/2 Model 30/286 20MB $250 $450 $275 -$25
IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB 400 700 525 ..
IBM ThinkPad 350 800 1450 1000 -25
IBM ThinkPad 700 1100 1700 1325 ..
IBM ThinkPad 720 1600 2000 1700 -50
AST 386/20, 80MB 450 850 500 -25
Dell 325SX,60MB 400 800 500 ..
Dell 386/20, 120MB 600 900 625 -50
Gateway 386SX/20, 80MB 400 850 500 -25
Gateway 386/25, 80MB 500 800 600 ..
Gateway 486/33 120MB 900 1300 950 ..
Clone Notebook 286, 40 MB 350 700 475 +25
Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB 500 900 700 -50
Clone 386/25 80MB, VGA 450 850 675 ..
Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA 550 950 725 +25
Clone 486/25120MB, VGA 800 1250 950 ..
Compaq SLT/286 20MB 250 500 400 +50
Compaq LTE 286 40MB 300 675 475 +25
Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB 500 800 625 -25
Compaq Contura 320 60MB 500 1000 750 ..
Macintosh Classic 40MB 350 600 375 ..
Macintosh SE/30 40MB 375 800 500 -25
Macintosh II 40MB 350 650 525 +50
Macintosh IIcx 80MB 400 700 550 ..
Macintosh IIci 80MB 700 1000 800 ..
Macintosh IIfx 80MB 800 1400 975 -25
PowerBook 100 20MB 525 900 625 -25
PowerBook 140 40MB 900 1400 1100 ..
PowerBook 170 40MB 1200 1700 1325 -25
PowerBook 180 80MB 1400 1800 1525 ..
LaserWriter IINT 700 1000 700 -50
Toshiba 1200XE 300 650 550 ..
Toshiba 1900 120M 1000 1700 1075 -50
Toshiba 3200SX 40MB 400 800 525 ..
Toshiba 5200 100MB 850 1250 1000 -25
HP LaserJet II 400 850 800 +25
HP LaserJet IIIP 375 950 575 ..
HP LaserJet III 750 1100 950 ..
HP LaserJet IV 1000 1300 1175 +25
John Hastings is the president of the American Computer
Exchange Corporation. The American Computer Exchange matches
buyers and sellers of used microcomputer equipment. For more
information contact the American Computer Exchange
Corporation at (800) 786-0717.
(AMCOEX/19940526)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00012)
Bookworm Multimedia Dev't Tool Lets Users Modify 05/26/94
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Bookworm, the
electronic book development software from Communication and
Information Technologies (CIT) is being announced in conjunction
with the American Booksellers Association Convention and Trade
Exhibit this weekend in Los Angeles, California. The software is
intended for the development of electronic books for both Macintosh
and Microsoft Windows-based personal computers (PCs) that users
can modify.
CIT is also launching several Macintosh electronic titles, based
on its software development technology from its Bookworm Press
division. The compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) titles are:
The Shakespeare Quartet: Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and a
Midsummer Night's Dream; Making the Modern: Nineteenth Century
Poetry in English; and After the Fire: American Literature in the
Age of Expansion 1865-1914. Title prices range from $20 to $150
directly from CIT.
The company claims the titles use text, audio, video, and
graphics as well as being prepared in collaboration with major
scholars in the field of literary criticism.
An added benefit of the titles is the ability for the user to add
hypermedia links to text passages as well as multimedia
annotations of their own. One example of how this might be useful
uses the Shakespeare titles, where teachers can create sets of notes,
annotations, test questions, and essays within the application for
student use. Students can also interact with each other, the teacher,
and the material by leaving their own annotations and notes.
The Bookworm Engine is the multimedia authoring tool, while the
Bookworm Reader is the runtime version, distributed with each
title, that allows users to view and modify Bookworm titles. The
titles are available now, but the Bookworm Engine in a cross-
platform version for both Macintosh and Windows will be released
in September.
The Bookworm development environment requires five megabytes
(MB) of random access memory (RAM), but the company says 4MB is
recommended for running the resulting titles. Pricing information
for the Bookworm Engine has not yet been released.
(Linda Rohrbough/19940526/Press Contact: Emily Jones,
Communication and Information Technologies, tel 615-927-4601;
Public Contact: Communication and Information Technologies,
800-845-1755)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TYO)(00013)
Toshiba/IBM/Siemens To Develop 64-megabit DRAM 05/26/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Toshiba has agreed with IBM
and Siemens concerning the joint development of a powerful
64-megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
The firms have already been developing a 256-megabit DRAM, and
they will incorporate this technology in the development of the
64-bit DRAM.
Toshiba has reportedly already developed a first-generation
64-megabit DRAM, and is planning to ship it next year. Meanwhile,
IBM and Siemens are jointly developing a 64-megabit DRAM.
The three firms will reportedly develop a second-generation
64-megabit DRAM chip based on Toshiba's current 64-megabit
DRAM.
Production costs will be reduced due to the smaller size of the
chip. About 50 engineers and researchers will work on the
development of the new DRAM at IBM's Research Center in New
York, and Toshiba's headquarters in Tokyo.
It is expected to be between two and three years before the
firms start quantity production of the new 64-megabit DRAM.
Each firm plans to use their own facilities to manufacture the
new chip. Toshiba will produce it at its own plant in Japan as
well as at Tohoku Semiconductor, which is a joint venture
firm with Motorola in Northern Japan.
(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940526/Press Contact:
Toshiba, tel 81-3-3457-2100, fax 81-3-3456-4776)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00014)
Japan - Windows Language Translation Prgm Intro'd 05/26/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Fujitsu has developed language
translation software for Windows-based personal computers (PCs).
The software was originally developed for Fujitsu's workstations.
It is already used by some translation firms and also available
via some PC networks, such as Nifty-Serve. Both English-Japanese
and Japanese-English versions are available, priced at 198,000 yen
($1,980) each.
Fujitsu's latest language translation software is called Atlas/Win,
and includes a 130,000 basic word dictionary, and 24 kinds of
special-term dictionaries.
Each special-term dictionary contains about 1.2 million words.
These dictionaries cover data processing, electronics, physics,
machinery, chemical industry, industrial plants, architecture,
metal, geology, transportation, automobiles, military, farming,
biology, medical science, economy and finance, laws, business
and "who's who" lists.
Fujitsu claims that the quality of the software is relatively
high, due to two kinds of sentence analyzing techniques. The
first is based on structural analysis, while the second is based
on the actual meaning of each sentence.
This software was originally developed for Fujitsu's workstations,
and was rewritten for DOS/V-based PCs. Fujitsu aims to ship
15,000 units of the software within three years. An optical
scanner is also available to read-in the text directly to PCs.
(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940526/Press Contact: Fujitsu,
tel 81-3-3213-4160, fax 81-3-3216-9365)
(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00015)
OneSource Pleased Over Lotus/Meridian CD Server Deal 05/26/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- With their
first two Windows-based products already on the market and others
on the way, officials of OneSource Information Services, a Lotus
spinoff, are pleased that Meridian Data has signed with Lotus to
complete the development work on Lotus CD/Networker version 5.0,
according to Mark VanDine, senior product manager for OneSource.
OneSource, which was a division of Lotus until becoming a separate
company last fall, now produces about a dozen business and
financial titles on CD-ROM, in addition to information retrieval
software, said VanDine, in an interview with Newsbytes.
The current products from OneSource include Windows-based add-ins
for the Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, according to
VanDine. A Windows-based title from OneSource called StockChart is
now in beta testing. A Windows version of the company's flagship
OneSource product is slated to enter beta testing soon.
Most of the OneSource customer base "has made a strategic decision
to move to Windows," and all of the company's major customers now
use networks, the senior product manager explained.
But CD/Networker 4.2, the CD-ROM server software presently being
used by almost all OneSource customers, is "not particularly
friendly to Windows," he maintained.
As a division of Lotus, OneSource produced CD/Networker in addition
to CD-ROM titles until earlier last year, VanDine said. Some time
before the spinoff, Lotus transferred the CD-ROM server software
from the One Source Division to "Lotus corporate," he added.
The CD-ROM titles, however, remained with the One Source Division.
"My understanding at the time was that Lotus thought (CD/Networker)
might be a good fit with multimedia," VanDine told Newsbytes.
In September, 1993, Lotus announced the spinoff of the One Source
Division into a new company, to be owned by the division's
management and employees and two venture capital firms --
Information Partners of Boston and William Blair Ventures of
Chicago -- with a minority investment position to be held by Lotus.
About one month previously, Lotus had decided to stop further
development on CD/Networker 5.0, according to Van Dine.
"At about the time we were becoming our own company, we were only
half-way through the development of our Windows products. We saw
that we still had about six months to figure out what to do. So we
got right to work on it, and came up with some alternatives," he said.
Like earlier versions of CD/Networker, v4.2 requires Windows users to
back out into DOS and run a CDNetworker subprogram each time they
wish to change the CD-ROM volume they are using on the network,
according to the senior product manager. The subprogram "remaps
what product goes with the drive letter dedicated to the CD server."
This process, he reported, is "terribly inconvenient."
Ease of use under Windows is especially important to OneSource
because some of the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company's 12
major titles are dual ROM products, VanDine said.
OneSource's Windows-based add-ins for 1-2-3 and Excel are already
available, according to VanDine. The 1-2-3 add-in will retrieve
information from CD-ROM databases and "plunk it right into the
cell" based on user specifications as to database, company, item of
information, and time period, he noted.
In examining alternatives for a CD-ROM server to be used with the
Windows-based CD-ROM titles, OneSource came up with several that
"were good alternatives to the CD Networker path," including SCSI
(small computer system interface) Express, Optinet and Meridian's
own CD Net Integrated Servers. "At that time, Meridian came forward
and started talking to Lotus," he added.
As reported in Newsbytes recently, Meridian Data has signed with
Lotus to complete, market and support CD/Networker 5.0. Meridian
plans to sell the newly renamed software, CD NET for OneSource, to
OneSource and Lotus customers now running CD/Networker 4.2, as
well as to users of Meridian's CD Net Integrated Servers.
VanDine told Newsbytes that, although he and other OneSource
officials are pleased about the deal, he hopes that Meridian will
release a similar product to the 5.0 software originally developed
at Lotus.
A particularly useful feature of the "original" version 5.0 is a "CD
browser" that will "allow you to change what CD-ROM the network
drive you're mapped to thinks it is looking at" without leaving
Windows, he said.
OneSource's upcoming Windows-based StockChart will produce
"presentation-quality charts of stock price and volume data" for
investment banks, according to VanDine.
StockChart is now available to most OneSource field organizations
over the company's Notes networks, and will probably be released on
CD-ROM for a few weeks of beta testing in another week or two,
according to VanDine. "I just want to make sure that everyone's
happy with the user interface. If we need to rearrange a few things
for usability, we will," he told Newsbytes.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19940526/Reader and Press Contact: OneSource
Information Services, 617-441-7156)
(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00016)
Comdex - More On IBM Objects 05/26/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- In an interview
with Newsbytes at Comdex, John Schwarz, division director of IBM's
Toronto lab, emphasized the company's decision to move from a
host-centric, procedural software model to a server-centric,
object-based software model.
"Everything you see us announce is squarely in that area --
everything we do is targeted at client-server and toward objects,"
he said.
In addition to its CSet++, which Schwarz says is every bit as
good as what Borland and Microsoft offer, except it works on
more platforms, there is Visual Age, "a visually-centered
application development tool built on a Smalltalk engine. It
comes with its own debugger and library, as well as a parts
library, so you can build objects from parts."
Of course, lots of companies claim they have object-based
products, he admits, but look inside. "They've built the tool
using the object paradigm, but they don't provide the building-
from-parts capability. Objects are about re-use -- if you can't
re-use it, you don't have an object. If you take a library of
parts and create new parts from them, you short-cut the
development time by an order of magnitude. And if they can be
linked by the user, you offer more than what's available now. If
you don't have a fully functioned object environment, you can't
do those two things, and it can be more expensive than writing in
a procedural fashion."
All this is built on the SOM and OpenDoc technologies brought to
Spring Comdex by IBM a year ago, except now those technologies
will be on multiple platforms. The two taken together represent
"a style for open objects, which has nothing to do with objects
per se." SOM Objects will also be managed in IBM's new database
extensions.
But more important than what IBM offers the market is what
IBM is using internally. "We write our own stuff in an object-
oriented form. When you buy Visual Age, it was built with
Smalltalk in an object-oriented way. We spent more money building
it that way than in C. But we've now ported Visual Age to
Windows. That was a snap -- we re-used nearly 100% of what had
been built, changing it only for the interface. Since we'd used a
consistent Smalltalk compiler, we could re-use. The third time
we'll re-use it is by porting it to a C++ back-end. That's a
complete re-use because both SmallTalk and C++ are built with SOM
Objects. We're looking at rates of productivity that are levels
of magnitude better than in older languages."
What happens next? "The next level is the guy who uses these
tools to build applications. They can take the parts we've pre-
built, and others have pre-built, then connect them using a
scripting language, rather than writing code. You could have a
CICS access object, or a SQL (structured query language) call
object...you just pull it out of the library."
But there is another level of productivity, "Arranging things so
you can deal with them," Schwarz says. "That's what we're trying
to do through OpenDoc and scripting languages and through the
visual programming paradigms, that don't require you to bury
yourself in basic, or Smalltalk."
Schwarz calls that technology Global Desktop -- it is not a working
product. By first building parts from objects, then scripting the
parts together, and finally having end users use those parts and
scripts together dynamically, objects can finally come into their
own. That is Schwarz' goal for the end of the decade. "We're some
ways from the third level," he admits. "We know how to do it, but
you need to be an expert."
Once it happens, it will revolutionize programming. "There is a
phenomenal activity for people who can use this, and a real
threat to those with services that get eaten up. It won't happen
so rapidly that there will be thousands of people thrown out of
work quickly." But it will happen, he says.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19940526/Press Contact: Terrie Phoenix, IBM
Software Solutions, 914/766-1165)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(ATL)(00017)
Comdex - WordPerfect Looks Up Main Street 05/26/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- WordPerfect has
been taking it on the chin for months. Its flagship product has
reportedly lost market share to Microsoft Word, and a "Wall Street
Journal" feature called the firm's managers amateurs, and hinted
Novell was buying it to prevent a total collapse. But at Spring
Comdex, all that was far away.
At Spring Comdex, WordPerfect dominated the halls, with an
impressive auditorium stage show and fancy giveaways like
umbrellas, all tied to the debut of its Main Street line.
Newsbytes notes that, when it rained late Wednesday afternoon
in Atlanta, hundreds of WordPerfect golf-style umbrellas came
out, and someone actually started singing "Singing in the Rain."
Main Street will be a complete line of software -- everything
from personal productivity tools to entertainment to education
programs. The aim is to make WordPerfect the Proctor & Gamble
of the software industry as the mass market grows and brand
names become more important than technical details.
Newsbytes talked about this with Daniel Rask, a product marketing
director at WordPerfect. He said some of the products in the new
line, like Grammatik Version 6.0 for Windows, have a long
history, and have gotten complete updates. Grammatik itself dates
from the late 70s, and now has features like sentence rewriting
and new checking styles. "We took a hard look at what people need
to work faster," he told Newsbytes. "Productivity is the focus,
simplicity the goal." Grammatik was first written for CP/M
machines, and WordPerfect acquired it from Reference Software in
1992.
In other areas, however, WordPerfect is acquiring others' titles.
"Our education partner is the Waterford Institute, a non-profit
organization" which formerly had a master distributorship
agreement with Broderbund. "We'll work with them on an extended
basis with multiple products. We're concentrating on the 4-12 age
range -- reading, writing, and math."
While system requirements differ, most Main Street products will
require Macintosh System 6 or Windows 3.1. CD-ROM-based titles
will have higher requirements, based on the MPC II specifications,
and many of the specific titles will be announced next month at
the Summer CES.
As to the show itself. A real extravaganza, a professional
Mistress of Ceremonies, a tremendous light show with a simulated
earthquake, and three-dimensional (3-D) effects representing a
reconnection between her and someone on the screen she was
supposedly interviewing.
The idea behind the earthquake is that WordPerfect products are
an "Earth-shattering experience." As people exited the show, they
handed in their 3-D glasses and got the umbrellas, plus a chance
to win a trip to Hawaii. As word of the show spread, crowds
actually got larger, not smaller, as with most Comdex events.
And the big splash at Comdex is just the start of a big
marketing summer for WordPerfect. "With Main Street, we're trying
to create a brand that people associate with dependable quality.
We're trying to make our focus clear. We do intend to work through
mass merchants, as well as superstores, classic software
distribution, and direct response. We're going on a summer-long
tour to 60 cities, one-two day events in major hotels where we
bring in key accounts and inform them of what we're doing. It's a
specially built touring show with a 90 minute set of presentations."
It is like organizing a rock show, or a circus. "There are 50-75
people and two separate groups."
The tour itself is split into the three market segments, added
Sam Yee, a product marketing director for consumer product
marketing. "We'll focus the show based on the audience. They'll
be different rooms in each hotel where the audience will be
segmented. You don't talk about Main Street to government
people -- you talk to them about end user" applications. Last
year's tour paid for itself, he added, and it is just one part of an
integrated trade show and marketing campaign that should make
consumer products 20 percent of WordPerfect's revenues by 1995.
"The consumer industry is evolving into a packaged goods
industry," added Yee. "You get major players in each market.
Electronics is basically a few brands, there's a coalescing. The
consumer area will see that as well."
(Dana Blankenhorn/19940526/Press Contact: Blake Stowell,
WordPerfect, 801/228-5063)
(NEWS)(IBM)(ATL)(00018)
Comdex - Monty Python CD-ROM Launched 05/26/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Despite some
technical difficulties, 7th Level officially launched its Monty
Python CD-ROM, titled "The Secret to Intergalactic Success," at a
Spring Comdex press conference.
The technical difficulties, it should be noted, had nothing to do
with the title. The microphones in the hotel room 7th Level had
rented simply did not work. This led to some serious vamping by
Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit and 7th Level's
upcoming "Virgil Reality" title. Some reporters promptly began
dubbing Fleischer, who will soon have a column in "PC Computing"
magazine, "the seventh Python."
The title, as demonstrated, was integrated and elegant. It is not
just a group of clips thrown together, but a whole universe of
"hot spots," characters popping out of the screen on command.
There is a game and a contest, so the first person to figure out
the "secret to intergalactic success" can win themselves $5,000
or a high-end computer. It does take such a computer to run the
title -- a 486-based machine with Windows 3.1, MPC II
accessories, and a double-speed CD-ROM drive are recommended.
There was also some real news. 7th Level Inc. is in the process
of going public through Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenreete, with 3.120
million shares to be sold representing about one-third of the
company, probably in about three months.
President George Grayson, called "Groucho" repeatedly by
executive vice president, and "Pink Floyd" producer, Bob Ezrin,
said in response to questions that the new title does represent
an evolution in 7th Level's development technology, called "Top
Gun." He also noted that Terry Gilliam, the film director who did
Monty Python's animation sequences, is listed as a co-executive
producer on the new title, and all the other members of the
troupe, save John Cleese, have expressed a willingness to be
involved as well. Cleese is just too busy, Grayson explained,
with books, videotapes, marketing work, and the sequel to "A
Fish Called Wanda."
The title is due for an official delivery to stores August 11.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19940526/Press Contact: Karen Hart, Rizzuti
Marketing, for 7th Level, 214/394-5115)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(ATL)(00019)
Comdex - CDs A Major Theme 05/26/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- One main theme
at Spring Comdex in Atlanta appeared to be compact discs (CDs).
CDs were everywhere. Newsbytes found two CD-ROM-based
magazines -- CD-ROM Today from Future Publishing and Medio
Magazine from Medio Multimedia.
Medio Magazine will start taking advertising from the next issue,
and plenty of advertisers should be around. One of the chief
complaints expressed by exhibitors involves the difficulty of
finding their markets, who are widely dispersed and do not have
a central gathering point at which to compare products.
All sorts of major publishers announced new CD-ROM titles. Turner
Interactive, a new division of Turner Home Entertainment headed
by Ted Turner Jr., launched a number of new products, including a
CD-ROM based on "The Flintstones" TV show, one based on the
Turner movie "Gettysburg," and an adventure game called "The
Pagemaster," based on a movie that will not come out until
November.
Despite all the razzle-dazzle, CD-ROMs remain something of a
cottage industry. It will take time to integrate the entertainment-
based CD-ROM producers into the computer-based Comdex crowd.
That distance was on display during the 1994 Envision Awards,
sponsored by New Media Magazine on the first night of the show.
Entertainers like "Weird Al" Yankovic tried to keep the show going,
but executive presenters and programmer recipients could not
keep up the pace.
Just about all the titles released at this show will require a
double-speed CD-ROM drive, MPC II accessories and a 486-based
PC. But some 6 million such units have been sold in the last year,
presenters kept repeating, and more are being sold all the time.
Some developers are even talking about making the 486 a "base"
machine next year and expecting users to have Pentium or
PowerPC hardware to get the full effects of their upcoming titles.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19940526/Press Contact: CD-ROM Today, Stuart
Anderton, +011-44-0225-44-22-44; Steven Boehm, Medio Magazine,
206/867-5500; Turner Interactive, Ronnie Gunnerson, 404/827-2890)
(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00020)
Wordperfect Renames Office 4.0a Software Suite 05/26/94
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corp., has
renamed and upgraded Wordperfect Office, now calling the product
Wordperfect Symmetry 4.1
Wordperfect President and CEO Ad Rietveld made the name change
announcement at the Comdex/Windows World computer trade show
in Atlanta this week. He said the change, which accompanies the
announcement of version 4.1 was made to clarify the product's
function as an integrated messaging application and to avoid
confusion with other software products. Microsoft also publishes a
software suite known as Microsoft Office. That product includes
Microsoft Word word processing, the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet,
PowerPoint presentation program and Microsoft Mail.
Newsbytes reported in October, 1993, that Wordperfect had signed
a deal with MCI for the two companies to integrate Wordperfect
Office 4.0 with MCI Mail. The agreement incorporated Wordperfect
Office post offices into the MCI Mail network. That lets Office
users exchange electronic mail with computer users outside the
Office system.
Symmetry 4.1 includes electronic mail, a calendar and group
scheduler, message management, workflow routing and task
management. It supports 12 client desktops, five remote operating
systems, 10 server platforms and 23 gateways. Wordperfect calls
it, "the most open and scalable solution in cross-platform,
enterprise-wide electronic messaging."
New with Symmetry 4.1 is support for a "native" Power Mac client
and seven Unix environments including Hewlett-Packard UX, IBM
AIX, SCO Unix, Data General UX, Sun Solaris 2.x, SunOS 4.1.3, and
SVR4 for Intel platforms.
Symmetry 4.1 for Windows extends its electronic messaging
services to other applications. Through the use of a custom message
mechanism other applications can be registered in the system and
identified in a user's In Box with a unique message-type icon.
Custom commands enable users to access other Windows applications
through any Symmetry 4.1 for Windows pull-down menu. The
commands can also be incorporated into any message view, which
could then trigger any action or set of actions.
A feature called Listserver allows users to join forums on other
systems such as the Internet and automatically receive messages
that are sent to that forum.
Other new features include Symmetry remote packages for Windows,
DOS and Macintosh users that allow them to keep in touch while they
are away from the office through both wireless and asynchronous
communications. There is also a rules-based pager gateway which
connects the user to local, regional and national paging services,
as well as a telephone access server that provides use of a
touchtone telephone to listen to and send messages.
Wordperfect says the improved network installation process allows
even a novice user with the appropriate network access to install
Symmetry in less than two hours. The client install procedure has
also been simplified.
Other Symmetry features include an asynchronous gateway to
OS/2 and incoming fax capabilities for the fax/print gateway.
The Wordperfect Symmetry 4.1 client/administration pack, which
includes five user licenses, has a suggested retail price of $695
for all supported platforms. Additional licenses range in price from
$135 for one to $9,500 for 100. The DOS Message Server Pack sells
for $495. OS/2, Unix and Network Loadable Module packs sell for
$1,495, $1,995 and $2,495 respectively. All products are scheduled
to ship in June 1994.
(Jim Mallory/19940525/Press contact: Brian Chapman, Wordperfect
Corporation,801-228-5037; Reader contact: Wordperfect Corp.,
801-225-5000 or 800-451-5151, fax 801-228-5077)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BOS)(00021)
****Sony Signs Multimillion Deal For AP Video Service 05/26/94
MONTVALE, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- In the second
largest contract ever for Sony Electronics, Sony has signed with
the Associated Press (AP) to design and build a multimillion dollar
system, set for November rollout, that will add video capabilities
to AP's current network of 92 bureaus in 67 countries.
The AP's new APTV news service will use a worldwide network to
transmit international stories from a video capture, control, edit
and distribution center in London, a Sony spokesperson told
Newsbytes.
The newly signed deal calls for Sony to install, engineer and
support the London news feed and global network, and to outfit AP
bureaus with electronic news gathering equipment, according to the
spokesperson. Sony will be the "primary provider" for APTV.
APTV will employ "professional quality" Sony ENG video cameras and
edit and feed backs for covering breaking news stories. AP bureaus
in major news centers will be supplied with Sony Betacam cameras,
fly-away packs, and editing and field equipment. Other bureaus will
be provided with Sony Hi-8 format cameras and editing and field
equipment.
The AP expects to launch APTV on November 1, the spokesperson said.
The wire service plans to add TV professionals to its staff around
the world for the new video service. The AP now provides news,
photos, graphics and audio services to over 15,000 TV and radio
stations.
The spokesperson told Newsbytes that AP and Sony are not disclosing
financial terms of the deal, or the amount of equipment involved.
The agreement, though, is the second largest in Sony's history,
topped only by a $50 million deal with Hughes Direct TV that Sony
signed last year, she said.
Information as to the number of TV professionals to be added to
AP's staff was also unavailable at press time. With 3,200 employees
today, the AP bills itself as the largest news gathering
organization in the world.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19940526/Reader Contact: Sony Electronics, 800-
635-SONY; Press Contacts: Gerrie Schmidt, Sony Electronics, 201-
930-7454; Richard Schineller, Technology Solutions for Sony, 212-
505-9900)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00022)
Rogers Cable To Harness Microsoft's Tiger 05/26/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Rogers
Cablesystems Ltd., one of the major cable television operators in
Canada, has announced plans to use Microsoft Corp.'s recently
introduced Tiger media server software to offer new services to
its subscribers.
The two companies announced the signing of a letter of intent
that says Rogers will be involved in early testing of the
software, which will be used in cable television companies'
head-end systems and in set-top boxes in cable subscribers'
homes.
Colin Watson, president and chief executive of Rogers
Cablesystems, told Newsbytes that engineers from his company
will be working with Microsoft at its Redmond, Wash., headquarters,
and Rogers hopes to install its first Tiger media server in
Toronto in the second quarter of 1995. Wider deployment is
planned for 1996, he said.
The servers will be used to provide services such as interactive
home shopping, movies on demand, and education and directory
services.
Watson said there is a proven demand for at least some of these
services. Rogers already offers four channels of pay-per-view
movies on its cable systems, and demand has been strong, he said.
The company is confident that the ability to watch movies almost
exactly when viewers want will add to that demand. Watson also
maintained that a number of shoppers who currently order goods
from printed catalogs will like shopping through their television
sets.
Meanwhile, he said, the future may hold truly new "killer
applications" that will make interactive television services even
more attractive.
Other opinions on the demand for such services are mixed. The
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, a Toronto-based lobby group,
reported on a survey last year in which a majority of television
viewers said they would prefer higher-quality programming to
more choices. And Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass.,
maintained in a recent study that it will be at least the year
2000 before interactive content becomes compelling and cheap
enough to appeal to many consumers.
(Grant Buckler/19940526/Press Contact: Colin Watson, Rogers
Cablesystems, tel 416-447-5500; Ken Nickerson, Microsoft Canada,
tel 905-568-0434 ext. 4246, fax 905-568-1527)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00023)
Compaq Grabs Top Spot For 1st Quarter PC Shipments 05/26/94
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Compaq Computer
Corporation has taken over the leadership in the US market, at
least temporarily, shipping more personal computers (PCs) than
any other company during the first quarter of 1994.
Compaq's dominance in "units shipped" is reflected in the list
published by research firm Dataquest Inc, a San Jose, California
company. It is the first time Compaq shipped the most PCs in the
United States in one quarter and puts the company on its way to
fulfilling its self-proclaimed goal of garnering industry leadership
by 1996. Many industry analysts speculate the company will take
over leadership from IBM this year.
Dataquest figures show that Compaq also shipped more portable
computers than any other company in the world during the quarter.
Newsbytes reported recently that Compaq led the industry
in units shipped in the United Kingdom for the first quarter of
1994.
Compaq spokesperson John Sweney told Newsbytes the company is
pleased with the results but isn't resting on its laurels. "We think
the numbers are a great indicator that we are on track for reaching
our goal of being number one by 1996, but we also recognize that
this only represents one quarter's results. It's a long ball game with
formidable competitors."
Compaq US shipments were up more than 55 percent over the first
quarter last year. Whether it can maintain its leadership is
unclear. According to Philippe de Marcillac, director and principal
analyst of Dataquest's Personal Computers Worldwide research group,
Compaq took advantage of Apple's transition to the Power Macintosh
and IBM's traditionally slow first quarter. "We expect it to be a
close three-way race by year-end," says the Dataquest executive.
IBM had supply problems with its PS/2 and color Thinkpad systems
which contributed to its drop in the standing.
Apple occupies the number 2 spot on the Dataquest list with 10.4
percent of the market compared to Compaq's 12.4 percent. IBM
followed close behind with 10.1 percent. Completing the top 10 list
are Packard Bell, Gateway 2000, Dell, AST Research, Zenith Data
Systems, Hewlett-Packard, and Toshiba.
Total shipments for the year were up slightly over 1993. Last year
the 10 companies reported shipments totalling 3.35 million units
compared to this year's 3.94 million.
Packard Bell, Zenith Data Systems, Hewlett Packard and Toshiba all
showed good improvement this year, shipping about twice as many
units as they did last year.
The struggle for market share has been a benefit for consumers, with
prices continuing to drop and more PC makers distributing their
products through mass market channels in addition to the traditional
computer stores and resellers.
(Jim Mallory/19940526/Press contact: Paul Wheaton, Dataquest Inc,
408-437-8312, John Sweney, Compaq Computer Corporation,
713-374-1564)
(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00024)
UK Distributor Intros New Range Of Notebooks 05/26/94
WITHAM, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Aashima, the computer
distributor, has announced a new range of Trust branded notebooks.
According to the company, the range will be sold exclusively through
resellers and will range in price from UKP929 to UKP1,769.
The new machines are modular, with the hard disk and processor being
fully upgradable. Because Aashima is importing them en-masse into
the UK, the company claims that accessories are easily available and
include a docking station, extra nicad (nickel cadmium) battery and
a charger for the car, as well as mains electricity.
Announcing the range, David Johnson, Aashima's commercial director,
said that the introduction of quality, price-competitive notebook
products is a welcome addition to the increasingly important Trust
range. "The Trust notebook range is the only one available from
Aashima and, with the full range of accessories available, should
prove to be very popular," he said.
The new machines are based around a 50 megahertz 80486SLC2 or
80486DX2 chipset, and come with a 9.4-inch or 9.5-inch screen in,
respectively, color or monochrome. The color version weighs 2.9
kilograms (kilos), while the mono version weighs 2.5 kilos.
Integral to the new machines is a power management system which
Aashima claims ekes out battery life, even on color machines, to 3.5
hours. A 200 megabyte (MB) hard disk is fitted as standard.
Aashima is a trade only PC peripherals distributors with a claimed
reseller customer base in excess of 1,500 resellers. Its unique
selling point (USP) is that delivery is guaranteed within 24 hours.
The company is part of a European distribution network -- Aashima
International -- with offices in France, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands and the UK.
(Steve Gold/19940526/Press Contact: David Johnson, Aashima
Distribution UK, 44-276-502050; Reader Contact: Aashima
Distribution UK, 44-376-502050)
(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00025)
****Apple UK Reveals All On System 7.5 & Beyond 05/26/94
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Apple Computer
UK has outlined its "Stand Out and Fit In" strategy for the future
development of its "System" Mac operating system. According to Apple,
the strategy calls for the company to deliver regular improvements to
the Mac system software and its user interface.
This, Apple claims, should make the Mac more productive and easy to
use. The idea, Apple officials told Newsbytes, is to make it easier
for PC/DOS and Windows users to migrate the graphical user
interface (GUI) of the Apple Mac.
"We aim to make Mac technology even more relevant and available to a
much broader group of customers, including Windows and DOS users,"
explained David Nagel, AppleSoft's senior vice president and general
manager, in a prepared statement. "We plan to extend our leadership
in making computing even more natural and intuitive. And we also
plan to make Macintosh the best option in a world that has many
different types of computers in it."
According to Apple, the "Stand Out" aspects of Apple's strategy
include using the power of Apple's new PowerPC-based systems to
extend the Mac's human user interface. In the future, Apple claims
that the System software will migrate from being a passive GUI to
an active assistant.
"Over time, greater levels of intelligence should be incorporated, so
that the computer can actually anticipate the user's needs. Other
Stand Out innovations are expected to include advanced graphics and
multimedia capabilities, improved speech recognition and text-to-
speech technologies and collaboration enhancements," said Apple.
A key element in all of this, Apple says, is the OpenDoc component
application architecture. Apple claims that OpenDoc defines a new
method for applications to be created, using object-oriented
technology. These smaller applications, or parts, which by design are
interoperable with other parts, can be mixed and matched to form
custom solutions.
Using OpenDoc, Mac users will be able to open a document, regardless
of where the document has come from (for example, DOS or Unix) and
regardless of what application created the file, as long as the
application is OpenDoc-compliant.
Unfortunately, Newsbytes notes, System 7.5, the update of the Mac
operating system software designed to take account of the new
PowerPC-based Power Mac platform, will not include OpenDoc as an
integral feature. That is likely to arrive with System 8.x or beyond,
as beta versions (or OpenDoc) are being readied for shipment to
software developers this summer, alongside customer shipments of
System 7.5.
System 8.x has been code named Copland and has been penciled in for a
1995 shipment, though Apple officials will not be pinned down on a
precise time-frame for the software. Copland will include OpenDoc,
as well as extra advances in the field of active assistance. Other
enhancement to System include better multitasking, memory
protection, and data input/output.
In 1996, Apple plans an even more advanced version of its System
software. Code-named Gershwin and loosely termed System 9.x, the
operating system will provide fully-fledged intelligent assistance, as
well as a microkernel architecture suitable for porting to other
platforms, plus support for the expected significant improvement in
graphics.
(Steve Gold/19940526/Press Contact: Russell Brady, Apple
Computer UK, 44-81-730-2480; Reader Contact: Apple Computer UK,
81-569-1199; Toll free in UK only, 0800-127753)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00026)
Brussels WordPerfect/ODA Conference Set For June 05/26/94
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- WordPerfect Corp., and the
Open Document Architecture (ODA) consortium have announced plans
to host a developer's conference in Brussels in June.
The idea behind the two-day seminar is that software developers and
systems managers can discover more about the ODA and where it fits
in with the "great scheme of computer things."
According to WordPerfect, ODA is a critical tool for any company,
government agency, publisher or individual wanting to share documents
without sacrificing formatting. Users of any ODA-compliant program
can retrieve formatted text, graphics and other information created
in a different program.
So what is ODA? WordPerfect says that it is an international standard
independent from any program, and even the versions of the program,
in which the document was created. It has designed to solve the
difficulties created by many proprietary document formats used to
store documents. An ODA document can be called up, changed,
exchanged, stored and reproduced by any ODA-compliant program.
Newsbytes notes that ODA is similar to the Apple OpenDoc concept,
as well as the Adobe Acrobat multi-platform document viewing and
editing application. While Acrobat is available now, OpenDoc and
ODA have yet to be supported in an application.
The first day of the ODA conference (June 21), will consist of a
training seminar to examine and compare the characteristics and
value of ODA documents. The second day (June 22), will consist of a
comprehensive developers' training session on how to use the ODA
Consortium toolkit and how to integrate the ODA code into existing
software.
Plans call for an ODA advisory committee, the ODA Consortium
Association (ODACA), to be organized during the conference to provide
continuing dialogue on the development of the ODA consortium's
products.
The ODA consortium, a Brussels-based European Economic Interest
Grouping (EEIG), has attained active support from Bull, IBM, ICL,
Siemens Nixdorf, Unisys, and WordPerfect.
(Steve Gold/19940525/Press Contact: Vivienne Wilson, WordPerfect
UK, 44-932-850500; Reader Contact: ODA consortium - Fax (only)
32-2-774-9690; ODA Conference - Henk Loman, WordPerfect Europe,
Barbizonlaan 25, 2908 MB Capelle a/d IJssel, Netherlands; tel 31-
10-40-70-100, fax 31 10-45-66-255; electronic-mail on the
Internet: henklo@wordperfect.com)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00027)
Northern Telecom To Pull Out Of Poland 05/26/94
WARSAW, POLAND, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Northern Telecom (NT) has
announced that, having been snubbed by the Polish government on
telecoms contracts, it is shutting down its Polish operations.
According to the telecoms giant, the decision to shut down the
operation was taken after NT saw several other foreign companies,
notably AT&T (US), Alcatel (France) and Siemens (Germany), secure
contracts. This, the company claims, amounts to a closed market,
hence the pull-out.
Existing customers of NT in Poland will be supported from the
company's European headquarters in London, as well as via Kapsch, its
Austrian partner. Many customers will be supported by Elwro, the
Polish telecoms company which NT invested in two years ago.
Press reports of the pull-out in Warsaw suggest that the pull-
out is a snub back in the face of Polish Telecom (PT). It is unclear
how many staff will be laid off, but the company is thought to have
taken on several staff since it set up shop three years ago.
Reports in the local press suggest that NT may still allow PT room for
manoeuvre, however, as it will take several months to scale down and
transfer support for customers. Newsbytes notes that, now that the new
fiscal year is under way, PT may be swayed into awarding some smaller
contracts to NT in the hope of keeping the company on.
Northern Telecom, meanwhile, is refusing comment to the press, other
than the simple statement that it intends to pull out of the country.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19940525)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)
US West Invests In Spanish Cable TV 05/26/94
BARCELONA, SPAIN, 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Hard on the heels of announcing
plans to acquire Thomson Directories, a UK competitor to Yellow Pages,
for an undisclosed amount, US West has teamed up with Time Warner to
form Cable y Television de Europe (CTE), a joint venture operation
with Spanish Multimedia Cable also on the shareholders' list.
The idea of the new company is to build a state-of-the-art cable TV
network in the Barcelona region in the south-east of the country.
Plans call for CTE's fiber optic network to carry up to 50 channels.
The selection of Barcelona as the chosen spot over Madrid appears
to be because the footprint of the Astra TV satellite system, which
transmits two Spanish channels, is weaker than over Madrid. Also,
Barcelona only has a limited local TV network, Newsbytes notes.
Announcing the new venture, Richard Callahan, US West's president,
said that the project will cost more than $5,000 million to wire up
around 600,000 potential households initially, with the same number
being added to the network every year over the next ten years, to
reach a target six million subscriber households.
"US West International and its associates intend to invest in Spain in
such a way that it becomes a market leader in the development of
sophisticated domestic entertainment," he explained.
According to Callahan, cable TV will be "one of the most exciting
sectors in the industry in the coming years, given that new
technology will allow us to expand both interaction with the client
and the programming available to them," he said.
If the project is a success, then other cable TV franchises
could be possible in Spain, the company said.
(Sylvia Dennis & Steve Gold/19940525)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00029)
Unisys Unveils Its SolutionVision 05/26/94
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- Unisys
has introduced SolutionVision, a software strategy for development,
execution and management of enterprise client/server environments.
In alliance with Microsoft, Unisys announced the first step of
SolutionVision with TransIT Open/OLTP software and its
availability for Microsoft's Windows NT operating environment.
In the coming months, Unisys will be announcing new products on a
variety of mulitvendor platforms with the intention of bringing
client/server computing to operational and decision support
applications critical to business transactions.
TransIT Open/OLTP is a suite of client\server products and services
that allow universal interoperability among disparate information
systems.
Dr. William Bray, vice president and general manager of Software
Products Group for Unisys, told Newsbytes, "This company is going
through a major transformation from being a company that is
considered to be another mainframe company. We are going to be a
mainframe company because there is a large customer base that we
need to serve. But we are moving from being just a mainframe
company to being a server company."
He continued: "We are also moving from a company that has been
known, historically, as a hardware organization, to a software and
a services organization, because we are determined that we are
going to participate in the high growth segment of the information
technology industry."
Unisys is making it clear that it will expand itself to provide
greater services and support for its existing and potentially new
customers, while promising not to back away from its core
technologies.
Bray defined TransIT Open/OLTP "as a software environment that
allows users to access and update information resources located
anywhere in the enterprise. We are delivering TransIT Open/OLTP to
Microsoft NT and Microsoft Windows Advanced Server."
TransIT Open/OLTP is available in three packages, as Client/Server
Starter, Client/Server, and Distributed Transaction Processing.
The price of TransIT Open/OLTP for the U 6000 Series of Unix
servers ranges from $1,995 to $25,995 and is currently available.
The Windows NT Advanced Server price and availability will be
announced in third quarter, 1994.
(Patrick McKenna/19940526/Press Contact: Oliver Picher, Unisys,
215-986-5367)
(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00030)
Hike The Rocky Mountains "Virtual Reality" Landscape 05/26/94
NEDERLAND, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- A Colorado
company will soon ship a CD-ROM program for Apple Computer's
Macintosh platform that allow the user to snowshoe through the
winter landscape of the scenic Rocky Mountain landscape from
the comfort of their home.
Rocky Mountain Digital Peeks (RMDP) says it expects to ship its
newest Virtual Reality Landscape CD-ROM, titled "Winter Hiking in
Rocky Mountain National Park" in early June.
The company says the snowshoeing adventure is not a slide
show or travelogue, but an interactive exploration of the park's
winter environment.
Using a custom program called VLNavigate the user walks through the
landscape, controlling destination, orientation, and information.
According to RMDP the program gives you the feeling of actually
being there by providing surround views at every trail stop,
panoramas that allow you to explore beautiful vistas, and
interactive maps and compass controls that track every move.
The company says all the more than 2,200 color full-screen photos
are original, and provide context of the users position rather than
just the "best view." A customized palette for each image ensures
close to "true color" on 8-bit color computer displays. Eastman
Kodak's PhotoCD technology is used to store the images.
The CD-ROM is the first of a series of explorations of "beautiful,
natural areas and interesting places" the company plans to release.
The next title will explore a larger area of the Rocky Mountains in
Colorado in the spring season, including the Indian Peaks
Wilderness area, as well as Rocky Mountain National Park.
RMDP spokesperson and programmer Jim Perdue says the current
version of "Winter Hiking" is not a "native" application for the Power
Macintosh, but has been tested on that platform and runs well.
Earlier releases include "Calculated Beauty," a fantasy version of a
virtual landscape that features over 6,000 square feet of fractal
mosaics and a program to customize them for high-resolution
printing.
RMDP products are distributed direct to the consumer and through
the Educorp and MacZone catalogs. "Winter Hiking in Rocky Mountain
National Park" has a suggested retail price of $49.
Perdue told Newsbytes a Windows version of the program is
scheduled to ship in late 1994. He is also considering releasing a
DOS version if there is sufficient demand.
(Jim Mallory/19940526/Press contact: Donna Perdue, Rocky Mountain
Digital Peeks, 303-258-3779; Reader contact: Rocky Mountain Digital
Peeks, 303-258-3779, Educorp, 800-843-9497, MacZone,
800-248-0800)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00031)
Newsbytes Daily Summary 05/26/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 MAY 26 (NB) -- These are
capsule summaries of all today's news reports.
1 -> Watermark To Image-Enable Fax And Label Software 05/26/94 In the
two latest deals out of more than a dozen forged so far with other
vendors, Watermark's software will be used to "image-enable"
SoftLinx's Replix for Windows fax management software and Advanced
Labeling Systems (ALS) Inc.'s LabelMAX Director.
2 -> Compaq UK Unveils Two More Presario PCs 05/26/94 ompaq Computer
UK has unveiled two new additions to its Presario range of PCs -- the
660 and the 860 CDS. Both machines are billed as fast, with the 860
CDS coming in a new minitower case.
3 -> UK - Pinacl Products Intros Fiber Optic Cable System 05/26/94
Pinacl Products, has unveiled Unitex, a fiber optic product that it
claims provides a cost-effective "solution" for internal and external
cable installations.
4 -> Informix Dynamic Server 6.0 On Pyramid SMP Computers 05/26/94
Informix Software is now making available its parallel database
product, Informix Online Dynamic Server 6.0, on the Nile series and
MIServer ES series symmetrical multiprocessor (SMP) enterprise server
computers offered by Pyramid.
5 -> DB/Expo - 30,000 Attendees Expected 05/26/94 Blenheim's sixth
annual DB/Expo opened this week at the Moscone Center in San
Francisco to a large crowd of attendees eager to visit more than 700
exhibits, nine conferences and an almost constant program of noted
speakers.
6 -> Motorola Paging System Quiets Retail Stores 05/26/94 If you're
tired of hearing loud paging announcements as you wind your way
through the aisles of a favorite store, help is on the way from
Motorola's Customer Owned Paging Operation (MCOP).
7 -> H/R Pack Employee Tracking Software For PCs Intro'd 05/26/94 d&b
Solutions Inc., has announced H/R Pack software, a database program to
track employee information, benefit schedules, and training records.
8 -> Easel Boosts Windows, Notes Support 05/26/94 Easel Corp. has
added "native" support for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows environment, and
support for Lotus Development Corp.'s Notes workgroup software to its
line of software development tools. The company introduced the ESL
Technology Family, including some new development tools and upgrades
of existing Easel software.
9 -> "Totally Wireless" Store Opens In San Jose 05/26/94 Announcing
what it claims is the first wireless products retail outlet, Skyway
Cellular has opened "Totally Wireless" in San Jose, California, to
provide a "single source" for wireless information, sales and
service.
10 -> Nanao Bundles Color Management Software With Monitors 05/26/94
Nanao has announced plans to bundle Sonnetech's Colorific, a product
billed as the "first software-only color management system," with its
FlexScan monitors for PCs and Macs.
11 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 05/26/94 By John Hastings.
As expected, Intel has stated that its prices on the Pentium CPU
(central processing unit) chips will drop dramatically before the end
of this year.
12 -> Bookworm Multimedia Dev't Tool Lets Users Modify 05/26/94
Bookworm, the electronic book development software from Communication
and Information Technologies (CIT) is being announced in conjunction
with the American Booksellers Association Convention and Trade Exhibit
this weekend in Los Angeles, California. The software is intended for
the development of electronic books for both Macintosh and Microsoft
Windows-based personal computers (PCs) that users can modify.
13 -> Toshiba/IBM/Siemens To Develop 64-megabit DRAM 05/26/94 Toshiba
has agreed with IBM and Siemens concerning the joint development of a
powerful 64-megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
14 -> Japan - Windows Language Translation Prgm Intro'd 05/26/94
Fujitsu has developed language translation software for Windows-based
personal computers (PCs). The software was originally developed for
Fujitsu's workstations.
15 -> OneSource Pleased Over Lotus/Meridian CD Server Deal 05/26/94
With their first two Windows-based products already on the market and
others on the way, officials of OneSource Information Services, a
Lotus spinoff, are pleased that Meridian Data has signed with Lotus to
complete the development work on Lotus CD/Networker version 5.0,
according to Mark VanDine, senior product manager for OneSource.
16 -> Comdex - More On IBM Objects 05/26/94 In an interview with
Newsbytes at Comdex, John Schwarz, division director of IBM's Toronto
lab, emphasized the company's decision to move from a host-centric,
procedural software model to a server-centric, object-based software
model.
17 -> Comdex - WordPerfect Looks Up Main Street 05/26/94 WordPerfect
has been taking it on the chin for months. Its flagship product has
reportedly lost market share to Microsoft Word, and a "Wall Street
Journal" feature called the firm's managers amateurs, and hinted
Novell was buying it to prevent a total collapse. But at Spring
Comdex, all that was far away.
18 -> Comdex - Monty Python CD-ROM Launched 05/26/94 Despite some
technical difficulties, 7th Level officially launched its Monty
Python CD-ROM, titled "The Secret to Intergalactic Success," at a
Spring Comdex press conference.
19 -> Comdex - CDs A Major Theme 05/26/94 One main theme at Spring
Comdex in Atlanta appeared to be compact discs (CDs).
20 -> Wordperfect Renames Office 4.0a Software Suite 05/26/94
Wordperfect Corp., has renamed and upgraded Wordperfect Office, now
calling the product Wordperfect Symmetry 4.1
21 -> ****Sony Signs Multimillion Deal For AP Video Service 05/26/94
In the second largest contract ever for Sony Electronics, Sony has
signed with the Associated Press (AP) to design and build a
multimillion dollar system, set for November rollout, that will add
video capabilities to AP's current network of 92 bureaus in 67
countries.
22 -> Rogers Cable To Harness Microsoft's Tiger 05/26/94 Rogers
Cablesystems Ltd., one of the major cable television operators in
Canada, has announced plans to use Microsoft Corp.'s recently
introduced Tiger media server software to offer new services to its
subscribers.
23 -> Compaq Grabs Top Spot For 1st Quarter PC Shipments 05/26/94
Compaq Computer Corporation has taken over the leadership in the US
market, at least temporarily, shipping more personal computers (PCs)
than any other company during the first quarter of 1994.
24 -> UK Distributor Intros New Range Of Notebooks 05/26/94 Aashima,
the computer distributor, has announced a new range of Trust branded
notebooks. According to the company, the range will be sold
exclusively through resellers and will range in price from UKP929 to
UKP1,769.
25 -> ****Apple UK Reveals All On System 7.5 & Beyond 05/26/94 Apple
Computer UK has outlined its "Stand Out and Fit In" strategy for the
future development of its "System" Mac operating system. According to
Apple, the strategy calls for the company to deliver regular
improvements to the Mac system software and its user interface.
26 -> Brussels WordPerfect/ODA Conference Set For June 05/26/94
WordPerfect Corp., and the Open Document Architecture (ODA) consortium
have announced plans to host a developer's conference in Brussels in
June.
27 -> Northern Telecom To Pull Out Of Poland 05/26/94 Northern Telecom
(NT) has announced that, having been snubbed by the Polish government
on telecoms contracts, it is shutting down its Polish operations.
28 -> US West Invests In Spanish Cable TV 05/26/94 Hard on the heels
of announcing plans to acquire Thomson Directories, a UK competitor to
Yellow Pages, for an undisclosed amount, US West has teamed up with
Time Warner to form Cable y Television de Europe (CTE), a joint
venture operation with Spanish Multimedia Cable also on the
shareholders' list.
29 -> Unisys Unveils Its SolutionVision 05/26/94 Unisys has
introduced SolutionVision, a software strategy for development,
execution and management of enterprise client/server environments. In
alliance with Microsoft, Unisys announced the first step of
SolutionVision with TransIT Open/OLTP software and its availability
for Microsoft's Windows NT operating environment.
30 -> Hike The Rocky Mountains "Virtual Reality" Landscape 05/26/94 A
Colorado company will soon ship a CD-ROM program for Apple Computer's
Macintosh platform that allow the user to snowshoe through the winter
landscape of the scenic Rocky Mountain landscape from the comfort of
their home.
(Ian Stokell/19940526)