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/nb060694

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(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00001)

UK - PCMCIA Card For Non-PCMCIA PCs 06/06/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- PPCP, the portable products
distributor, has announced the Cardport ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture), a PC half card from Chase Advanced Technologies in the
UK, which offers two PCMCIA (personal computer memory card
international association) slots on desktop PCs that do not feature
slots as a native facility.

The UKP 190 PC half card is pitched at users of PCMCIA technology on
their laptop, while having no facilities for cards on their desktop
machine, Mike Welbrock, PPCP's operations director, explained.

"PCMCIA is now de facto standard for portable peripherals, simply
because it's so convenient. Many portable PC users also have a desktop
PC either at home or in the office and, for the first time, they can
share the same peripherals between the two machines. There's no longer
any need to double up devices such as modems and local area network
(LAN) adapters just because you have a notebook PC as well as a
desktop," he said.

In use, the Cardport ISA slots into a PC expansion slot and has a
PCMCIA type III (10.5 millimeter) slot in its backplane, plus another
slot for fitting a PC drive bay like any floppy drive. Both sockets
can be used at the same time allows, as an example cited by PPCP, a
LAN adapter to be plugged into the back, and a removable PCMCIA hard
drive to be plugged into the front of the machine.

The Cardport ISA is billed as providing card and socket services for
compatibility with a wide range of PCMCIA peripherals. In use, the
card supports XIP (execute in place) and ExCa (exchange card
architecture) facilities.

(Steve Gold/19940606/Press Contact: Craig Coward, the Edge Partnership
- [phone]; Reader Contact: John Nolan, PPCP - [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SYD)(00002)

Microsoft Australia Launches "Software To Go" 06/06/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- In what is claimed to be the
largest software promotion in Australia, Microsoft has introduced
three packages -- Home Pack, Office Pack and PowerPack -- aimed at
taking the worry out of choosing PC software. The packs are designed
for home and office users.

Microsoft Home Pack contains Works, Creative Writer and Entertainment
Pack. The suggested retail price is AUS$229 (around US$170) which is
about half of the separate components.

Microsoft Office Pack, meanwhile, contains Excel, Word, PowerPoint,
Access, Mail, Publisher and Money. The suggested price is AUS$875
(around US$640) which is around 40 percent less than the components
individually.

Last, but not least, Microsoft's PowerPack contains MS-DOS 6.2
upgrade, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and a Microsoft ergonomic mouse.
The price is AUS$229, a saving of around 50 percent.

Although Microsoft has moved to a "user-pays" support system in
Australia, these three products come with free service and support up
until September 30, 1994.

Microsoft's new Australian MD, Chris Kelliher, said that the point of
the products wasn't just saving money.

"The Microsoft home and office pack promotion applies the same
retailing principle as a McDonalds Combo Meal or a Kentucky Fried
Chicken Dinner Box. Consumers don't have to stop and try to work out
all the bits and pieces they want. They can just order a pack simply
and easily," he explained.

Microsoft is backing the new packs with a promotion that includes
$300,000 in buyer giveaways and a BMW 318i for one lucky dealer.

(Paul Zucker/19940606)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00003)

Intel, Telecom Australia To Co-Develop Products 06/06/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Intel Australia and Telecom
Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding that will form the
basis for joint development in the fields of audio, data and video
desktop applications.

Telecom's Telemedia manager, Martin Turner, said that the deal
was built on the "close fit" between Intel's experience in
developing powerful applications for the PC and Telecom's
internationally recognized standing as a telecommunications carrier.

"As the sectors of telecommunications and computing move closer
together, we see cooperative undertakings such as this one with Intel
as the way to get the best out of our shared interests and separate
strengths. We now have technologies which allow computers and
telephone services to be tailored to meet individual customer needs
and the market potential for desktop communications in this
environment is quite astounding," he said.

David House, Intel's senior vice president of corporate strategy, has
been visiting Australia this past week and said" "Information is the power
of today's global society. By merging the power of the PC with the
immediacy of the telephone, we will spawn new capabilities in business
communications including telephone integration, data sharing and video
conferencing."

According to House, the end result is that business users will get
better access to information, be able to make better and quicker
decisions, and be more competitive. "Our partnership with Telecom will
extend the PC's capability into real-time personal conferencing
communications in Australia," he said.

The two companies will work on desktop conferencing applications which
can be accessed via modem, local area networks, the public switched
network or the integrated services digital network (ISDN).

(Robert Small/19940606)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00004)

Ontime Scheduler Adds Phone Integration 06/06/94
SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Campbell Services has
announced some new telephony services it is adding to its group
scheduling program OnTime for Windows.

The added technology will link with Passageway Telephony Services
Solution, a computer-telephony integration (CTI) product announced
over the last week by AT&T and Novell, to initiate calls from within
OnTime using that program's scheduling, to-do list management and
phone book program. Passageway links stand-alone and networked
computers with telephones and PBX systems. A caller ID feature
retrieves and displays caller information on the computer display.

Campbell says that it will implement the OnTime CTI features in
stages. Initially users will be able to speed dial phone numbers from
within their calendars and to-do lists. Call lists will be able to be
imported from other programs into OnTime.

The user will just point-and-click to autodial desired numbers. It
will be possible to keep notes and information saved or deleted as the
user works. Names not deleted from the to-do list will automatically
roll over to the next day's list.

OnTime includes an alarm feature, and users will be able to click on
the screen to dial that number when the alarm pops up.

Users will also be able to schedule conference calls, automatically be
notified when it is time to make those calls and initiate conference
calls with a mouse click. Additional features will be supported in
future versions of OnTime by Director. That's a future AT&T
application scheduled to be added to the Passageway product line.

Campbell says it plans to release its Ontime Phone Book later this
year. Phone Book, with software links to OnTime and the Passageway
family, will be sold as a separate product but will further streamline
the autodialing process.

Future versions of OnTime will also include the ability to write
macros - stored keystrokes that perform specific functions and can be
launched with one or two keystrokes -- that are triggered by scheduled
events or by incoming calls. The company cites as an example a
scheduled event that notifies the user about a conference call, pulls
contact information from the phone book and sends it across the
network to other users participating in the conference call, and dials
all the conferences.

(Jim Mallory/19940606/Press contact: Don Campbell, Campbell Services,
810-559-5955; Reader contact: Campbell Services, 313-559-5955 or 800-
345-6747, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00005)

UK - Hardware Distrib Aashima Handles Software 06/06/94
WITHAM, ESSEX, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Aashima, a PC hardware
distributor, has announced it is moving into software sales. The
Witham-based company has agreed to handle Windows-based applications
from Toplevel, distributing the packages to its 1,800-plus resellers.

This is the first time that the distributor has agreed to handle
software and, according to David Johnson, Aashima's commercial
director, will allow the company to move steadily towards its aim of
being a "one stop shop" for resellers' requirements.

Three packages comprise the Toplevel range, including Complete Works,
a suite package; Fine Words, a word processor; and Toplevel Forms, a
forms handling package.

Johnson said that the agreement signifies the company's move into the
software distribution marketplace. "We have an excellent reputation in
the (hardware) marketplace and Toplevel's products are ideally suited
to our customers," he said.

Jane Roberts, Toplevel's marketing director, said that adding Aashima
to its distribution arrangements will allow the company to "hit a
whole new set of resellers."

(Steve Gold/19940606/Press & Reader Contact: Aashima Distribution UK -
[phone]; Fax - [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00006)

Mobile Data Users To Skyrocket 06/06/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- According to a report just issued
by Ovum, the market research company, the total number of mobile data
subscribers in Europe and North America is expected to multiply 25
times over between now and the end of the decade, pushing the
subscriber base towards the 18 million-plus mark.

According to "Mobile Data: Mobile Strategies," a UKP 1,190 report from
Ovum, the market will be fuelled by strong growth from the mainstream
(horizontal) marketplace.

When Ovum published its first report on mobile data in June of last
year, forecasts for the mobile data subscriber base in Europe and
North America were quite modest, and were predicted as expected to hit
the nine million mark by the end of the decade.

According to a spokeswoman for Ovum, last year, the strength of mobile
data was focused on vertical markets, which is the police and
airlines, and it appeared that this situation would stay that way until
the end of the decade.

By the time 1994 came into view, however, there were several
developments in software that started to fuel growth in the horizontal
marketplace. Ovum predicts that, by 1997, the horizontal market will
dominate the vertical market as far as mobile data technology is
concerned. "These developments will bring the appeal of mobile data
to a wider audience and expand the potential subscriber base," Ovum
officials said.

Ovum's report notes that the most notable advances in mobile
data products have come from Microsoft and Novell. Microsoft
has announced it is teaming up with Mobile Telecommunications
Technologies (Mtel), the largest paging firm in the US, to
construct a $150 million advanced wireless network to be up
and running by 1995. The venture, known as the National
Wireless Network, will provide two-way data messaging services,
special alphanumeric pagers and a new generation of
Mtel-developed pocket data communicators.

Also, Novell has introduced an extension to its Appware applications
development tools that will be available from this September.
Novell hopes that the Distributed Appware Bus will simplify the
creation of remote access applications, using Appware loadable
modules (ALMs) which allow users to change between local area
network (LAN) and modem without any problems.

Mobile Data: market strategies, with four quarterly updates, costs UKP
1,190 in the UK and $2,215 in the US.

(Steve Gold/19940606/Press & Reader Contact: Jennie Batchelor, Ovum -
[phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00007)

VTEL Distance Learning Sale To Mississippi 06/06/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1993 JUN 6 (NB) -- VTEL, the third-largest
videoconferencing system supplier in the US, has secured a prestigious
contract with the State of Mississippi. Terms of the contract call for
VTEL to supply 17 of its MediaConferencing systems to the state's
community colleges.

According to VTEL, the systems sold to the state are H.320-compliant,
making them compatible with kit sold by the company's larger rivals,
Compression Labs and Picturetel.

VTEL said that its Mississippi community college project will be
installed and serviced by ATS Telephone & Data Systems of Memphis,
Tennessee, one of its authorized resellers. Under the contract, the
Mississippi Community College Foundation will put 15 systems in
community colleges across the states, and additional systems at the
University of Mississippi Medical Center and Mississippi Cooperative
Extension Service at Mississippi State University.

The network is expected to be operational prior to the fall semester.
This will allow the community college network to provide more advanced
degrees in nursing and allied health professions than it can today,
and it will also allow the extension of the service to deliver lessons
on agriculture issues like safety and disease prevention.

The network could also allow high school students to take advanced
courses, and it could be used for public or private business
conferences as well, officials told Newsbytes.

The system will be dedicated by Senator Thad Cochran, a Republican, on
July 11, in the state capitol of Jackson.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940606/Press Contact: VTEL, Sheri Goodwin,
800/856-0125; Mississippi Community College Foundation, George
Wynne, 601/857-3560)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DAL)(00008)

"Try Before You Buy" Software Offer From AT&T Multimedia 06/06/94
MAITLAND, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- The Multimedia Software
division of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) has announced it
is offering free copies of RIO Desktop, its DOS-based illustration,
design, and image creation software program, on a "try before you buy"
basis.

Under the scheme, the software will be available for 30 days to the
first 50,000 respondents, who will then be expected to pay $99 for the
product if they decide to keep it.

AT&T is beginning advertising of the offer by taking a series of ads
in magazines. It is also planning a series of direct mail offers to
further promote its multimedia software products. AT&T's hope is to
further build the user base for the RIO product line.

RIO is also available in a Professional version. RIO Animator, an add-
on product available from AT&T, that takes images or objects created
in RIO, as well as scanned images, allows the ability to add vector-
based text, so that the user can rotate, scale, flip, or multiply the
object to create an animation sequence.

A Microsoft Windows 3.1 version, as well as a Windows NT version, of RIO
is in the works. The Windows 3.1 version will be available in October
-- users who buy RIO now will be offered a special $69 upgrade price
when the Windows version ships, company officials told Newsbytes.

A telemarketing firm is handling free RIO for DOS requests via a toll-
free number. The DOS version normally retails for $495.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940606/Press Contact: Charges Valeston, AT&T
Multimedia Software, 407-662-7235; Richard Goswick, Goswick
Advertising, 713-622-4100, fax [phone]; Public Contact: RIO
Order Line, 800-898-6544)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SYD)(00009)

Australia - Apple Intros Schools Software Licensing 06/06/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- A new program from Apple
Computer Australia has been designed to make licensing of the
company's software easier and less expensive for Australian schools.

Under the Schools Site License Agreement, preschools, primary schools
and high schools will be able to choose any of seven Apple software
products and copy them onto all of the school's on-site computers and
teacher's personal off-site computers for a cost of AUS$695 per
computer (around US$500).

"The program is a very simple, inexpensive way for schools to ensure
that all of their computers have legal rights to the latest versions
of Apple software." explained Diana Rydall, Apple Australia's director
of education.

"It also means teachers can ensure that they are using the latest
software to develop materials for classwork, and that they aren't
working on different versions at home to those used at school," she
said.

The products available under the scheme are: System 7.1; Hypercard
2.2; At Ease for Workgroups; Apple Font Pack; Macintosh PC Exchange;
PhotoFlash; and Apple Personal Diagnostics.

After placing an order, the school receives one complete version of
the product to be duplicated on the eligible machines. The school also
receives two school site licence agreements, one of which must be
returned to Apple. In return a licence certificate is sent to the
school. It is a perpetual licence, although each new version must be
purchased.

(Toni Scoble and Paul Zucker/19940606)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00010)

UK - Apricot MD Warns On Info Highway 06/06/94
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Dr Peter Horne, Apricot
Computers' group managing director, has warned UK businesses that the
world is on the brink of a new industrial revolution, occasioned by
the arrival of the information superhighway.

Speaking at the annual convention of the Chambers of Commerce in
London last week, Horne warned that the "information revolution"
represents significant growth opportunities for forward-looking
companies which "have embraced information technology and trained their
workforces now."

He also warned that any company that does not embrace the challenge of
this new age, cannot expect to remain in business by the beginning of
the next century.

"It's my belief that we are on the brink of a new industrial
revolution which will have as much impact on the way we do business as
the last revolution 200-plus years ago. At the core of his revolution
will not be steam power, or the canal network, but the PC and the
information highway it will be linked to. Unless you realize this now,
you will not survive," he said.

Horne also called on the British government to ensure that Britain
will be able to compete in the information age, "For this to come to
fruition in the UK, we need the right infrastructure. I would ask the
UK government to support the development of our new information
highway just as the US and Japanese governments are," he said.

According to Horne, the computer will be the tool at the heart of
businesses providing comms and information, not just to the managing
director, but to the whole of a company's workforce -- "driving your
business forward into markets not limited by geography but by your
ability to deliver the customer with products and services at the
right point in time," he told delegates from Chambers of Commerce from
around the UK.

"Business people in the last century were stunned by the grown
opportunities that the canal network offered them and they quickly
became dependent on them. Business this century has been greatly
impacted by the telephone, car and plane. The information highway,
coupled with the PC, is set to open up the whole world to UK business
and the changes that it will cause in society will dwarf those caused
by the last industrial revolution," he said.

"If you don't run with this now, you won't be joining us at the
Chamber of Commerce annual convention in the year 2000," he added.

Horne explained that this new worldwide network will change the
markets that will be open to UK business. "For small and medium-sized
organizations, most business is currently conducted in local markets
and this is usually one that can be serviced geographically. The
information revolution will change all that -- with a worldwide comms
and information network that is cheap and open to all, the definition
of what is local will radically change," he said.

"The future information highways will bring people to work, more
people will work from home in the future -- already 39 million do
in the US. It will be easier for organizations to work together
at a distance and, of course, it will bring people to
people -- for instance, already 20 million people worldwide are using
the Internet, many of whom use it for individual contact via
electronic mail," he added.

(Steve Gold/19940606/Press Contact: James Blackledge, Apricot
Computers - [phone]; Reader Contact: Apricot Computers - +44-
21-717-7171)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LON)(00011)

Apple UK "Dead Or Alive" PC Trade-In Program 06/06/94
UXBRIDGE, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Apple Computer UK has
announced a "dead or alive" trade in program for educational sector
buyers of its Power Mac machines. Under the scheme, any bona fide
educational buyer, many of whom already qualify for a substantial
discount, can trade in his/her PC, whether working or not, and get up
to a further UKP 400 discount.

According to Mike Newton, Apple Computer UK's general manager, a user
of a working computer will get more than the UKP 400 minimum discount
for a Power Mac, which can be one of six machine configurations.
The actual level of discount varies, dependent on the type, age and
condition of the returned PC and which Power Mac is purchased.

In parallel with the trade-in program, Apple has announced four key
market accreditations for its dealers: schools reseller, higher
education reseller, corporate systems specialist and authorized
publishing reseller. Resellers qualify for the accreditation, based on
staff assigned to each market, systems expertise, and the volume of
current business in that key market.

Of the trade-in campaign, Newton said that it is an indication of the
aggressive marketing tactics that Apple plans to employ to exploit the
Power Mac's lead over the competition, "in terms of raw power and
usability."

"Education is an important market for Apple in the UK and our schools
and higher education resellers have the skills to grow Apple's market
share on the back of this campaign," he said.

The campaign is being supported by customer mailings and local
advertising from Apple's 24 authorized higher education resellers and
nine authorized schools resellers. The "Wanted: Your PC Dead or Alive"
campaign runs until the end of this month (June).

Minimum discounts start at UKP 150 for a non-working PC off the price
of Power Mac 6100, UKP 300 for a 7100 and UKP 400 off an 8100. The
better the PC, the better the trade-in -- Apple UK cites the example
of a customer trading in a Compaq Deskpro 386/33 M120 4/120 for a
Power Mac 7100 8/250, getting a UKP 600 trade-in offer.

(Steve Gold/19940606/Press Contact: Russell Brady, Apple Computer UK -
[phone]; Reader Contact - Apple Computer UK - [phone];
Toll-free in UK only - 0800-127753)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DAL)(00012)

Taligent PEEK Developer Training Program 06/06/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Taligent, the Apple-
IBM joint venture application software tools development company, has
starting shipping early editions of its object-oriented Taligent
Application Environment (TalAE) package to a select group of
developers working in the IBM AIX operating system environment.

Taligent says that it is offering training and support for its first
product to this early group, in a program it is calling the Partners
Early Experience Kit (PEEK).

Taligent will begin its PEEK program this week with more than 100
companies participating in a two-day developer briefing followed by
six one-week training sessions. The developers will receive a two disc
set of CD-ROMs containing TalAE, an integrated set of development and
analysis tools, and sample applications.

According to Taligent, this version of TalAE is aimed at users of the
IBM RS/6000 workstation platform running AIX, although the version of
the package for the PowerPC-driven RS/6000 is not yet available.

Newsbytes understands that the developers chosen in the early tests
are Fortune 1,000 professional software developers, independent
software vendors (ISVs), systems integrators, value-added resellers
(VARs), and higher education developers.

Taligent representatives said that the company wanted a wide variety
of developers working on different platforms, "brand-name" developers,
and those doing interesting projects for PEEK. None of the developers
are paying to be involved in the program.

The development tools include: approximately 80 of the frameworks
planned for TalAE version 1.0 and an early version of Taligent's
People, Places and Things user interface metaphor. The frameworks fit
into three primary categories: application frameworks (such as
compound document frameworks and user interface frameworks), domain
frameworks (such as international text, two-dimensional, and three-
dimensional graphics) and support frameworks (such as application
services and network or distributed computing).

While the company claims that the PEEK frameworks offer sufficient
tools for developers to begin designing and programming TalAE
applications, the company hopes to incorporate developer feedback, add
a small set of additional frameworks and functions, and continue with
what it calls "productization efforts" before releasing the beta TalAE
1.0 version to a wider audience.

Taligent's investors, which include Hewlett-Packard (HP), as well as
IBM and Apple, have plans to eventually ship TalAE on their own
respective platforms. For example, IBM intends to ship TalAE on OS/2
and AIX, HP intends to ship TalAE on HP-UX, and Apple intends to ship
TalAE on PowerOpen and future versions of System 7.

The beta version of TalAE will ship by the end of the year, Taligent
said. Other planned products, The Taligent Development Environment
(TalDE) and the Taligent Object Services (TalOS), will ship the first
part of 1995, company representatives said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940606/Press Contact: Renee Risch, Taligent, 408-
777-5093; Ellie Victor, Cunningham Communication, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00013)

Delrina Signs Deals On Internet, Wireless Fronts 06/06/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Delrina has signed deals
with two US companies -- MobileComm and CommTouch -- to give it
footholds in the world of wireless communications and Internet
electronic mail.

The first deal is with MobileComm, a subsidiary of BellSouth, that
will let Delrina integrate MobileComm's wireless paging technology in
its personal computer software packages.

This will mean users of Delrina's software will be able to have pagers
notify them of events or deliver text messages for integration into
the applications. For instance, Delrina spokesman Shelly Sofer told
Newsbytes, an alphanumeric pager could be used to deliver a short text
message that would then be integrated into an electronic form using
Delrina's PerForm software.

Delrina's second deal is with CommTouch Software of San Mateo,
California, to license front-end technology for sending and receiving
electronic mail over the Internet.

CommTouch provides a graphical user interface that shields computer
users from most of the technical complexities of using the Internet's
worldwide e-mail system. "Connecting to the Internet, unless you're a
real expert, is very complicated," Sofer said. He claimed that the
CommTouch software makes the process very quick and easy.

Delrina plans to incorporate the CommTouch software in its Delrina
Communications Suite, a bundle of the company's communications
products, Sofer said.

Delrina has not announced exactly when it expects to offer the results
of the two partnerships to its customers. However, Sofer said, Delrina
and CommTouch have already demonstrated their products working
together.

(Grant Buckler/19940606/Press Contact: Shelly Sofer, Delrina, tel
416-441-4702, fax [phone], Internet [e-mail];
Jean Coppenbarger, MobileComm, tel [phone]; Public Contact:
Delrina, tel [phone] or 416-441-3676)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00014)

Japan - Preview Of Windows World Expo In Tokyo 06/06/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- IDG World Expo Japan has announced
that next week's Windows World Expo Tokyo, scheduled to be held at the
Makuhari Messe on June 15/17, will be the largest show of its type.
This event, the third in the annual series of shows, has attracted 215
exhibitors, IDG officials said. This, they told Newsbytes, is around
twice as many as last year.

Plans call for the event to feature an exhibition of both hardware and
software products with a general Windows theme, as well as a
conference, a series of seminars, and a Windows workshop.

Firms taking part in the event include Intel Japan, NEC, NTT Software,
Oki Electric, Olympus, Compaq, CSK, Just System, Seiko Epson, Sony,
Softbank, Dell Computer, Toshiba, IBM Japan, Japan Digital Equipment,
Japan Victor (JVC), Japan Unisys, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Borland,
Microsoft, Matsushita Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, MIPS, Yamaha,
Yokogawa Hewlett-Packard, Ricoh, Lotus, Information Resources Japan,
Nomura Research Institute and ASCII Corporation.

Main speakers booked for the event include Paul Maritz, Microsoft's
senior vice president, who will speak on Microsoft's technology
strategy for the future, as well as Intel's David House, who will be
discussing Intel's technical strategy.

Also booked to speak at the event is Microsoft's Mark Ryland, who will
explain the continuing evolution of Windows and its future, with
details of Daytona, Chicago, and Cairo being revealed.

Other speakers include Microsoft's (Tokyo) Toru Furukawa, ASCII's
Kazuhiko Nishi, and NTT's Hironobu Nagano.

Topics scheduled for the workshop vary from applications tools to
multimedia entertainment. A hands-on corner will, as the name implies,
give show visitors a chance to try out the latest Windows' hardware
and software.

(Masayuki "Massey" Miyazawa/19940606/Press Contact: IDG World Expo,
Japan, [phone], Fax, [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00015)

 ****Cox, Times Mirror Merge Cable Operations 06/06/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Cox Enterprises and
Times Mirror has decided to merge their cable operations into a new
public company, which will be the third-largest cable operator in the
US with 3.1 million subscribers. Previously, Cox was the sixth largest
US cable operator, and Times Mirror the 10th largest.

According to the companies concerned, the deal is being carried out as
a tax-free reorganization which values Times Mirrors' systems at $2.3
billion. Holders of Times Mirror common, other than the papers'
founders represented by the Chandler Trusts, will get 20 percent of
the new company's common stock with a value of about $932 million,
protected by a "collar" in case the stock price fluctuates by more
than 10 percent.

In addition, Times Mirror will get $1.364 billion in cash, which will
be added to the new company's indebtedness. Even with that, however,
the new Cox Cable will have among the lowest debt-equity ratios in the
cable industry, according to James Cox Kennedy, Cox's of Cox
Enterprises.

The deal comes just two months after Cox cancelled an agreement to
merge its cable network with Southwestern Bell, a regional Bell
holding company. The 21 Cox operations in that deal were estimated to
be worth $3.3 billion, and Cox would have gotten $1.6 billion in cash
and an initial 60 percent of the venture's equity. When that deal was
cancelled, both parties blamed the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and its cable rate ruling, which cut estimated cash flows.

In addition to combining their respective cable operations, Times
Mirror and Cox have formed a new partnership to develop and invest in
cable television. Times Mirror will manage the venture. Of the
$300 million equity in that deal, two-thirds comes from Times Mirror,
one-third from Cox.

Along with cash, Times Mirror is tossing in The Outdoor Life Channel,
a network it previously announced for launch in 1995. The two
companies have also agreed to explore a test of interactive services
over a broadband network to be finished later this year in Irvine,
California.

Cox is privately held, but it operates much like a public company, and
for decades its TV and radio stations were publicly held as Cox
Broadcasting. Those operations were acquired by Cox Enterprises in the
early 1980s, shortly before James Cox Kennedy, a grandson of company
founder James Cox, became the head of the firm. The first Cox was a
newspaperman and Governor of Ohio as well as the 1920 Democratic
candidate for US president.

The new company has its largest systems in San Diego, California,
Phoenix, Arizona, and Orange County, California, as well as New
Orleans, Louisiana, Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the state of Rhode
Island. Other systems held by the two companies have less than 100,000
subscribers each, but there are over 40 in all.

Along with the cable and programming interests, the new company will
also hold 30.1 percent of Teleport Communications, which competes with
regional Bell companies for the local leg of long-distance calls, and
which has ambitions of competing with their local networks, as well as
international programming services and cable systems in Denmark and
the UK.

Analysts said that the new deal is better for Cox, better for the
industry, and may help the Clinton Administration. The argument is
that Cox will have complete control of the new operation, which will
make the whole cable industry smaller, and the deal puts the lie to
the idea that the FCC rate cuts killed the industry. The one
vulnerability in the deal is California, where about one-fourth of the
new company's subscribers should have a choice of operators within a
few years, when Pacific Bell expands its network.

In the short-term, the big winner seems to be Times Mirror. Its shares
rose nearly 12 percent in price as word of the deal spread, and the
company said that, with the cash and plans for lower dividend pay-
outs, it will have billions to invest in "promising information
businesses."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940606/Press Contact: Ellen East, Cox Cable,
404-843-5854; Martha Goldstein, Times Mirror, 213-237-3727)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00016)

IDB Hopes The Bad News Is Past 06/06/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- The IDB
Communications Group is fighting press reports that its days as a
high flyer are past, following a rugged week, capped by the
announcement of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
investigation of the company.

Publicly, IDB spokesmen have noted that they had announced the SEC
inquiry themselves, and that it's routine. "We asked the SEC about a
disclosure concerning their inquiry and they said it was nothing
material," a spokesman told Newsbytes. "We issued a press release
noting their inquiry, to be ultra-conservative."

The SEC launched its inquiry following a decision by IDB's auditors,
Deloitte & Touche, to resign the account following a dispute over when
revenue should be credited. The resignation caused the company's stock
to lose half its value, which could hurt its growth efforts long-term,
since IDB has been relying on stock as its currency in acquisitions.
In addition, shareholders have filed a class-action suit against the
company, alleging that the company's managers mislead public
shareholders about the firm's finances while selling their own stock.

Some suggest "bad karma" is at work. IDB chairman, Jeffrey Sudikoff, and
company director, Joseph Cohen, recently bought 72 percent of the Los
Angeles Kings hockey team from Bruce McNall, who has his own financial
troubles. While a private matter, that deal too was roundly
criticized.

According to IDB spokesmen, the trouble began with Deloitte's concerns
over documents for revenues generated in the quarter ending in March,
for which IDB announced profits of over $8.8 million. IDB's
documentation on those transactions still didn't satisfy Deloitte,
which resigned the account May 23.

IDB President Edward Cheramy said that the specific transactions
involved dealings with British Telecommunications, and some bad debts.
He called it a documentation issue, and spokesmen told Newsbytes that,
at worst, a reduction in IDB's first-quarter earnings will be reversed
in its next earnings report, once the documentation is cleared up.

"The events of the past three days have not changed the underlying
fundamentals of our growing business. In the first four months of
1994, our international call traffic rose more than 45% to an
annualized rate of 404,000,000 minutes in April," commented Sudikoff
in a prepared statement.

"We have cash and short term investments of over $54 million, long
term debt to total capitalization of 38%, 150 international private
line operating agreements, and over 50 international public switched
voice agreements," he said.

"We are a vibrant and growing international telecommunications
company. In the near future, we expect to retain a leading accounting
firm to review our first quarter results and become our new auditors,"
he added.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940606/Press Contact: IDB Communications
Group, Susan Rodney, 212/850-5600)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00017)

 ****Microsoft Ships DOS 6.22 With New Data Compression 06/06/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Microsoft has released
a version of its MS-DOS operating system that includes a new disk
compression technology.

MS-DOS 6.22 includes Drivespace, a technology that replaces its
earlier Doublespace program after a court determined that it violated
the data compression patent of Stac Electronics, the publisher of
Stacker, a data compression program.

The shipment of MS-DOS 6.22 culminates a 16-month battle between
Microsoft and Stac. In January 1993 Stac sued Microsoft, alleging
violation of its patents. A month later Microsoft countersued,
charging patent infringement by Stac. In May 1993 Stac cut 20 percent
of its workforce, blaming that and lowered earnings on Microsoft.

In August 1993 a US District Court in Los Angeles denied an injunction
against Stacker, saying the issue would have to be settled at trial.
That trial, which ended in February of this year, awarded Stac $120
million, and gave Microsoft $13.7 million on the two companies
respective lawsuits.

In April 1994 Microsoft started shipping MS-DOS 6.21, its disk
operating system without data compression. Earlier this month a
federal judge denied Microsoft's attempt to have Stacker pulled from
retail shelves, and ordered Microsoft to withdraw or destroy any
versions of MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2 that hadn't already been sold.

The Drivespace technology included in the latest release of MS-DOS
offers similar features to those in Doublespace, according to
Microsoft. It also includes a revised ScanDisk, the utility that
detects, diagnoses, and repairs disk errors on uncompressed drives, to
support Drivespace. A feature called Doubleguard has been added that
provides an extra layer of protection for data, says Microsoft.

Currently MS-DOS 6.22 is shipping to PC makers, and is expected to be
available to users later this month. Microsoft will make available MS-
DOS 6.22 Upgrade for users of MS-DOS 2.11 or higher, and a Step-Up
that allows licensed users of MS-DOS 6.0 and 6.2 to upgrade to the
latest version. MS-DOS 6.22 has a suggested retail price of $77.95.

(Jim Mallory/19940606/Press contact: Colleen Lacter, Waggener Edstrom
for Microsoft, 503-245-0905; Reader contact: Microsoft Corporation,
206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00018)

New Add-Ons For Pagemaker 5.0 06/06/94
PORTLAND, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Extensis Corporation has
announced the availability for Apple Computer Macintoshes of PageTools,
an integrated set of additions for Aldus Pagemaker 5.0.

PageTools is Extensis' first product and includes Pagebar,
Pagepreview, Pagethumb, Pagealign, Pagecolors, Pageprinter, Pagemover,
Pagerulers, Pageguides, and Pagezoom. Pagebar lets the user create
customized menu bars. Pagepreview lets the user view the first five
pages of any file or publication before opening it. Pagethumb,
meanwhile, offers a floating window in which the user can view other
pages while working on the current page. Pagealign makes it easier to
align objects.

Pagecolors lets the user selectively change the color of lines,
rectangles, ovals and text individually or as a group. Pageprinter
lets the user preview and select pages before they are printed.
Pagemover lets the user move selected objects like graphics or text to
any page in the document without losing his or her place in the
document.

Pagerulers provides the user with up to 40 floating horizontal and
vertical rules for measurement of objects without affecting the
anchored rules.

Pageguides makes it possible to add, delete, or duplicate all types of
guides from any page in a publication, plus create guides for selected
objects. Pagezoom allows the user to examine a portion of a page in
fine detail while still working in the current layout view.

In some of the PageTools, changes can be transferred to page masters.

PageTools is currently available for Apple Macintosh computers. A
Windows version is scheduled to ship in the fall of this year.
PageTools has a suggested retail price of $169. To run the additions
you need Pagemaker 5.0 and Apple's System 7 operating system software.

Enhancements such as PageTools is a new but growing market. According
to Extensis total annual revenues for the desktop publishing market in
1993 reached over $300 million with nearly 600,000 desktop publishing
programs sold. The total cumulative installed base of desktop
publishing software is estimated to be over two million.

Aldus Corporation, the publisher of Pagemaker, is estimated to have
about half of the worldwide desktop publishing application market.
About half of those users are in the US. The Alliance Consulting
Group estimates the installed base of desktop publishing programs
will reach almost five million units by the end of 1996.

(Jim Mallory/19940606/Press contact: Bill Warner, Alliance
Consulting Group for Extensis Corporation, 503-452-5920; Reader
contact: Extensis Corporation, 503-274-2020, fax [phone])


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

 ****Sprint-EDS Merger Off - It's Official 06/06/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Sprint and General
Motors' EDS unit have announced they have suspended their merger
discussions after failing to agree on how to value each others'
operations.

The two companies are continuing to "explore other forms of a
strategic relationship," with some sources suggesting that Sprint may
be looking for new international partners to follow the BT/MCI
initiative announced last year.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Sprint wanted 1.3 shares of
EDS common for each share of their company, while EDS offered 1.1
shares. Hints of a breakdown in talks came earlier in the week when it
was revealed Sprint was talking to Japanese, German, and French PTTs
about a strategic investment. While refusing to confirm those
discussions, Sprint had confirmed earlier it was discussing a merger
or "other business combination" with EDS.

Sprint is the third-largest long distance company in the US, following
AT&T and MCI, while EDS is the largest "outsourcing" firm, running
the computer and communications operations of General Motors and
others. EDS was acquired by GM in 1986, and GM's business still
represents 39 percent of the company's revenues.

Both companies still need to make moves. EDS wants out of its GM
merger and GM needs to fund a $22 billion shortfall in its pension
plan. A combination of EDS and Sprint would have helped both
companies, giving the former access to low-cost long distance links
and the latter access to EDS' customer base.

But the two firms have very different corporate cultures and strong-
willed chiefs, William Esrey for Sprint and Les Alberthal for EDS. A
few years ago, in what was billed a merger of equals, Sprint swallowed
Centel, ignoring claims that Centel's management was superior to
Sprint's own.

Sprint also needs to make a move. Esrey told shareholders at the
company's annual meeting that international expansion is a "priority,"
and the company is being pressed hard, both from above by AT&T and
MCI, and from below by LDDS-Metromedia, which recently made a bid to
acquire WilTel which that company is still considering.

While both firms may see a compelling need to make strategic moves, it
seems clear at this point that move will not be a merger between them.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940606/Press Contact: Sprint, Susan Krauss,
202-828-7422; Tony Simonetti, General Motors, 212-418-6380)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00020)

 ****Microsoft Summit - SMS (Hermes) To Use SQL Server 06/06/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Microsoft's upcoming
Systems Management Server (SMS), a product code-named Hermes, will use
a SQL (Structured Query Language) Server for Windows NT to let
organizations store and access information on client/server
configurations distributed throughout the enterprise, officials said
at the Microsoft Envision Summit in Boston.

"The promise of `client-server' has been to give computing to the
masses. The problem has been management," explained Craig Davis,
Microsoft's regional systems marketing manager, and moderator of a
session called "The Microsoft Approach to Client-Service Solutions."

SMS, which is currently in beta and "about ready for release," will
reach beyond the "host-centric" emphasis of traditional network
administration to bring systems management to the desktop level, Davis
added.

SMS will also integrate with all SNMP (Simple Network Management
Protocol)-based network management tools, and will be "fully
compatible" with OLE (object-linking-and-embedding) 2.0, Microsoft
officials said during the session.

"This product will allow you to manage the entire environment,
whether it be all the desktops or all the servers," Davis said.

Product functionality will encompass remote installation and
distribution of software throughout the enterprise, in addition to
hardware and software auditing, diagnostics, and help desk support,
according to the officials.

In a preview of "some of the functionality," Don Elliot, systems
architect on Microsoft's SMS development team, showed how SMS will
allow tech support staff to view detailed systems configuration
information by "site," "domain," and "machine," to generate queries,
and to temporarily take over management of users' screens through
remote control.

"The key thing to remember about SMS is that it will use a relational
database, SQL Server for Windows NT, at the console level," Elliot
told a large crowd of Microsoft customers who gathered for the
conference at the World Trade Center in Boston.

SMS users will "be able to generate queries that say `Give me all the
486 systems that have the following parameters, and/or any of these
objects,'" he explained.

Use of the relational database will also let organizations "architect
the SMS product like their business models," he said. Various
"entities" within the organization -- such as marketing,
manufacturing, and engineering, for example -- could be "given their
own consoles" within the relational database, he added.

"These consoles could then become `children' to the `parent' (SQL
Server database) at the MIS (management information systems) level,"
Elliot said.

SMS will support "Windows networking" as well as additional networking
environments, including NetWare, Pathworks, and LAN (local area
network) Manager for Unix, according to Elliot. The network operating
environments can be managed as "lists of domains."

"In opening up a domain," he said, "you see a list of machines." For
each machine in the domain, the user can view configuration
"profiles." The configuration information includes operating system;
type of network; PC BIOS; random access memory (RAM); interrupts;
mouse; and serial, parallel, and video ports.

"How many of you have gotten a phone call saying, `I've fallen and I
can't get up?'" he inquired. "The user adds, `I've just put a new card
in my machine, and now it won't work.' You ask,`Do you remember what
interrupt you put that on?' and (the user) responds, `Yeah, I put in
on interrupt 3.' Well, now you can tell him, `That's your COM 2
port.'"

Elliot used a split-screen display to portray how SMS' remote control
capability can be used to teach users about applications and
techniques. "The user can watch me as I can through the steps," he
said.

In addition to remote control, SMS will include capabilities
for remote file transfer, remote reboot, remote execute, and
"remote chat," the Microsoft official told the group.

Newsbytes notes that, in April, Microsoft and Sybase ended a seven-
year joint development relationship for Sybase's SQL Server.

At that time, Sybase regained control of System 10 and higher
versions of SQL Server for various operating systems, including
Unix, OpenVMS and Windows NT Advanced Server, and agreed to
continue marketing the current Microsoft version of SQL Server for
Windows NT Advanced Server during the transition.

Microsoft, which had been selling SQL Server for Windows NT and
OS/2 under license from Sybase, gained the authority to
independently develop and market new editions of the product based
on Version 4.2.

Then, at Interop in May, Microsoft and Texas Instruments announced
plans to develop an "enterprise repository" for Windows NT to
utilize Microsoft's SQL Server and OLE 2.0 and TI's application
development tools.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940606/Reader Contact: Microsoft, 206-882-8080;
Press Contact: Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(BOS)(00021)

 ****Prodigy's "D-Day Bulletin Board" Gets 20,000 Letters 06/06/94
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- A special
"Veterans' Bulletin Board" on Prodigy, launched just before Memorial
Day to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day, has already received
20,000 letters from people of all ages.

"I can't spend more than a minute on the bulletin board and keep a dry
eye," said Carol Wallace, Prodigy's program manager for
communications.

The letters are being posted by veterans, in addition to students
and other young people interested in obtaining first-hand accounts
of the invasion of Normandy, according to Wallace. Veterans are
writing about their World War II experiences, as well as announcing
plans for local reunions.

In conjunction with the bulletin board, Prodigy is running "extensive
eyewitness accounts and personal photos" in its news section, Wallace
told Newsbytes. One eyewitness account is presented through a batch of
letters is from a "D-Day pilot who didn't make it home."

The materials on D-Day are crossreferenced to extensive facts stored
elsewhere in Prodigy, she added. If a veteran mentions the "B-26
Marauder," for example, users can access background information about
the World War II fighter plane.

Prodigy intends to continue running the special bulletin board for the
next three weeks, Wallace noted. "After that, we'll fold the bulletin
board into our education section for access on a permanent basis."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940606/Reader Contact: Prodigy, 800-PRODIGY; Press
Contact: Lydia Trettis or Leslie Gray, Connors Communications for
Prodigy, 212-995-2200)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00022)

FTC Asks For More Info On Aldus-Adobe 06/06/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Adobe Systems and
Aldus Corporation have moved the completion of their merger back to
July 16 because of a request by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for
more information. The two companies say the change is in order to
allow additional pre-merger notification time as required by the Hart-
Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

Aldus spokesperson Brad Stevens told Newsbytes that the FTC has 20
days to request additional information once the initial notification
of intent is filed. If the FTC does not comment in that period, the
merger is clear to move forward, said Stevens.

In this case the FTC requested additional information. "(The delay)
isn't surprising to us, given the voluminous amount of documents we
supplied for them," said Stevens. He declined comment on whether the
delay would cause any problems in completing the merger.

The change will apparently delay the shareholder meetings which were
to be held in late June or early July. The companies announced a
definitive merger agreement in mid-March in an exchange of common
stock deal that is estimated to make the acquisition of Aldus worth
about $500 million. The agreement also calls for payment of a breakup
fee of an undisclosed amount of the deal doesn't go through.

Company executives say they don't expect any problem getting
shareholders to approve the acquisition, which will create a company
headquartered at Adobe's facility in Mountain View, California. Aldus
president, founder, and major shareholder Paul Brainerd has said he
will vote his shares in favor of the merger.

Aldus' flagship product is Pagemaker, a high-end desktop publishing
program. Adobe publishes Postscript, a typeface program and last year
introduced Acrobat, multi-platform software that lets the user view,
navigate and print electronic documents regardless of the file format
in which they were created.

(Jim Mallory/19940606/Press contact: Brad Stevens, Aldus Corporation,
206-628-2361; Reader contact: Aldus Corporation, 206-622-5500)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00023)

America Online Adds To Internet Services 06/06/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- America Online (AOL)
has announced the addition of Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) and
Gopher facilities to its Internet Center which is open to all members.

Gopher is a way of browsing extensive directories and text of
organizations and individuals with Gopher servers. This menu-driven
program is assisted by a second program, Veronica, for easier
searching of the volumes of information. Gopher was developed at the
University of Minnesota whose mascot is the gopher.

While the origin of the name Veronica is not so easily traced, the
general concensus is that it was named in relation to another program
called Archie. WAIS (pronounced WAYZ) is a tool that allows users to
find articles based on a subject search of the user. With more than
500 databases available on the network, WAIS presents an attractive
tool for managing one's time.

David O'Donnell, AOL Postmaster and Internet Center manager, told
Newsbytes: "Gopher is like looking in the contents of a book and
seeing what subjects are covered. WAIS, on the other hand, is like
looking at the index of the same book to see if one can find a
particular subject or topic."

AOL has combined these tools to allow AOL users to get acquainted with
the Internet a bit more easily. Certain Gopher centers have been pre-
selected by AOL as "Editor's Choices" so that there is an easy
starting point.

Steve Case, president and CEO of AOL, said that he believes there is a
strong market for Internet services in a bundled and delivered form
offered by AOL as compared to the often difficult management of
Internet services through a standard Internet provider.

(Patrick McKenna/19940606/Press Contact: Pam McGraw, AOL, tel
703-3746)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00024)

Integrated Network Intros Multimedia Network Switch 06/06/94
NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- With the trend towards the use
of multimedia, companies are requiring increasingly complex tools to
manage the various technologies involved. Now Integrated Network
Corporation (INC) has announced a multimedia network switch with an
architecture that the company claims works with a wide range of
digital transfer protocols.

James Horton, a spokesman for the company, told Newsbytes that the
initial target market is two-fold: "Video-on-demand, either telephone
companies or cable companies; and any environment where there are
multiple formats being used at the same time," he said.

The company says that the switch, called the Allendale Multimedia
Network Switch, handles efficiently and simultaneously voice, data,
image and video traffic. Allendale transports TDM (time division
multiplexing), frame relay, cell relay, and ATM (asynchronous transfer
mode). The switch is based on INC's Scalable Multimedia Network
Architecture (SMNA) for distributed broadband networks.

Interestingly, INC says that it believes the public network will make
the same transition from a centralized to a distributed architecture
that the computer networking industry made in the 1980's, and that
public networks of the 90s will be characterized by multiple overlay
backbone networks, each optimized for a particular type of traffic
from specific classes of applications.

Announcing the new switch, Andrew H. Chapman, executive vice president
of INC, said: "The largest advantage to Allendale is that it is
scalable. You can add switching capacity incrementally as customers
subscribe to services."

According to the company, it designed the new switch "to keep start-up
costs low and investments in multimedia aligned with revenues." The
switch routes user information to the backbone network best suited to
the user application. It uses the TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol and an Internet protocol engine that adapts
foreign protocols. The switch also has redundant system components and
hardware protection switching.

Continued Chapman: "The Allendale Multimedia Network Switch is modeled
as a broadband networking server which provides layered communications
services in packet and circuit modes. All system units convert user
data into a standard microcell format. The cells are then transported
on a high-speed, one gigabit-per-second bus. Receiving units retrieve
individual cells from the bus then convert the data into appropriate
physical and frame formats for transmission."

Horton told Newsbytes that the company is "taking orders now and
shipping in August. He added that because of the multitude of possible
configurations involved with the technology, there is no set pricing.
Instead, the company says it is based on "customer configuration,
size, and distribution architecture."

(Ian Stokell/19940606/Press Contact: Valerie Rasines, Integrated
Network, 908-218-1202; James L. Horton, Slater Hanft Martin for INC,
212-674-3100)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00025)

Cisco Offers "Point & Click Internetworking" 06/06/94
BERLIN, GERMANY, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Hoping to appeal to small and
medium-sized businesses, Cisco Systems has introduced Point and Click
Internetworking, a technology that has been designed to allow users
with limited experience to design, install and configure their router-
based networks using a single Windows-based personal computer (PC).

At the same time, the company has also announced the appointment of 10
new distributors across Europe to service the small- and medium- sized
internetworking market.

The company says that Point and Click Internetworking is designed for
users who need to interconnect office workgroups at up to 15 sites. It
bundles two or more Cisco 2500 entry-level routers with a suite of PC
software tools on three CD-ROMs that offer "step-by-step instructions"
for interconnecting multiple remote sites. The program is initially
aimed at users purchasing routers through its European resellers.

Announcing the program, Bruce Byrd, Cisco product marketing manager,
said: "Point and Click Internetworking addresses the needs of the
small to medium-size user who typically buys products through reseller
channels and wants a simple, cost-effective way to set up an
internetwork."

"Up to now, vendors, in an effort to reduce the level of technical
expertise required by customers, have focused mainly on remote- access
products in large installations. This does nothing to help the smaller
customer who is setting up an internetwork for the first time --
perhaps connecting a half dozen LAN (local area network) workgroups at
different sites -- who isn't technically oriented and whose
installation is based on the TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol), Novell IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange)
or AppleTalk protocols," he added.

The Cisco 2500 series is an entry-level router product line. The
company claims to have shipped more than 20,000 units since its
introduction in January.

Point and Click Internetworking's CD-PAC consists of three CD-ROMs.
The first involves an Internetworking Overview, a tutorial on
IP/IPX/AppleTalk internetwork design and installation along with
descriptions of third-party offerings such as WAN (wide area network)
services.

The second is an Installation Toolkit of PC-based tools, which
includes the Cisco Configuration Builder, a graphical application that
synchronizes Cisco router configurations across a network; a TCP/IP
protocol software application that provides a TFTP (Trivial File
Transfer Protocol) server and Telnet client. UniverCD contains the
full Cisco router documentation library and enables users to search
for topics by keyword.

Point and Click Internetworking will be available in August through
the company's European reseller partners. The program will involve
Point and Click Kits (PACKs) made up of Cisco 2500s and a CD-PAC. The
Cisco 2500s are priced between $3,295 to $4,495 depending on interface
configuration. Each PACK containing five or six Cisco 2500s comes with
one CD-PAC free of charge. Each PACK containing two to four Cisco
2500s comes with one CD-PAC priced at $495. CD-PACs can be purchased
separately for $995 each.

Meanwhile, Cisco's new European distribution channels involve:
Frontline, Persona, and Unipalm in the UK; Omnilogic and Interquad in
France; Ronin in the Netherlands; Algol in Italy; PC LAN in Sweden;
NetCenter in Norway; and Computer 2000 in Germany.

Philippe Brawerman, vice president of European operations, commenting
on the new agreements, said: "Traditionally routers have been sold to
large blue chip organizations with a high degree of in-house technical
internetworking expertise. Now, Cisco has produced a range of products
and tools that make it easy even for non-specialists to exploit the
benefits of internetworking."

"There are millions of smaller organizations - probably running from
two to ten LANs in total - who want to exchange data electronically
with other offices, customers and suppliers and who need the
functionality that only routers can provide. By interconnecting
multiple sites to allow transparent and free access to information,
these organizations will benefit from significant productivity gains
and the resulting competitive advantage," he added.

Cisco Europe says it has made "internal organizational adjustments" to
cater to the needs of this new channel, creating a new "high-volume
products team" that has "direct experience" in the distribution market
sector. The company has also also streamlined its order processing and
implemented a new "high-volume support team" at its European technical
assistance center) in Brussels.

(Ian Stokell/19940606/Press Contact: Jacqueline Brinker, 408-526-7598,
Cisco Systems; Markus Badde, Cisco Systems Europe, 33-1-6918-61002)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00026)

PCLawjr Offered For Windows 06/06/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- The Alumni Computer Group
has announced the Windows version of PCLawjr, an office administration
package for small to medium-sized law firms. According to the company,
the new Windows version of PCLawjr offers the same functions as the
existing version for the DOS operating system, plus the graphical user
interface of Windows.

Alumni also plans continue selling the DOS version of PCLawjr, which
is "doing very well," a spokeswoman for the company told Newsbytes.

PCLawjr has modules for time billing, accounts receivable, general
ledger, check writing, financial statements, management reports, and
trust accounting. The software uses the one-write accounting system,
which is favored in smaller operations. According to company
officials, lawyers always see current information because the software
updates all journals and ledgers automatically as entries are made.

The software also offers a choice of billing formats, as many as five
billing rates for each attorney, a management report package, and a
mortgage amortization program.

The software sells for US$295 for firms with up to five timekeepers,
or US$580 for up to 10. Users of the DOS version can upgrade for
US$95, the spokeswoman said. PCLawjr is available in the United States
and Canada.

(Grant Buckler/19940606/Press Contact: Jodi Perkins, S&S Public
Relations for Alumni, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public
Contact: Alumni Computer Group, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00027)

FAA Slashes Computer Control; Layoffs At Loral 06/06/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has cancelled and restructured parts of the
multi-billion dollar contract Loral holds to upgrade the nation's air
traffic control computer systems. The result will be significant
layoffs in Loral's new federal system division, acquired from IBM late
last year, Newsbytes has learned.

According to the FAA, the move will save "hundreds of millions of
dollars." But Loral was able to rescue the biggest part of the
contract, new computer workstations used in 21 centers to guide
traffic flowing between major cities.

Loral Chairman Bernard Schwartz said: "We have spent the last five
months re-examining the program, which we acquired from IBM in
December 1993. We knew going in that major changes were necessary. The
changes which we have worked diligently to formulate with the FAA will
produce an enroute and tower air traffic control system that will
carry America into the twenty-first century."

While the government has already spent more than $1 billion on the
workstation project, an independent review recommended starting from
scratch, because there are so many flaws in the software written by
IBM. After listening to Loral's case, the FAA decided to conduct a
three-month review of the software instead.

Schwartz said that Loral will be "a full member" of the review team.
He said he was sure Loral would keep the workstation contract and it
would bring in "well over $1 billion" in future work. Large parts of
the air traffic control system, know as the Advanced Automation System
or AAS, are now up for grabs following the FAA's decision.

The FAA said it will take bids on replacing the computer systems at
"terminal" facilities, which are the air traffic control centers near
airports. The agency said it wants to push off-the-shelf technology
for these system.

The FAA has also said it will bid out parts of the project aimed at
new mainframe computers and software, adding that it will reduce from
150 to 70 the number of airport towers getting upgrades.

The FAA has not disclosed how much it would pay Loral in cancellation
fees. And while FAA Administrator David Hinson said the project has
gone overbudget several times, the agency refused to give a new budget
estimate.

In a prepared statement, Loral said it is "preparing a plan for
personnel reductions to reflect the revised program requirements which
will be announced as soon as possible."

(Kennedy Maize/19940606/Contact: Gerard Corbett, Loral, tel 212-697-
1105)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00028)

FCC Revising Spectrum Rules For PCS 06/06/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) s expected to announce significant changes in the
next week on the way it will divide up the radio spectrum for personal
communications systems (PCS).

PCS is a generic term used by the communications industry to decscribe
the new generation of digital mobile phones that make more effective
use of the radio spectrum than conventional analog phones.

Plans call for the FCC to then auction the spectrum to the highest
bidders starting later this summer with narrowband licenses or
enhanced paging. The FCC's original plan for parcelling out the
spectrum, adopted last September, drew howls of protest and some 67
formal petitions for changes.

The FCC is now expected to adopt a proposal from Motorola for a single
120 megahertz (MHz) section of the spectrum for any location. Under
Motorola's approach, the commission would then offer three 30MHz
licenses and three 10MHz licenses at each location.

The FCC's September plan would have forced bidders to buy different
pieces of the spectrum and then cobble together a full system. An FCC
official told Newsbytes that the Motorola proposal, or something very
much like it, "is almost a shoo-in." Motorola's proposal has
credibility, says the official, because it has interests in all of the
technologies that will be competing for licenses. The official said
the FCC has been getting lobbied heavily on the plan. "The Gucci group
has moved from Congress to down here," he said.

The new plan for splitting the spectrum is also expected to save
consumer money. Motorola argued that handsets would be 25 percent more
expensive under the September plan than under the new one.

Once the auction begins, the FCC has estimated that it could raise as
much as $10 billion in winning bids. But the FCC's record for crystal
ball gazing isn't very good. It vastly underestimated the market for
cellular phones when it issued licenses in the 1980s.

(Kennedy Maize/19940606/Press Contact: Rosemary Kimball, FCC, tel 202-
632-5050; Consumer Contact: Patti Grace Smith, tel [phone]; Small
Business Contact: John Winston, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DAL)(00029)

Struggling CIC Cuts Employees, Salaries 06/06/94
REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- Troubled
Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC), known for its
handwriting recognition tablet hardware for Microsoft Windows, has
announced it is cutting back its work force by 12 percent and reducing
staff salaries. The company, which recently saw its first quarter of
black ink in five years, says it is attempting to reduce operating
costs and conserve cash.

Sold on the notion that handwriting recognition will increase in
popularity for desktop computers, CIC has thrown nearly all its
resources at the Handwriter writing tablet product. Sales across all
product lines, including its Windows and Macintosh versions, are at
about 12,000 units, the company said. While the sales helped boost
first quarter revenues 46 percent to $1.7 million, CIC (NASDAQ: CICI)
was still haemorrhaging to the tune of $2.8 million due to expenses
associated with the launch of the Handwriter product line.

Now the company will layoff 12 percent of its work force of 150,
leaving about 132 employees. All of the layoffs are in the US, even
though the company has offices in Tokyo, Japan and Nanjing, China,
company officials told Newsbytes.

The Redwood Shores, California headquartered company is offering those
who survive the layoffs incentives to accept what it is calling
temporary salary reductions until it can get $3 to $5 million in
financing.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940606/Press Contact: Anne Butler, Communication
Intelligence Corporation, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MSP)(00030)

NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 06/06/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- These are the
photos that have been digitized and correspond to stories Newsbytes
has reported recently. The photos are online on the Newsbytes menu on
GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin board systems in
Minneapolis and in the UK. For information on how to become a licensed
Newsbytes  publisher in any medium call Newsbytes at 612-430-1100.

All photos are in JPEG format with PICT files for thumbnails. The
photo 'tag' numbers: title/year/month/day. The JPEG and PICT
indicators are 'jpg' and 'pct'. Slides are no longer enlarged.

APPLE PHOTO POLICY: An 'Apple Computers' courtesy, along with the
photographer's name is to be printed when an Apple Computer photo
is used. The bulletin will indicate this. Unless otherwise noted,
all Apple product shots; courtesy Apple.

---------------------------

Week of JUNE 6 - JUNE 10,1994

---------------------------

ADOBE940524 - Color from slide / screen shot of Illustrator 5.5.

Epson940517 - Color from slide / view of the new Epson Stylus
color printer, based on piezo technology.

LOGAN940526 - B&W from print / shot of 'Number Nine' the hit robot
of the recent DB/Expo.

MEDIOa940531 - Color from slide /  screen shot from the interactive
cd rom 'Medio Magazine' by Medio.

MEDIOb940531 - Color from slide / screen shot from the interactive
cd rom 'World Beat' by Medio.

SKBOSSES940518 - B&W from photo / shot of SoftKey execs surrounded by
software. (left) Kevin O'Leary president = (right) David Patrick
vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.

R'SHACK940527 - B&W from photo / shot of service tech working on
camcorder.

Amdahl940527 - B&W from photo / shot of Xplorer 2000 Model 100
database server.

NuPBook940516 - B&W from print / Apple PowerBook Duo 280.

NuPBook*940516 - B&W from print / Apple PowerBook 540.

PYRAMID940526 - Color from transparency / the Pyramid 'Nile' server.

MAXIS940523 - Color from slide / screen shot of PrintArtist work.

ECLIPSE940509 - B&W from photo / shot of Eclipse FAX package.

ADOBE940523 - Color from slide / shot of Dimensions program at work.

IDENTITY940523 - Color from slide / view of the liquid proof keyboard
with, OH NO!!, coffee being spilled onto the keyboard.

PHOENIX940426 - B&W from photo / view of the CD Essentials package.

PHONE940510 - Color from slide / view of man (frame right) on
phone set attached to PC, using the InterActive Communicator.

NOTEFLEX940518 - B&W from photo / view of the Zenith Data NoteFlex
notebook computer. For scale; a cell phone, pen & coins frame left.

FtrTel940511 - Color from photo / shot of 'PrimeView' card.

DECPC940517 - B&W from photo / shot of the DECpc LPx+ 400,
one of the new 'Green Line' pcs meeting EPA 'Energy Star' guidelines.

ALDUS940517 - Color from slide / screenshot of TypeTwister at work.

P'Tel940512 - B&W from photo / shot of presenter at the
PictureTel podium, where screen can be seen.

Prince940506 - Color from artwork / The 'glyph' which now serves
as Prince's nom de plum.

HuntHaft940425 - B&W from photo / portrait shot of Ms Hunt-Haft,
Managing Director, Claris Canada, Inc.

(Newsbytes/19940606)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 06/06/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 6 (NB) -- These are the capsules of all
today's news stories:

1 -> PPCP Offers PCMCIA Facilities Card For Non-PCMCIA PCs 06/06/94
PPCP, the portable products distributor, has announced the Cardport
ISA (industry standard architecture), a PC half card from Chase
Advanced Technologies in the UK, which offers two PCMCIA (personal
computer memory card international association) slots on desktop PCs
that do not feature slots as a native facility.

2 -> Microsoft Australia Launches "Software To Go" 06/06/94
In what is claimed to be the largest software promotion in Australia,
Microsoft has introduced three packages -- Home Pack, Office Pack and
PowerPack -- aimed at taking the worry out of choosing PC software.
The packs are designed for home and office users.

3 -> Intel & Telecom Australia To Co-Develop Products 06/06/94
Intel Australia and Telecom Australia have signed a memorandum of
understanding that will form the basis for joint development in the
fields of audio, data and video desktop applications.

4 -> Ontime Scheduler Will Add Telephone Integration 06/06/94
Campbell Services has announced some new telephony services it is
adding to its group scheduling program OnTime for Windows.

5 -> UK - Aashima To Handle Software 06/06/94
Aashima, a PC hardware distributor, has announced it is moving into
software sales. The Witham-based company has agreed to handle Windows-
based applications from Toplevel, distributing the packages to its
1,800-plus resellers.

6 -> Mobile Data On The Up And Up - UK Report 06/06/94
According to a report just issued by Ovum, the market research
company, the total number of mobile data subscribers in Europe and
North America is expected to multiply 25 times over between now and
the end of the decade, pushing the subscriber base towards the 18
million-plus mark.

7 -> VTEL Makes Distance Learning Sale To Mississippi 06/06/94
VTEL, the third-largest videoconferencing system supplier in the US,
has secured a prestigious contract with the State of Mississippi.
Terms of the contract call for VTEL to supply 17 of its
MediaConferencing systems to the state's community collages.

8 -> "Try Before You Buy" Software Offer From AT&T Multimedia 06/06/94
The Multimedia Software division of American Telephone and Telegraph
(AT&T) has announced it is offering free copies of RIO Desktop, its
DOS-based illustration, design, and image creation software program,
on a "try before you buy" basis.

9 -> Apple Australia Intros Schools Software Licensing 06/06/94
A new program from Apple Australia has been designed to make licensing
of the company's software easier and less expensive for Australian
schools.

10 -> UK - Apricot MD Warns On Information Highway 06/06/94
Dr Peter Horne, Apricot Computers' group managing director, has warned
UK businesses that the world is on the brink of a new industrial
revolution, occasioned by the arrival of the information superhighway.

11 -> Apple UK Intros "Dead Or Alive" PC Trade In Program 06/06/94
Apple Computer UK has announced a "dead or alive" trade in program for
educational sector buyers of its Power Mac machines. Under the scheme,
any bona fide educational buyer, many of whom already qualify for a
substantial discount, can trade in his/her PC, whether working or not,
and get up to a further UKP 400 discount.

12 -> Taligent Offers PEEK Developer Training Program 06/06/94
Taligent, the Apple-IBM joint venture application software tools
development company, has starting shipping early editions of its
object-oriented Taligent Application Environment (TalAE) package to a
select group of developers working in the IBM AIX operating system
environment.

13 -> Delrina Signs Deals On Internet & Wireless Fronts 06/06/94
Delrina has signed deals with two US companies -- MobileComm and
CommTouch -- to give it footholds in the world of wireless
communications and Internet electronic mail.

14 -> Preview Of Windows World Expo In Tokyo 06/06/94
IDG World Expo Japan has announced that next week's Windows World Expo
Tokyo, scheduled to be held at the Makuhari Messe on June 15/17, will
be the largest show of its type.

15 -> Cox, Times Mirror Merge Cable Operations 06/06/94
Cox Enterprises and Times Mirror has decided to merge their cable
operations into a new public company, which will be the third-largest
cable operator in the US with 3.1 million subscribers. Previously, Cox
was the sixth largest US cable operator, and Times Mirror the 10th
largest.

16 -> IDB Hopes That The Bad News Is Past 06/06/94
The IDB Communications Group is fighting press reports that its days
as a high flyer are past, following a rugged week, capped by the
announcement of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
investigation of the company.

17 -> ****Microsoft Ships DOS 6.22 With New Data Compression 06/06/94
Microsoft has released a version of its MS-DOS operating system that
includes a new disk compression technology.

18 -> Extensis Ships Mac Additions For Pagemaker 5.0 06/06/94
Extensis Corporation has announced the availability for Apple Mac
computers of PageTools, an integrated set of additions for Aldus
Pagemaker 5.0.

19 -> ****Sprint-EDS Merger Is Off - Official 06/06/94
Sprint and General Motors' EDS unit have announced they have suspended
their merger discussions after failing to agree on how to value each
others' operations.

20 -> ****Microsoft Summit - SMS (Hermes) To Use SQL Server 06/06/94
Microsoft's upcoming Systems Management Server (SMS), a product
codenamed Hermes, will use a SQL (Structured Query Language) Server
for Windows NT to let organizations store and access information on
client/server configurations distributed throughout the enterprise,
officials said at the Microsoft Envision Summit in Boston.

21 ->  ****Prodigy's "D-Day Bulletin Board" Gets 20,000 Letters 06/06/94
A special "Veterans' Bulletin Board" on Prodigy, launched just before
Memorial Day to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day, has already
received 20,000 letters from people of all ages.

22 -> FTC Asks For More Info On Aldus-Adobe 06/06/94
Adobe Systems and Aldus Corporation have moved the completion of their
merger back to July 16 because of a request by the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) for more information. The two companies say the
change is in order to allow additional pre-merger notification time as
required by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

23 -> America Online Adds To Internet Services 06/06/94
America Online (AOL) has announced the addition of Wide Area
Information Server (WAIS) and Gopher facilities to its Internet Center
which is open to all members.

24 -> Integrated Network Intros Multimedia Network Switch 06/06/94
With the trend towards the use of multimedia, companies are requiring
increasingly complex tools to manage the various technologies
involved. Now Integrated Network Corporation (INC) has announced a
multimedia network switch with an architecture that the company claims
works with a wide range of digital transfer protocols.

25 -> Cisco Offers "Point & Click Internetworking" 06/06/94
Hoping to appeal to small and medium-sized businesses, Cisco Systems
has introduced Point and Click Internetworking, a technology that has
been designed to allow users with limited experience to design,
install and configure their router-based networks using a single
Windows-based personal computer (PC).

26 -> PCLawjr Offered For Windows 06/06/94
The Alumni Computer Group has announced the Windows version of
PCLawjr, an office administration package for small to medium-sized
law firms. According to the company, the new Windows version of
PCLawjr offers the same functions as the existing version for the DOS
operating system, plus the graphical user interface of Windows.

27 -> FAA Slashes Computer Control; Layoffs At Loral 06/06/94
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cancelled and
restructured parts of the multi-billion dollar contract Loral holds to
upgrade the nation's air traffic control computer systems. The result
will be significant layoffs in Loral's new federal system division,
acquired from IBM late last year, Newsbytes has learned.

28 -> FCC Revising Spectrum Rules For PCS 06/06/94
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) s expected to announce
significant changes in the next week on the way it will divide up the
radio spectrum for personal communications systems (PCS).

29 -> Struggling CIC Cuts Employees, Salaries 06/06/94
Troubled Communication Intelligence Corporation (CIC), known for its
handwriting recognition tablet hardware for Microsoft Windows, has
announced it is cutting back its work force by 12 percent and reducing
staff salaries. The company, which recently saw its first quarter of
black ink in five years, says it is attempting to reduce operating
costs and conserve cash.

30 -> NewsPix Images For Newsbytes Publishers 06/06/94
These are the photos that have been digitized and correspond to
stories Newsbytes has reported recently. The photos are online on the
Newsbytes menu on GEnie, eWorld, and the Newsbytes private bulletin
board systems in Minneapolis and in the UK. For information on how to
become a licensed Newsbytes  publisher in any medium call Newsbytes at
612-430-1100.

(Steve Gold/19940606)