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(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00001)
Aldus Intros Chartmaker For Mac 06/07/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Aldus Corporation
has announced Aldus Chartmaker, a software program that lets the
user incorporate charts into files created in any standard
Macintosh application, including those published by companies other
than Aldus.
Aldus says Chartmaker is an object linking and embedding (OLE)
module that can be used with any word processing, spreadsheet,
illustration, page layout or design application to add two-
dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) charts.
The company says Chartmaker is the first in a series of modular
software products, called Aldus Accessory Products, it will release
over the next 12 months. Each module will focus on a single
function or task to add features to a host application.
Chartmaker offers 84 separate 2-D and 3-D chart types as well as
an array of special effects. In addition to bar, line and pie graphs,
chartmaker can produce radar, polar, spectral map, histogram,
bubble, and open/close charts. A library of thumbnail images lets
the user select the desired chart type. Chart types can be changed
after creation with a mouse-click.
The attributes of an object can be displayed at the click of a
mouse. An eyedropper tool can pick up an object's color so it can
be applied to another object, and the special effects palette lets
the user apply custom gradients or graduated fills to individual
objects. Textures and bitmap graphics can be added to a background
or a single chart element for emphasis, and 3-D images can be
rotated, tilted, scaled and the perspective changed. A custom
designed chart template can be saved in the gallery for future use.
Once a chart is complete using chartmaker, it can be placed in an
OLE-compliant application using Publish/Subscribe, OLE or the
Macintosh Clipboard. Charts are printed using the host application.
Recommended system requirements for the Macintosh version include
an Apple Mac IIcx or better, Centris, LC III, Powerbook 160 or greater,
or a Quadra computer. You should have four megabytes (MB) of
memory, 8MB of available hard drive space, and operating system
System 7.0 or later. Aldus says Chartmaker will work on a Mac II
or IIx, Classic II or Color Classic, LC or LC II, Powerbook 140 or
145 equipped with 2MB of available memory, 8MB of available hard
disk space and system 7.0 or later.
The Mac version of Chartmaker is shipping now, with a suggested
retail price of $149. The company says it plans to ship a Windows
version at a later date.
Accessory Products are aimed at graphics and business professionals
who need to produce high-quality graphics, including users of
desktop publishing software such as Aldus Pagemaker.
Chartmaker is one of a growing line of products that specialize in
performing one or just a few tasks within a host application. Some
analysts predict that will be the trend in software in the coming
years, replacing feature-rich programs.
The trend could see software publishers marketing programs as
building blocks, with consumers purchasing only the features
they need to build their applications, instead of programs with
features which they do not need.
"A product such as Chartmaker represents one of the first steps
in making this a reality," said Kerri McConnell, product manager
for the Aldus Accessory Products family.
(Jim Mallory/19940606/Press contact: Belinda Young, Aldus
Corporation, 206-386-8819; Reader contact: Aldus Corporation,
206-622-5500 or 800-628-2320)
(NEWS)(IBM)(DAL)(00002)
OrCAD Intros New DOS/Windows EDA Products 06/07/94
BEAVERTON, OREGON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- OrCAD, a leading
supplier of personal computer (PC)-based electronic design
automation (EDA) software, says it is releasing three upgraded
products for DOS, a new product for the Microsoft Windows
graphical environment, and a new direct sales and distribution arm.
The upgraded DOS products are: Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 386+
Layout Tools; Verification and Simulation Tools (VST) 386+; and
Schematic Design Tools (SDT) 386+. With the upgrade of these
three design products, the company says it has not upgraded its
entire 32-bit product line for DOS. It previously introduced
Programmable Logic Design (PLD) 386+, in February, and a new
Placement and Critical Route (PCR) 386+ product in March.
The just introduced versions support new display, printer and
plotter drivers, and the network compatibility among the tools
has been greatly improved, the company claims.
The PCB Layout Tools provide printed circuit board design
specialists with everything needed to take a board design from
netlist to manufacturing output, according to the company.
The product offers features such as expanded ratsnesting, so the
user has the optimum routing path displayed at all times and can
shape any trace or automatically create traces out of ratsnest
lines, and design reuse. The rubberbanding follows the drawing
ground rules for 90 degree or 45 degree arc corners or any angle
drawing
Reuse has also been added so users can start from boards already
designed or just reuse sections. Nets can be renamed, so that users
can change entire nets on-line, connect nets at the board level, or
create new net designations.
A prefix can be added to a net or group of nets, enabling the user
to meld multiple boards into one board without mixing net names.
Also, PCB 386+ has continuously enclosed zones that are object
definitions, allowing those zones to be moved and shaped to fit
any situation, claims the company.
Third party software vendors, such as Cooper & Chan Technology,
are offering additional capability to OrCad PCB 386+ products.
Cooper & Chan's Shape-Based autorouters reportedly speed routing
of extremely dense boards. Router Solutions is offering bi-
directional translators so customers can move board designs done
in other PCB design products to and from OrCAD products.
Hyperlynx offers LineSim Pro V3 and BoardSim, so signal
simulation can be done during the design stage to avoid costly
board rework time.
VST 386+ offers functional and timing simulation tool for digital
designs including CPLDs and field programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs). The new release supports timing simulation of boards
with multiple Xilinx and Actel FPGAs mixed with transistor
transistor logic (TTL) and other parts from the extensive VST
386+ simulation parts library. The company said the product is
now more tightly integrated with SDT 386+ and is supported by the
major FPGA vendors, including Xilinx and Actel.
Schematic design tool, SDT 386+, is the most widely used,
according to the company. The new version allows both the output
and input of schematics in plain text or ASCII format which greatly
extends the tool's editing capability, says the company. The ability
to send engineering change orders to layout has been expanded to
include PADS layout tools as well as OrCAD's PCB 386+. Printing
and plotting capabilities have been expanded to increase capacity
as well as speed. In addition, part lists can now be exported to
databases and spreadsheets for creation of custom bills of
materials, the company said.
Further, the company is hoping it can capture the Windows
schematic design market. It claims it already has the majority of
the DOS market. The company has just announced the OrCAD Design
Desktop for Windows, the company's suite of graphical products.
The first of these products is OrCAD Capture for Windows, the
Windows' equivalent of OrCAD's SDT for DOS product.
Capture for Windows offers new features such as: point-and-click
selection of objects for editing; an object-oriented database
that is electrically intelligent offering user-named properties
on library parts, part instances, and nets and pins; import and
export capability; all utilities online; context-sensitive commands;
and tasks such as printing, plotting, or the generation of a materials
list bill to be done interactively.
The new DOS products will be available in the US and Europe by
June 30 through OrCAD's new distribution arm, OrCAD Direct. US
pricing is $2,495 for PCB 386+ Layout Tools, $1,995 for the VST
386+ product, and $895 for SDT 386+ (which includes a free
upgrade to the newly announced Capture for Windows product
when it ships.)
The Design Desktop for Windows will be released in stages. OrCAD
Capture for Windows will be released first in November of this
year at a retail price of $995, the company said. Other Windows
products are expected for release in the third and fourth quarters
of 1994, but OrCAD officials were unavailable to comment on
those products.
Product purchases include one year of technical support, access
to the OrCAD bulletin board system, and a one-year subscription
to the company's technical newsletter, called The Pointer.
In a change of sales strategy, OrCAD Direct, headquartered in
its Beaverton, Oregon location, has replaced its value-added
reseller (VAR) channel in the US. However, the new distribution
channel will not replace the company's international VAR channels.
A toll-free number is offered by OrCAD Direct for customer
information, ordering, and upgrades, and order fulfillment will
be offered by the new marketing arm as well.
(Linda Rohrbough/19940606/Press Contact: Abbie Kendall, OrCAD,
tel 503-671-9500, fax 503-671-9501; Public Contact: OrCAD Direct,
800-671-9505)
(NEWS)(GOVT)(WAS)(00003)
DoE & Cray Launch Industrial Computing Initiative 06/07/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- The Department of
Energy and Cray Research, along with 16 other firms, are
launching a $52 million program to push supercomputing.
Two of DOE's national laboratories, Lawrence Livermore in
California and Los Alamos in New Mexico, will put up a total of
$26 million, DOE spokeswoman Amber Jones told Newsbytes. Cray
will put in $16 million, and the other 16 firms a total of $10
million.
The funds will be used for joint research projects through
government "cooperative research and development awards."
According to Jones, some of the other companies involved
include Amoco, Alcoa, AT&T, Boeing, Hughes Aircraft, and
Schlumberger.
Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary and John Carlson, Cray's chief
executive officer, are kicking off the industrial computing
initiative at a Washington press conference, where they will
demonstrate several industrial applications.
One demonstration will show how supercomputers can improve oil
exploration through better reservoir modeling. Another will
show how restoring sites contaminated by chemicals and
radiation can be improved by modeling groundwater flow. A third
will show how supercomputers can lead to more efficient and
cleaner internal combustion engines.
DOE says the program "will strengthen the competitiveness of
the supercomputing industry and update the scientific computing
capabilities of the laboratories." Underlying the project, however,
is a move by O'Leary to try to find something constructive for the
agency's multi-billion dollar national labs to do, according to
veteran analysts of the agency.
"The labs were born for one purpose - bombs," said one long-time
observer of DOE. "Now the big question is whether they can do
anything else. The jury is out on that one."
(Kennedy Maize/19940606/Contact: Amber Jones, DOE,
202-586-5806)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00004)
AP's Video News Service Targeted At "Media Companies" 06/07/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- The Associated Press
will market APTV, its upcoming video news service, to newspapers
and radio stations as well as TV stations, said Jim Williams, VP
and director of AP's Broadcast Division, in an interview with
Newsbytes.
As previously reported in Newsbytes, AP recently signed a
multi-million dollar contract with Sony to install, engineer and
support a London news feed and global network that will support
APTV, and to outfit AP news bureaus with electronic news
gathering equipment.
Williams told Newsbytes that APTV will complement AP's existing
services, which include audio, still photos, and TV graphics, in
addition to text-based news.
"We are a news gathering organization," he explained. "As such, we
offer media companies what they need. We will continue to do so in
the future, whether it be fax, audiotext, multimedia, or whatever
other needs arise out of the convergence of technology."
AP's TV graphics service is the largest in the industry, with a
customer base that includes all three major TV networks in the US
along with 250 local stations, Williams maintained.
The stations download the graphics from a searchable database after
viewing low resolution "postage stamp" versions of the images, he
reported. The postage stamps are displayed 16 to a screen.
Williams also noted that, in another recent announcement, AP has
unveiled plans to add a 24-hour "news radio" service to its
hourly audio news offerings.
The AP intends to launch APTV on November 1. The AP's new video
service will employ "professional quality" Sony ENG video cameras
and edit and feed backs for covering breaking new 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 and Sony are not disclosing financial terms of their deal,
or the amount of equipment involved. As previously reported by
Newsbytes, the agreement is the second largest in Sony's history,
exceeded only by the $50 million deal that Sony signed with
Hughes Direct TV last year, according to a Sony spokesperson.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19940606/Reader and Press Contact: Evelyn
Cassidy, Associated Press, 202-736-1152; Reader Contact: Sony
Electronics, 800-635-SONY; Press Contacts: Gerrie Schmidt, Sony
Electronics, 201-930-7454; Richard Schineller, Technology Solutions
for Sony, 212-605-9900)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00005)
Canadian Product Launch Update 06/07/94
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- This regular feature,
appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the
Canadian market on announcements by international companies that
Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Claris Organizer for
the Apple Macintosh.
Toronto-based Claris Canada, announced Claris Organizer, a personal
information manager for the Apple Macintosh (Newsbytes, May 31).
Claris Organizer will be available in Canada this summer, the company
said, with an introductory suggested retail price of C$69 until Sept.
30, rising to C$129 after that.
(Grant Buckler/19940606/Press Contact: Susan Taylor, Atkins &
Ellis for Claris Canada, tel 416-368-6880; Joan Wilson, Claris
Canada, tel 416-941-9611, fax 416-941-9532; Public Contact:
Claris Canada, tel 416-941-9611)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00006)
Internet's Virtual Computer Store 06/07/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- The Internet
Shopping Network (ISN) computer shopping center is up and running
on the Internet, presenting some 15,000 software and hardware
products from both large and small companies.
ISN allows anyone to visit the shopping center for free, but to
purchase, a user will have to become a member of ISN. This
membership is merely a free registration which also involves the
validation of an approved MasterCard or Visa card, which will be
used to charge purchases.
"This is very much like a television shopping network or a catalog
means of shopping, as regards to the method of payment," said Randy
Adams, founder and president of ISN. "Thousands of safe and secure
payments are done this way everyday. The responsibility of the
company is to make sure that all credit identification codes are
protected at all times," he said.
ISN also announced the inclusion of an electronic version of
InfoWorld. This new service will provide users with product reviews
and articles relating to computer products. "It is our hope that this
electronic edition of InfoWorld will give our users more reliable
information to guide their buying decisions. We are providing the
past 12 months of editions for members to search," continued
Adams.
When asked why a user would prefer ISN over a superstore, Adams
said, "It is our policy to provide the lowest price possible. Whenever
possible, we will undercut the streetprice of any product. And we
should be able to do that because this new way of sales and
marketing offers 24-hour shopping, much lower advertising costs,
no need for shelf-space, no shoplifting and immediate processing
within 15 minutes of receiving an order."
ISN works on a profit margin of five to eight percent which compares
well to the twenty and higher percentages of most stores. Randy
Adams is projecting $10 million in sales for 1994 with an eye on
$100 million in the near future.
(Patrick McKenna/19940606/Press Contact: Patrick Corman, Internet
Shopping Network, tel 415-326-9648; Public information, e-mail,
info@internet.net; Mosaic URL access, http://shop.internet.net)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00007)
Hong Kong Welcomes Compuserve's Video Game Forums 06/07/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Video game players in
Hong Kong now have a direct connection to fellow players and game
publishers all over the world through Compuserve Hong Kong's
Video Games Forum and Video Game Publishers Forum.
Using these new forums, Compuserve Hong Kong members can
preview new games, talk strategy and receive hints, tips and
shortcuts on their favorite games, similar to the Special Interest
Round Tables on Genie.
The Video Games Forum (type GO VIDGAMES), is an on-line special
interest group for users of Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, 3DO
Multiplayer, Atari Jaguar, Philips CD-I and other game consoles.
Players can discuss various games hardware and exchange reviews,
commentary and playing tips with fellow enthusiasts.
"All of this may seem 'old hat' to information network users
in the US," one local IT (information technology) industry veteran
told Newsbytes, "but this part of the world has been starved of
information network access for many years. The only accessible
services have involved unbelievable international telecom charge
loadings and consequently have not been very popular."
He continued: "Even Genie took years to get here, and now it is only
available on an 'agency' basis which includes an overseas call
recovery loading and hence both Compuserve and Genie remain very
costly. None-the-less, the situation is slowly improving."
The Video Game Publishers Forum (type GO VIDPUB), provides on-line
support from well known game publishers, as well as news, product
announcements, game codes, screen samples, and sound files.
"A major issue for video game players is whether or not their
hardware will run different publishers' games," said Peggy Scott,
general manager for Compuserve Hong Kong, a subsidiary of
Hutchison Information Services. "Through Compuserve Hong Kong
players can get the latest news on this and other subjects and
really make the most of the gaming technology they already have."
She concluded: "Just like other computer users, video game players
want to know about compatibility. Now they can get all their
information immediately from one source and do not need to go
through piles of publications to find out if their console can be
used for a new game."
CompuServe members in Hong Kong pay a monthly fee of HK$158
(US$20) which allows access to 70 basic services at HK$1.30/minute
(US$0.17). Members can also access extended services for HK$1.93/
minute (US$0.24) at 2,400 baud and HK$2.55/minute (US$0.32) at
9,600 baud.
(Keith Cameron 19940607 Press Contact: Jean Ng, Hutchison,
852-599-2788)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00008)
Legent Buys Lachman Technology 06/07/94
HERNDON, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Legent Corp., a
supplier of distributed computing software and services, has
bought privately-held Lachman Technology Inc., of Naperville,
Ill., for about $15 million.
Lachman develops storage management and networking software for
various versions of the Unix operating system. The company has 60
employees and reported revenues of just over $8 million in 1993.
Lachman will remain as a separate division of Legent for the time
being, Legent spokeswoman Kathleen Janson told Newsbytes. There
will be no changes in management or staff at Lachman, she added.
The transaction is to be accounted for as a pooling of interests,
with the current shareholders of privately-held Lachman receiving
500,000 shares of Legent common stock. Legent stock closed at
$31.50 on the NASDAQ trading system Monday.
Legent officials said the deal continues the company's strategy
of creating a storage product line running from desktop computers
to mainframes, while also bringing the company expertise in
networking.
Lachman has a line of storage management products called Open
Storage Manager (OSM), including client and server management
components. The company also supplies networking technology to
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the Unix field. Its
network products include its Streamware line of network
management and protocol software.
Legent said it plans to produce a version of Open Storage
Manager, which is currently sold to OEMs, for the end-user
market by early next year.
(Grant Buckler/19940607/Press Contact: Kathleen Janson,
Legent, 703-708-3890)
(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00009)
Windows Business Process Reengineering Prgm Intro'd 06/07/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Knowledgeware Inc.,
has announced a software tool for personal computers (PCs) that
graphically maps how work flows through a company and how
organizational units relate to one another.
Called Maxim, the Windows-based software can identify and define
a company's basic business operations in preparation for the
development of new systems. The process is known as "business
process reengineering."
According to Knowledgeware President and Chief Operating Officer
Donald Addington, "Maxim is a leading edge tool that will allow
organizations to fundamentally understand who they are and how
they want to conduct business."
A workflow diagrammer in Maxim shows the sequence of
activities included in a process, the organizations involved in
those activities, and the information or work that flows as part
of the process.
Maxim's workflow diagrams are designed to help users discover
dependencies and bottlenecks in process flows by graphically
displaying both organizations and processes in the same diagram
and mapping their interaction. The user can then define "what if"
scenarios of potential changes to the processes and see the impact
of those changes.
Time and cost measurements can be associated with each process
step. Those measurements can then be exported to spreadsheets like
Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 for further analysis. Any changes
made in the spreadsheet can be imported back into Maxim to keep the
model up to date. Additional text and graphics can be incorporate
using object linking and embedding (OLE).
An organizational flow diagrammer included as part of Maxim
provides a high-level view of the relationships created in the
workflow diagrammer. Internal and external relationships are
displayed so users can examine the interactions to identify
inefficient or fragmented functions and activities. Maxim data is
stored in an underlying object-oriented database for re-use.
Maxim includes an on-line tutor that uses a step by step approach
to business process reengineering. It also includes hypertext
documentation that provides information on concepts and approaches
to business processing reengineering and instructions on how to use
the program.
Knowledgeware provides a Maxim interface to its Application
Development Workbench (ADW) for organizations that want to build
applications based on the models developed with Maxim. The
company says the bi-directional interface can accelerate projects
by allowing Maxim to re-use enterprise and business process
models previously developed with ADW.
Maxim has a suggested retail price of $499, but Knowledgeware is
introducing it at $249. The ADW interface is priced at $1,899 and
is being introduced at $1,599.
Knowledgeware is a founding partner of the Internet-based
MecklerWeb Initiative. The company says participation in the
web will allow application developers to use the Internet to
conduct business with Knowledgeware and interact with its
support staff and developers electronically.
(Jim Mallory/19940607/Press contact: Denese van Dyne,
Knowledgeware, 404-231-3510 ext 2345; Reader contact:
Knowledgeware, 404-231-8575)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00010)
Time Warner Completes PCS Test With Qualcomm 06/07/94
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Time Warner
and Qualcomm said they have managed to integrate personal
communications services, or PCS, with Time Warner's Full
Service Network cable plant.
PCS is a wireless phone technology which uses microwave
frequencies, from 1.8-2.2 gigahertz (GHz). The Federal
Communications Commission is preparing to auction the needed
frequencies, either late this year, or early next year. The
successful test means major cable operators should be more
active bidders in those auctions.
The system tested uses the Code Division Multiple Access, or
CDMA, digital technology, of Qualcomm. CDMA offers 10 times
the calling capacity of analog cellular systems, using digital
encoding. CDMA has been offered to the existing cellular phone
industry, but so far those which have gone to digital service
have used a rival scheme, Time Division Multiple Access, or TDMA.
TDMA divides calling channels into discrete frequency segments,
and is related to the Groupe Speciale Mobile, or GSM, standard used
in Europe. CDMA sends digital information throughout a calling
channel, sorting the traffic at the end of the call.
The announcement of the successful Time Warner test was made
jointly by top executives of Time Warner Telecommunications and
Qualcomm.
The Time Warner executive, Dennis Patrick, is a former FCC
chairman."This network achieves a number of technical and
operational firsts," said Patrick in a press statement. "Most of
all, it demonstrates the tremendous potential of cable plant in
delivering better and cheaper wireless telephone and data
services to average consumers. Assuming adequate spectrum is
made available to new entrants, the cable industry will be a
major participant in realizing the full potential of next
generation mobile services."
In addition to providing the common use of Time Warner's Full
Service Network cable plant and Qualcomm's PCS technology to
homes, workplaces and cars, wireless connections were also made
to the America Online online network.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19940607/Press Contact: Dennis Patrick,
Time Warner Telecommunications, 202/331-7478; Irwin Jacobs,
Qualcomm, 619/658-4800)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00011)
CDPD Interoperability Tests Completed 06/07/94
KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- McCaw Cellular
has announced that it has completed tests of compatibility and
interoperability among makers of equipment implementing the
Cellular Digital Packet Data, or CDPD, protocol.
CDPD is a packet data protocol first developed by IBM, which
can turn unused cellular calling channels into packet networks
running data at 19,200 bits-per-second (bps).
McCaw has been closely identified with CDPD, and some observers
claim has been embarrassed by the slow speed with which it is
being implemented throughout the industry. One reason cited by
critics has been the fact that different brands of CDPD equipment
did not work together, or interoperate. The latest announcement
is intended to dispel that concern.
Among the vendors who demonstrated their equipment working
together were Cincinnati Microwave Inc., Cirrus Logic's Pacific
Communication Sciences Inc., or PCSI unit, Retix, Sierra Wireless,
and Steinbrecher.
In the tests each company's protocol stacks for the CDPD
architecture and application layer were examined using a protocol
analyzer developed by AirLink Communications Inc. The CDPD
architecture supports multiple network protocols, such as the
Internet Protocol and OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) CLNP.
Customer pilot programs employing McCaw's AirData network, along
with periodic testing of the network's architecture, consistently
demonstrated that wireless devices by Cincinnati Microwave, PCSI
and Sierra Wireless can successfully interwork with mobile
database stations made by PCSI and Steinbrecher, said McCaw.
Successful interoperability was also consistently demonstrated
between the mobile database stations and Retix's mobile data
intermediate system, which provides a critical link to the
application servers. American Airlines is also testing wireless
SABRE terminals over AirData Network for passenger ticketing
and terminal services.
(Dana Blankenhorn/19940607/Press Contact: McCaw Cellular,
Teresa Fausti-Flora, 503/245-0905)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00012)
PC Supercomputing Accelerator To Use PowerPC 601 Chip 06/07/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Motorola says a line of
parallel processing, supercomputing-class hardware accelerators
being developed by a Canadian company will utilize Motorola's
PowerPC 601 microprocessor.
The PowerPC 601, developed by Motorola and IBM, uses reduced
instruction-set computing (RISC) technology to execute multiple
instructions simultaneously. ISG Technologies, based in Toronto,
Canada will take advantage of that capability to produce its Pulsus
line of symmetrical multi-processing (SMP) hardware accelerators
scheduled to ship in the fourth quarter.
ISG Technologies specializes in the development and manufacture
of visual data processing applications and imaging systems. The
company says Pulsus is designed and optimized for visual data
processing and is best suited for systems where there are
computation and visualization intensive requirements such as
medical imaging.
ISG says the ability to do both the computing and the visualization
on a single platform results in lower development and maintenance
cost, faster system response and less resource management at the
system level. Reuven Soraya, ISG Pulsus product manager, says the
technology is well suited for applications such as three-dimensional
(3-D) seismology as well as medical imaging.
The entry-level Pulsus, with eight processors, delivers about
five times the performance of the typical midrange workstation,
according to the company. Pulsus uses Posix Parallel Threads,
allowing compiled applications to be run on Pulsus or other
workstations using a single CPU (central processing unit) or an
SMP architecture.
The PowerPC 601 uses 2.8 million transistors and is manufactured
using a .6 micron complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
process. The chip includes an advanced bus interface that supports
a range of computer systems from handheld, portable and desktop
computers to midrange workstations and servers.
(Jim Mallory/19940607/Press contact: Dean Mosley, Motorola,
512-891-2839 or Reuven Soraya, ISG Technologies, 905-672-2100,
ext 254; Reader contact: Motorola RISC Microprocessor Division,
800-845-6686 or Reuven Soraya, ISG Technologies, 905-672-2100,
ext 254)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DAL)(00013)
****Blockbuster/Davis Video Launch Phone-Based Game Co 06/07/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Blockbuster
and Davis Video Enterprises have announced a new interactive
entertainment company, called Catapult.
Catapult has designed modems for Sega and Nintendo home gaming
systems and is offering a video game network so players can
compete with each other over standard telephone lines.
Video game publisher T-HQ is the exclusive distributor of the
modems, which it claims will support all the popular multiplayer
games without modification to the game machine or the software.
The modems, being demonstrated at the Digital World show in
Beverly Hills this week, are expected to be in retail stores by
Christmas as add-ons to the more than 30,000 Sega Genesis and
Super Nintendo units expected in the market by then.
The modem works in 16-bit game platforms and will also work with
future 32-bit and 64-bit CD-ROM-based platforms. Pre-programmed
with Catapult's 800 number, there is a modem designed to fit into
the game cartridge slot of either the Sega Genesis or the Super
Nintendo, then the game cartridges plug into the top of the
modem. Consisting of a printed circuit board, signal processing
hardware, and a phone line interface, the modem draws its power
from the game machine and only requires a modular telephone line
connection.
Blockbuster said its research indicates players buy games for
their competitive aspects, so competing via the phone lines is
expected to be popular. In the Catapult network, players will
have "handles" to protect their privacy and can receive game
playing tips, scores, rankings compared to others, and
competitions for prizes.
It is expected to cost $5 to $10 per month to play, which can be
paid by check, credit card, or cash using a rechargeable Smartcard
which functions like a debit card. The card is charged at a retail
outlet and then debited when inserted into the Catapult modem.
All calls will be local, Catapult added.
Each player has to have the same game cartridge in order to play.
The modem also confirms the user's telephone number, lets the
user enable long-distance or disable the call-waiting feature
(which could interrupt game play and possibly cause disconnection),
and asks how long the user is willing to wait for a compatible
competitor or even a specific competitor. Three responses is all
that is necessary to get connected to the network, Catapult added.
Once connected, the network finds a match for the user, the
players telephone numbers are exchanged invisibly to the players,
the modem hangs up on each end and one modem then calls the other
users modem again. Neither user is aware this is happening,
Catapult said, and since players' machines call each other to
actually play, the network capacity of 2,000 simultaneous users
is enough for millions of games a week. Each system exchanges
the information each player has decided to share with the other,
including each player's "handle."
Then players begin play, in real time, and during play can send
pre-recorded messages to each other, such as brags or taunts, by
making special moves with the controller. At the end of the game,
players can continue to play with the same player or disconnect
and log back on to find another competitor or a new game.
If a competitor cannot be found immediately, i.e. in less than
one minute, the modem sends the particular game and skill level
to the network and then disconnects. While waiting for a match,
the player can look at game tips or play in single-player mode.
Since Catapult handles all the calls first, no game-play calls
are made without the permission of the person being called, the
company said. In addition, Catapult can keep up-to-date records
from the management of the log-ons concerning rankings.
Also, all calls are local calls unless the player specifically
indicates otherwise. Catapult also maintains that parents can
control game play as spending limits can be set on the account
or on the Smartcard.
The company also said it plans to work in cooperation with game
developers to offer extensions to their games that can be
downloaded into the system via the network. In this way, new
characters, soundtracks, moves, or other enhancements can be made
to games.
Catapult is not the only company with this idea. AT&T announced
The Edge, a modem for the Sega system over a year ago. The device
was to cost between $100 to $150 and was aimed at distribution
this summer. The Sega Channel, a game network formed by a deal
between Sega Enterprises and Time Warner, offering interactive
game play over cable is expected to begin in US test markets month.
Catapult is being headed by Adam Grosser, former vice president
of new media for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Steve Roskowski,
former manager of hardware for General Magic, is executive vice
president and Steve Perlman, General Magic's former managing
director of advanced products is chief technology officer. Lynn
Heublein, former vice president of marketing and operations at
T-HA is executive vice president and chief operating officer.
(Linda Rohrbough/19940607/Press Contact: Katrina Sutton,
Killerapp Communications, tel 213-939-5991; Steve Perlman,
Catapult Entertainment, tel 408-366-1735, fax 408-366-
1729/CATAPULT940607/PHOTO)
(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00014)
MS-DOS Equivalent OS For Handheld Devices Intro'd 06/07/94
ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Datalight has
announced the release of ROM-DOS 6, an MS-DOS 6.2-equivalent
operating system designed for use in personal digital assistants
(PDAs), hand-held terminals and other types of embedded computers.
According to the company, version 6 has greater compatibility with
MS-DOS than did version 5. The new release supports Microsoft
Windows 3.1 and provides better local area network (LAN) support.
Other features include advanced power management (APM) for low
power systems that have APM BIOS (basic input/output system)
support. An extended memory manager and multiple system
configuration options have been added to help developers save
memory overhead or load different device drivers for users of
multi-purpose terminals.
Datalight says it has also added foreign country keyboard and
display support for 26 countries. Double byte characters for Asian
languages are also supported, but require third party drivers to
output characters to the screen.
ROM-DOS is intended for sale to original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs), and Datalight has signed an agreement with Stac
Electronics to include Stacker 3.0 data compression software with
ROM-DOS. Datalight says the cost of Stacker will run from $3 to $10
per copy, depending on quantity. Stacker licensing is being offered
as an option, so only OEMs who want to include data compression will
be charged for it.
Datalight's ROM-DOS Software Developer's Kit includes a developer's
guide and a user's guide, along with the development software,
Stacker 3.0 and a certificate for 20 licenses. The kit sells for
$495, with additional ROM-DOS licenses available for $2 to $25,
depending on quantity, plus additional Stacker license fees if
applicable. Registered owners of the software developer's kit
can get a free upgrade to ROM-DOS 6.
Other features include utilities for placing ROM-DOS in ROM and
one for placing applications in ROM, and the ability to execute
applications directly from ROM. "You load the applications into a
sub-directory on your hard drive, run the utilities and make your
choices, then burn it into a PROM (programmable read-only memory).
The whole process takes only about 15 minutes," according to
Datalight President Roy Sherrill.
ROM-DOS 6 has a 45 kilobyte (KB) kernel and a 27KB command
processor. The company says it takes up about half the space in
ROM as MS-DOS 6.x.
Datalight says ROM-DOS is also used in public pay phones, credit
card terminals, flight data collection and medical equipment,
barcode readers, and industrial control equipment.
(Jim Mallory/19940607/Press and reader contact: Tim
Gillman, Datalight, 206-435-8086 or 800-221-6630,
fax 206-435-0253/ROMDOS940607/PHOTO)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TOR)(00015)
Conference On "Virtual Office" Set For Late June 06/07/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Business Week
magazine and computer reseller MicroAge Inc. plan to sponsor a
conference on new office technology in New York June 28 and 29.
The conference is entitled "The Virtual Office -- Implementing
the New Computer and Communications Technology." Its focus will
be on working away from the office and at home, something the
organizers said represents one of the fastest-growing segments
of the computer market.
MicroAge officials said more than 37 million people work away
from their offices part of the time and another 27 million are on
the road full-time.
Speakers at the conference are to include: Patricia Seybold, a
well-known industry commentator and president of Patricia
Seybold's Office Computing Group; Jay Chiat, chief executive of
advertising agency Chiat/Day; David Tierno of consulting firm
Ernst & Young; Dr. Michael Joroff, director of research and
planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT);
and Alan Hald, vice-chairman and co-founder of MicroAge.
Along with MicroAge and Business Week, AT&T Global Information
Solutions (formerly NCR Corp.), IBM, NEC Technologies Inc., Nynex
Mobile Communications, Xircom, and Zenith Data Systems are
sponsoring the conference.
Jay O'Callahan, a marketing executive with MicroAge, told
Newsbytes that while the sponsoring vendors will be represented
by speakers on panels during the conference, most presentations
will be given by independent industry experts and consultants
lined up by Business Week. There will be "no sales pitches from
the podium," he claimed. The sponsors will have small displays to
promote their products. Registration for the conference costs $575.
Tempe, Ariz.-based MicroAge is organizing the event through its
MicoAge Infosystems Services unit, a network of owner-managed
MicroAge branches.
(Grant Buckler/19940607/Press Contact: Ann Videan, MicroAge, tel
602-968-3168 ext 2362; Public Contact: Pina Del Genio, Business
Week Executive Programs, 800-821-1329)
(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00016)
IBM Puts DSP Subsystem On Single Chip 06/07/94
FISHKILL, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- IBM said it has
put a complete digital signal processor (DSP) subsystem on a
single microprocessor. The new chip is part of IBM's Mwave line of
products.
The chip includes 32-voice wave table synthesis and Sound Blaster
hardware registers on a single chip, which IBM claims is an
industry first. According to the company, this cuts costs and
saves board space, and also will give original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) more flexibility in designing the IBM chip
into their products.
Known as the MDSP2780, the new processor has a 16-bit central
processing unit (CPU) that IBM said can process 33 million
instructions-per-second (MIPS). It also has high-speed facsimile
and data communications capabilities, including support for the
new 28.8 kilobit-per-second V.34 modem standard, scheduled to be
ratified later this year. Power management features, including a
sleep mode and the ability to control attached peripherals, are
also built in.
The chip's features include a suite of multimedia interfaces,
high-speed analog and digital communications functions, a
32-voice wave table synthesizer, extended audio and voice
coder-decoder (CODEC) support, and hardware-level support for
industry standard games, including Sound Blaster applications.
The MDSP2780 can be used in personal computer sound systems,
games, and telephony applications, IBM said. Mwave technology
integrates audio, voice, fax, graphics, modem, and video and
image capabilities. Existing Mwave chips are used in IBM's
ThinkPad 750 notebook computer and in a series of expansion
boards from the IBM Personal Computer Co., as well as in products
from third parties, company spokesman Jim Smith told Newsbytes.
IBM said the addition of Sound Blaster hardware registers to the
chip does away with the need to use software emulation of
hardware or buy separate chips, and because the 16-bit DSP does
the audio processing, the games feature delivers higher-quality
sound. With integrated hardware support for games, IBM added,
developers can add special effects such as reverb and Qsound, or
use the Mwave sample sound synthesizer. IBM added that it
independent tests have verified that the MDSP2780 runs
top-selling games successfully.
The MDSP2780 works with Windows Sound Systems 2.0
applications, IBM said, and will support the Microsoft
Resource Manager Interface when it becomes available.
The MDSP2780's full suite of CODEC interfaces work with Crystal
Semiconductor's line of 16-bit stereo audio CODECs (CS4215,
CS4216, CS4231A), as well as other CODECs. The processor also
has integrated UART ports and a time division multiplex (TDM)
interface for connecting to Siemens' integrated services digital
network (ISDN) chipsets. It also has an integrated Industry
Standard Architecture (ISA) bus master interface with high-speed
direct memory access, which company officials said will enable
high-speed data transfers.
The MDSP2780 is being manufactured at an IBM plant in Yasu,
Japan, and will be sold worldwide, Smith said. It is sampling
now, with general availability expected in the third quarter, IBM
said. It costs $19 per unit in OEM quantities of 100,000, and
will be sold through IBM Microelectronics' distribution channels.
IBM's Microelectronics unit also announced a new line of
one-megabit static random access memory (SRAM) chips that the
company said are among the fastest available with operating
frequencies of as much as 167 megahertz (MHz). They are
available in sample quantities now, in eight-, nine-, 10-, and
12-nanosecond versions, the company said. Volume production is
planned for the fourth quarter and the SRAMs will cost $58 in
quantities of 1,000.
(Grant Buckler/19940606/Press Contact: Jim Smith, IBM, tel
914-892-5389; Joanne Marlin, Thomas Associates for IBM,
415-325-6236, MCI Mail 463-0708; Public Contact: IBM
Microelectronics, tel 800-IBM-0181 ext 500)
(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00017)
****IBM Working On Another PowerPC Chip 06/07/94
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- IBM developers are
working on another version of the PowerPC microprocessor that the
company developed with Apple Computer Inc. and Motorola Corp.
The next generation of the PowerPC, which some are calling the
PowerPC 630 chip and which IBM has referred to as the Power3
architecture in the past, is under development, company spokesman
Greg Golden confirmed.
He said it is too early to give a date when the chip might be
available. The 630 name is not official, Golden added.
Golden told Newsbytes the new PowerPC chip will be used in IBM's
RISC System/6000 workstations and servers. He would not comment
on its possible use in the AS/400 line of midrange computers or
in parallel processing systems. However, IBM has publicly stated
that PowerPC chips -- though not necessarily the 630 -- will be
incorporated in the AS/400 line, which currently uses proprietary
processors.
Responding to reports that the PowerPC 630 will be packaged in a
module with an external cache and cache controller, Golden told
Newsbytes it is too early for IBM to comment. He said a report in
the trade newspaper PC Week, which said another IBM spokesman
had confirmed this report, was incorrect.
There are three existing versions of the PowerPC chip, and
another due to begin production this year. The most widely used
PowerPC chip today is the 601, used in the PowerPC computers
currently available from IBM and Apple. The PowerPC 603 is a
power-saving version of the 601, and the 604, due for volume
production by the end of this year, is a more powerful model.
The PowerPC 620, which is due to begin limited production late
this year, will be designed for high-performance workstations and
servers. The 630 chip is expected to offer roughly double the
performance of the 620, and might become available around 1997,
according to some analysts.
(Grant Buckler/19940607/Press Contact: Greg Golden, tel
914-642-5463; Steven Malkiewicz, IBM, tel 914-765-4916)
(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00018)
Justice Department Wants More Microsoft Info 06/07/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Apparently the
wheels of justice may be ready to turn one more revolution in the
US Justice Department's probe into possible anti-trust activities
on the part of Microsoft Corporation.
The Justice Department is reportedly preparing to take depositions
from Microsoft executives, and has asked for more documentation
from the software company. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told the
Wall Street Journal, "They are just learning about our business.
We've only sent them like a million pieces of paper. They need a
million more."
The federal crimebusters got involved in the Microsoft case after
the Federal Trade Commission decided their was some evidence that
some Microsoft business practices violated anti-trust laws.
However, after more than three years of investigation the FTC
was unable to decide if it should take action, reportedly in part
because one commissioner exempted himself from voting. The
allegations were reportedly based in part on complaints from
Microsoft competitors that the software company controls the
personal computer operating system market.
At one point reports circulated that the FTC was ready to seek an
injunction against Microsoft, but that action never took place.
The Justice Department took over the investigation last July. With
its greater powers, the agency could seek to pursue either a civil
or a criminal case if it feels there is sufficient cause.
Microsoft shares were traded heavily in after-hours trading
yesterday, closing down 1/2. In regular trading earlier in the day
Microsoft shares ended up 1-5/8 at 54-1/2.
In other Microsoft business news Standard & Poor's announced that
Microsoft has replaced Syntex in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
The removal of Syntex from the index reflects its pending
acquisition by Roche Holding AG, according to S&P officials.
(Jim Mallory/19940607/Press contact: Microsoft Corporation,
206-882-8080)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00019)
Microsoft Summit - More "Touchdown" Details Soon 06/07/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- At the
Information Exchange Conference later this month, Microsoft will
spell out more specifics on the messaging strategy outlined by Bill
Gates at the Electronic Messaging Association (EMA) Conference in
April, including information on the client and server components
codenamed "touchdown," Newsbytes has learned.
In a talk at the Microsoft Envision Summit in Boston, Craig Davis,
regional systems marketing manager, presented a general overview of
Microsoft's messaging strategy which portrayed Microsoft's upcoming
"universal client" as part of a third-generation, "client-server"
approach that follows in the footsteps of earlier "host-based" and
"LAN (local area network)-based" industry technologies.
Microsoft will highlight the "universal client" and other elements
of Gates' "Information at Your Fingertips" messaging strategy at
Information Exchange, a conference to be held by Microsoft June 20
to 23 in Seattle, Davis added.
A company spokesperson later told Newsbytes that discussions at
the Information Exchange Conference will provide more details on
Microsoft's Enterprise Messaging Server (EMS) and an upcoming
revision of its Microsoft Mail client. Both of these technologies
are codenamed "touchdown," according to the spokesperson.
Contrary to industry reports that the first release of EMS will
work with Microsoft Mail 4.0 clients, Microsoft has not yet
designated a Microsoft Mail version number for the "universal
client," she told Newsbytes.
Although Microsoft will discuss EMS and the "universal client" at
Information Exchange, the company will not be releasing specific
"product information or pricing" at that time, Newsbytes was told.
The Information Exchange conference will be a renamed edition of
the annual Microsoft Mail Conference, she added.
At the Microsoft Envision Summit, Davis differentiated Microsoft's
"universal client" from "host-based" systems, such as Profs and
All-in-1, as well as from later "LAN-based" systems.
The host-based systems were text-based, and also "push-based,"
meaning that "you could push data out to your employees," Davis
told the group.
"Then came LAN-based (systems). The greatest benefit of these was
that you could include data of all kinds based on object linking
and embedding. You could embed multimedia, charts, spreadsheets,
or anything in these rich documents," he said.
"Around this, workgroups evolved. Workers could now receive and
send data throughout the enterprise, as well as get (documents)
off of local servers that (became) available. But this created two
different infrastructures: one for sending data around, or 'pushing'
it around, and the other for 'pulling' it off the server."
But today, in the emerging client-server world, Microsoft's
strategy is to offer a "universal client" that offers "one point of
interface for all the data within an organization, whether it be
servers, for pulling down documents, or (for) the mail system,"
Davis reported.
The "universal client" will enable "integrated forms" and "very
rich documents" through object linking and embedding (OLE) 2.0, he
noted. OLE 2.0, he added, will be "the method that links all our
applications together."
Microsoft's new messaging technology will also be much more
"scalable" than either host- or most LAN-based systems, according
to Davis.
In an April keynote at the EMA Conference in Anaheim, Gates
said that Microsoft's "universal client" that will serve as a
"universal inbox" and "universal address book," integrating mail,
forms, "information sharing" and "time management" capabilities,
according to the Microsoft spokesperson.
Microsoft's "universal client" will be built on "standard APIs
(application programming interfaces), Gates said. The "Information
Exchange Server," another component of the messaging strategy,
will provide directory, "information store," and message transfer
capabilities, as well as Internet access, according to Gates.
Microsoft's Information Exchange Conference in Seattle will be
aimed at "current and future users" of Microsoft's messaging
products, as well as at software and hardware vendors, "business
decision makers," and business and industry press, according to
Microsoft.
(Jacqueline Emigh/19940607/Reader Contact: Information Exchange
Conference Registration, 800-421-2499; Microsoft, 206-882-8080;
Press Contact: Beth Herrell, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft,
206-637-9097)
(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DAL)(00020)
LSI Components Supplier Says Exciting Changes Coming 06/07/94
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- In a survey of
300 system designers, LSI Logic was rated "gate array supplier of
the year," according to market research firm Dataquest. The low-
level logic components supplier says it is involved in vertical
product development it feels will change the world of electronic
and computer products.
The company was voted number one in the first four of five
categories surveyed, beating competitors Motorola, Texas
Instruments, VLSI Technology, and Toshiba. The five categories
were: technology, service, turnaround time, overall supplier, and
the cell-based application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)
category. In the fifth category, LSI Logic came in second with
system designers.
However, LSI officials claim the story is more than just a
company being popular with its customers. LSI had been on a long
financial losing streak up until two years ago, when its stock
prices started to climb. Now the company's stock has quadrupled,
going from about $8 a share two years ago to current levels of
around $24 a share. Analysts at Montgomery Securities are saying
the stock will reach $30 a share by the end of the year, and LSI
expects to break the $1 billion mark in revenues in 1994.
What happened? Marc Koltun of LSI said the entire market is
changing due to the company's technology licensing which is
allowing it to offer systems designers one-stop shopping for
specific components. Koltun said process technologies have gone
to the submicron level with the ability to put nine million
transistors on a single chip. "A workstation in your pocket" is
what Koltun terms the technology, which LSI has licensed from
several sources, including MIPS, makers of the workstation-based
reduced instruction-set computing (RISC) processing chips.
The Milpitas, California-based company claims it has focused on a
major product development effort in the cell-based market over
the past two years. The technology has gotten too complex and too
small for systems designers to take gate arrays and make their
own ASIC. Designers can handle 20,000 undefined gates, but not
nine million. "It's like offering a jet airplane to a toddler. They
can't do anything with it," Koltun added.
"It is no longer possible for companies like ourselves to be
generalists without any concept or concern for the vertical
markets we support. We must be actively participating in those
markets so that we can allow them to take advantage of the
densities and performance we have achieved."
In addition, LSI has licensed the necessary technology, so
designers don't even have to buy CPU (central processing unit) chips
anymore -- the company has already got them designed and can
integrate the processing power right into a single chip along with
whatever other capacity is necessary. The bottom line for designers
is totally new levels of price/performance and time-to-market.
Currently, the most exciting areas LSI says it is working on are in
digital video and communications. The company has licensed
intellectual properties from Zenith and General Instrument to
create devices for data compression and communications. LSI also
manufacturers and markets customer-specific integrated circuits
(CSICs) and application-specific standard products (ASSPs).
(Linda Rohrbough/19940607/Press Contact: Marc Koltun, LSI Logic,
tel 408-433-7736, fax 408-433-8572; Paul Wheaton, Dataquest,
408-437-8312)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00021)
Hungarian Telecom Outlines Phone Net Development Plans 06/07/94
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Matav, the Hungarian
Telecoms Company, has announced it will increase the number of
phone lines in Budapest over the next three years by around 60
percent, or 400,000 lines.
According to Imre Purger, director of Matav, the development forms
part of a $400 million plan for the next seven years in which
virtually all of the country's mostly electro-mechanical exchanges
will be replaced by computerized units. The 60 percent boost in the
number of lines in Budapest is necessary to service the blossoming
number of new companies springing up in the area.
Like Poland and Czechoslovakia, waiting lists for a phone line in many
areas of Hungary are extremely long. Six or seven year waiting lists
are not being uncommon.
Purger admitted that the speed of installation of the new lines should
be a lot faster, but Matav must first finance the entire operation,
as well as design the telecoms infrastructure around the exchanges
themselves.
A classic case of this is Poland, which is in the middle of a telecoms
revolution, with new exchanges being built and commissioned on a
weekly basis. The problem is that many new exchange dialing codes
are being created in the process, with the expected result that
information operators are overloaded and, in some areas of the
country, trunk dialing is actually suspended for several weeks at a
time while a new trunk exchange is, quite literally, built while the
customers wait.
(Sylvia Dennis/19940607)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00022)
HP France In PC Plus Deal 06/07/94
GRENOBLE, FRANCE, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Hewlett-Packard's (HP)
telecoms systems business unit (TSBU) of Grenoble has announced a
marketing deal with PC Plus Informatik of Munich in Germany. Terms
of the deal call for HP to market PC Plus' international telephone
enquiry system for HP Unix networks on a worldwide basis.
PC Plus' system is known as IDIS and allows gateway access to a
variety of directory assistance databases, either online or via a
CD-ROM system, for the HP 9000 series of computers. Plans are in
hand to extend the software's domain to run under most flavors of
Unix.
In use, IDIS allows routing requests to be carried out across a Unix
wide area network, linking to a variety of data resources. A classic
application of the system is where a national telecoms company uses
software such as IDIS to link to other national telecoms'
administration's databases.
Plans are already under way to install an IDIS system running over HP
9000 computers at Deutsches Bundespost Telekom in Germany. Both
companies intend to adapt the technology for use in other languages
and operating system environments, with HP doing the international
marketing.
"This partnership gives PC Plus broader access to the international
telecoms market and offers HP additional market opportunities,"
explained Guenther Baierl, managing partner with PC Plus Informatik.
"Our customers will profit from our expertise in open and flexible
telecom solutions and from HP's leadership in scalable Unix systems
computers. Additionally, they will benefit from reliable service and
support from two well-established companies."
Andre Meyer, general manager of HP's TSBU in Grenoble, said that
international and national directory assistance technologies were key
missing parts of HP's range of telecoms systems for its clients. "We
have teamed up with PC Plus to build up the HP product portfolio and
work with our new value added partner to offer customers powerful
solutions," he said.
(Sylvia Dennis/19940607/Press & Reader Contact: Hewlett-Packard
(Switz), tel 41-22-780-4111, fax 41-22-780-4770; PC Plus
Informatik, 49-89-620-300)
(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00023)
UK - Psion Dacom PCMCIA Modem Sales Top 100,000 06/07/94
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Psion Dacom says
that sales of its Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association (PCMCIA) modem, first announced in March of last
year, have topped the 100,000 sales mark,
According to Gareth Hughes, sales director with the company, the
success of the modem is down to two factors: "Firstly, our unique
mechanical design; and secondly, our guarantee of compatibility."
According to Hughes, the PCMCIA card modem is made from an
aluminum case with six strong pins. This, he said, makes the
modem suitable for up to 10,000 card insertions before wear and
tear sets in.
Psion Dacom also guarantees compatibility with all notebooks that
conform to the PCMCIA 2.0 or 2.1 standard, as well as PCMCIA type II
and III slots. The company claims that not all PCMCIA devices will
work in all PCMCIA-compatible PCs.
The reason is due to the fact that, while many notebooks are now
shipped with card and socket services, the PCMCIA-specified software
interface, the Psion Dacom Gold card modem works with all types of
card and socket services, as well as slightly non-standard PCMCIA-
compliant notebooks. This is made possible, the company notes, by
the use of a software enabler that comes with the card modem.
(Steve Gold/19940607/Press & Reader Contact: Psion Dacom,
tel 44-908-261686, fax 44-908-261688)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00024)
IBM Signs Agreement With Excalibur Technologies 06/07/94
WINDSOR, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Excalibur
Technologies, the multimedia retrieval and document image
management software company, has signed an agreement with IBM.
Terms of the agreement call for IBM to offer its customers
information retrieval technology using the Excalibur TRS text
retrieval server.
According to Big Blue, the deal makes IBM responsible for the sales,
marketing and distribution of SearchManager for AIX and OS/2
workstations.
"IBM has entered into this agreement because it recognizes Excalibur's
TRS as a leading technology of text fuzzy search in the information
systems industry," commented Steve Mills, general manager of IBM's
software solutions division.
So what is Excalibur? According to IBM, the system uses a technique
known as adaptive pattern recognition processing (APRP) to search
through data on a free form basis, The software has a number of
application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow third party
software to be customized for use with the Excalibur system.
In use, users key in a few details on what they are searching for and
the software carries out a series of "fuzzy logic" searches on a
variety of data files. As a by-product of the search, the software
also auto-indexes the entire contents of every document.
MIke Kennedy, president of Excalibur, said: "IBM customers require
a search system that not only tolerates mis-spellings and other
errors that result in no hits in other text retrieval products, but
also an extensible and scalable architecture which provides the
gateway to managing multimedia information."
(Steve Gold/19940607/Press & Reader Contact: John Townsend,
Excalibur Technologies, 44-344-893444)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(000025)
UK - Apricot Extends Relationship With Novell 06/07/94
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Apricot has announced an
extension of its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement
with Novell. Under the extension, Apricot can now sell the full range
of Novell operating systems, upgrades and utilities with its PC
hardware, through all types of distribution channels.
The previous agreement with Novell saw Apricot only selling new
NetWare network operating systems, with customers having to turn
to Novell for updates and utilities.
James Blackledge, of Apricot, said that the company has always
enjoyed a close relationship with Novell over the years. "The
extension of the OEM agreement ensures we can provide our
resellers with innovative and market leading software to support
our range of network ready PCs and services," he said.
According to Blackledge, the deal also allows Apricot to offer a 25
percent discount on NetWare upgrades, providing the customer orders
the upgrade before the end of July.
Apricot claims that the deal is a lot more than a simple marketing
agreement, pointing to the fact that it was one of the first
companies to sign a formal technical support agreement (TSA) with
Novell and now has its own engineer in residence at Novell's Utah
headquarters in the US.
Apricot officials also pointed out to Newsbytes that they are
authorized to self-certify products for use with NetWare and that
Apricot is also a member of the Novell technical support alliance.
(Steve Gold/19940607/Press & Reader Contact: tel
44-21-717-7171, fax 44-21-717-0132)
(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00026)
UK - Canon Intros New Flagship Printbook 06/07/94
WALLINGTON, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Canon UK has
announced the UK availability of the BN32, it latest "Printbook"
portable PCs with an integrated bubble jet printer.
The BN32 is based around a 50 megahertz (MHz) 80486SL2 chipset
with four megabytes (MB) or memory, expandable to 12MB internally.
A choice of 130MB or 260MB hard disks are available, with most
systems supporting PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association) type II and III cards with twin II and a
single III card slots.
The screen on the new machine is a 10.3-inch 256 color liquid crystal
display (LCD) capable of working in 256 colors at any one time. The
bubblejet printer, meanwhile, can print at 360 dots-per-inch (dpi) at
116 characters-per-second (cps). There is also an automatic cut sheer
feeder.
All of the above comes in a compact casing measuring 310 by 254 by
63 millimeters, and tips the scale at 3.9 kilograms. According to
Simon Hill, marketing manager for Canon's text and data products,
the inclusion of a built-in pointing device removes the need for a
separate trackball or mouse.
"We've identified an application for which there is growing demand,
The BN32 provides a solution for the business user requiring desktop
power and functionality on the move. It also represents a unique
proposition for financial service advisors or sales staff who need to
produce hard copy on the customer site," he explained.
The BN32 is available immediately with a UKP2,899 price tag for
the 130MB hard disk version. Including 260MB data storage pushes
the price to UKP3,299.
(Steve Gold/19940607/Press & Reader Contact: Canon UK,
tel 44-21-666-6262, fax 44-21-622-2732)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)
Internet In A Box Debuts At Internet World 06/07/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- With all the talk
about Internet and the information superhighway, a user might think
getting on this great wave of the future is just a matter of making a
phone call and taking-off to "surf the Net." It has not been quite that
easy.
At Internet World '94, the booth with lines around it belonged
to Internet In A Box, which was developed by O'Reilly & Associates,
a leading publisher of Internet books, and Spry Inc., developer of
Windows Internet applications.
Internet In A Box offers: an automatic connection; Global Network
Navigator, an interactive guide to the Internet, which uses AIR
Mosaic; Air Series Internet Applications for Windows, which
includes electronic mail, USENET news reader; drag-and-drop file
transfer; telnet; Gopher; and the Whole Internet User's Guide and
Catalog.
The online package is for Windows users. A local area network
(LAN) version is available, and a Mac version is in the planning
stage.
Online services have been growing at a phenomenal rate with new
Internet users signing on at a rate of approximately 150,000 per
month, according to O'Reilly & Associates.
At the same time, CompuServe has been adding 80,000 users per
month and America Online has been increasing by at least 30,000
per month. The number of users joining "monthly fee plus pay-
as-you-go" services, such as the latter two, may be indicative of
the difficulties users may have with connecting to, and navigating,
the Internet. These other online services offer an easier and more
organized connection and service.
With a special introductory offer of $149, Internet In A Box agents
were taking orders for a product that is expected to ship sometime
in the second quarter of 1994.
Speaking to Newsbytes, Gina Blaber, product manager for Internet In
A Box, said, "We expect to ship in August or September and we are
pleased and surprised at the number of new users who are ordering
our product. We knew there was a specific problem to address with
the difficulties beginners have on 'The Net' and trying to navigate the
volume of information that becomes available. It can be daunting for
a novice."
Addressing the same problems, is The Internet Membership Kit,
currently in the retail channel for less than $70. It is offered in
both Macintosh and Windows versions by Ventana Press.
Internet users are estimated to be about 20 million by
MecklerMedia.
(Patrick McKenna/19940607/Press Contact: Ron Pernick, Niehaus
Ryan Haller Public Relations, tel 415-615-7905)
(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00028)
eWorld Bucks Online Anonymity Trend 06/07/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- Newspapers
over the past year have covered a number of abuses that occur on
online services because of the anonymity of users' identifications.
However, Apple's new eWorld is planning to virtually remove such
user anonymity.
While online service providers always have the power to admonish or
disconnect a user who is reported to violate the terms of agreement
or "netiquette," the administrators of Apple's new eWorld have
decided that members will choose between the use of their first
name and last name, or first name initial and last name.
The use of anonymous names will still be possible online, but any
member may click on a profile and read a person's registered name.
According to the company, real online identities will encourage
responsible behavior and be "more conducive to the business
environment that eWorld is designed for."
Online abuses identified by Apple include such behavior as: "flaming,"
which involves aggressive, hateful, abusive and/or libelous
electronic-mail and online postings to groups; "mail bombs," which
include mass mailings and flooding of mail centers and individual
mailboxes; "stalking" which includes following and tracking the
comings and goings of a specific individual; and "any unwanted and
suggestive advances of a sexual nature or harassment of any sort.
These complaints have long been a problem for all online providers,
most of whom have specific procedures to deal with it. Internet is
the most difficult to control, because one can easily change
identities and sign-on with other providers. As these electronic
communities grow, the identifying and shunning of abusive
individuals is claimed to be a strong self-policing technique.
eWorld users who feel they need their identity protected can appeal
to online administrators or limit their identification by using
broader geographical locations for registration.
A spokesperson for Apple, told Newsbytes, "It is a concern for us
that all of our users feel they may travel through eWorld and be
completely comfortable and operate in a business-like fashion
without having to endure the consequences of irresponsible behavior.
We may not be able to control it 100%, but we are striving to create
a different environment."
(Patrick McKenna/19940606/Press Contact: Amy Bonetti, Apple
Computer, tel 408-974-1333)
(NEWS)(IBM)(HKG)(00029)
Dow Chemical Opts For Green PCs In Pacific Rim 06/07/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) --Digital Equipment
Asia is to provide personal computers (PCs) for Dow Chemical's
workforce in 13 countries in the Pacific region under a
comprehensive agreement signed recently.
Environmental concerns are a high priority for both companies, so
Digital will provide Dow Chemical Pacific Ltd., with its low-power
"green" PC, the 486-based Digital PC LPv+. The configuration will
include eight megabytes (MB) of RAM and a 170MB hard disk drive.
Digital will also provide delivery and support services throughout
the Pacific region. The contract is worth approximately US$1
million a year.
The agreement was signed by Richard Jones, area purchasing director,
and Werner Baer, area information systems director, for Dow
Chemical Pacific Ltd, and Alan McMillan, PC business unit director,
and Bennett Lo, PC corporate sales manager, for Digital Asia.
Werner Baer said: "After a one-year trial period, we are very
encouraged by the progress of our initial study to implement a
standardized configuration to serve the PC needs of our staff in
our Pacific area operations. This strategy will free up our systems
personnel for planning and implementation of other, more critical
information systems services."
Dow Chemical Pacific says that its information systems and
purchasing staff wanted to find a "single company source for PCs
that provides quality, geographic coverage, field support, cost
savings and a standard platform for easy training and maintenance."
"We are building a lasting partnership with Dow Chemical Pacific
to provide their staff with competitive but consistently priced PCs,"
said Digital's Alan McMillan.
(Keith Cameron/19940607/Press Contact: Joyce Tzang, Dow,
852-879-7321)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(HKG)(00030)
DEC Opens New Asia Pacific HQ 06/07/94
SINGAPORE, 1994 JUN 7 (NB) --Digital Equipment Corp.'s new Asia
Pacific headquarters was officially opened in Singapore recently
by Philip Yeo, Chairman of the republic's Economic Development
Board.
The opening is claimed to be in line with the company's plan to
focus more closely on key markets, customers and field operations
in Asia Pacific. The headquarters was previously located in the US.
The new headquarters is headed by Bobby Choonavala, Digital's
president for Asia Pacific, who reports to Enrico Pesatori, corporate
vice president and general manager of the PC and Systems Business
Units at Digital Equipment Corporation. Many of the US-based
managers have moved to Singapore to establish the new headquarters
operations.
The new Asia Pacific unit will cover Japan, South Pacific region
(Australia and New Zealand), Korea, Greater China, Asean,
Indochina, India and other countries in South Asia.
"The burgeoning economies in Asia Pacific will continue to fuel
growth in the regional IT (information technology) industry," said
Choonavala. "With Digital's Asia Pacific management based in
Singapore, we will be closer to the market and it will allow us to
be more responsive to changes in the marketplace. Singapore, with
its central location, places our Asia Pacific headquarters closer in
time and traveling distance to our customers in one of the world's
most dynamic regions."
As Singapore plays a key role in Digital's Asia Pacific operations,
the company has been accorded operational headquarters (OHQ)
status by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). Digital
has been awarded OHQ status because it manages a sizeable network
of overseas companies in the region and undertakes a range of
headquarters activities, including general management and corporate
finance, in Singapore, says the company. With OHQ status, Digital
Asia Pacific will be eligible for concessionary tax relief.
"Digital has long been a good technology partner of Singapore and
shares our vision of IT 2000," said Yeo. "The company has built a
strong presence here, with its regional headquarters, a local sales
and marketing subsidiary, as well as a manufacturing plant. In
addition, Digital has also formed major strategic alliances with
local institutions to facilitate technology transfer to the industry."
Apart from its 17 direct subsidiaries in Asia Pacific, Digital has
manufacturing plants in Taiwan, Singapore, and India. The company
has announced that it was opening a disk drive factory in Penang,
Malaysia, and a plant in Batam, Indonesia, this year.
"Digital experienced a 25 percent growth in revenues in Asia Pacific
in 1993, and we expect equally strong growth in 1994," said
Choonavala. "We will therefore continue to increase our investments,
using Singapore and our twin HQ operations in Hong Kong as
springboards to penetrate emerging markets in this region."
Digital employs over 900 people in manufacturing, sales and
services in Singapore.
(Keith Cameron/19940607/Press Contact: Bonnie Engel, DEC,
852-805-3510)
(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00031)
Newsbytes Daily Summary 06/07/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 7 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:
1 -> Aldus Intros Chartmaker For Mac 06/07/94 Aldus Corporation has
announced Aldus Chartmaker, a software program that lets the user
incorporate charts into files created in any standard Macintosh
application, including those published by companies other than
Aldus.
2 -> OrCAD Intros New DOS/Windows EDA Products 06/07/94 OrCAD, a
leading supplier of personal computer (PC)-based electronic design
automation (EDA) software, says it is releasing three upgraded
products for DOS, a new product for the Microsoft Windows graphical
environment, and a new direct sales and distribution arm.
3 -> DoE & Cray Launch Industrial Computing Initiative 06/07/94 The
Department of Energy and Cray Research, along with 16 other firms,
are launching a $52 million program to push supercomputing.
4 -> AP's Video News Service Targeted At "Media Companies" 06/07/94
The Associated Press will market APTV, its upcoming video news
service, to newspapers and radio stations as well as TV stations,
said Jim Williams, VP and director of AP's Broadcast Division, in
an interview with Newsbytes.
5 -> Canadian Product Launch Update 06/07/94 This regular feature,
appearing every Monday or Tuesday, provides further details for the
Canadian market on announcements by international companies that
Newsbytes has already covered. This week: Claris Organizer for the
Apple Macintosh.
6 -> Internet's Virtual Computer Store 06/07/94 The Internet
Shopping Network (ISN) computer shopping center is up and running
on the Internet, presenting some 15,000 software and hardware
products from both large and small companies.
7 -> Hong Kong Welcomes Compuserve's Video Game Forums 06/07/94
Video game players in Hong Kong now have a direct connection to
fellow players and game publishers all over the world through
Compuserve Hong Kong's Video Games Forum and Video Game Publishers
Forum.
8 -> Legent Buys Lachman Technology 06/07/94 Legent Corp., a
supplier of distributed computing software and services, has bought
privately-held Lachman Technology Inc., of Naperville, Ill., for
about $15 million.
9 -> Windows Business Process Reengineering Prgm Intro'd 06/07/94
Knowledgeware Inc., has announced a software tool for personal
computers (PCs) that graphically maps how work flows through a
company and how organizational units relate to one another.
10 -> Time Warner Completes PCS Test With Qualcomm 06/07/94 Time
Warner and Qualcomm said they have managed to integrate personal
communications services, or PCS, with Time Warner's Full Service
Network cable plant.
11 -> CDPD Interoperability Tests Completed 06/07/94 McCaw Cellular
has announced that it has completed tests of compatibility and
interoperability among makers of equipment implementing the
Cellular Digital Packet Data, or CDPD, protocol.
12 -> PC Supercomputing Accelerator To Use PowerPC 601 Chip
06/07/94 Motorola says a line of parallel processing,
supercomputing-class hardware accelerators being developed by a
Canadian company will utilize Motorola's PowerPC 601
microprocessor.
13 -> ****Blockbuster/Davis Video Launch Phone-Based Game Co
06/07/94 Blockbuster and Davis Video Enterprises have announced a
new interactive entertainment company, called Catapult.
14 -> MS-DOS Equivalent OS For Handheld Devices Intro'd 06/07/94
Datalight has announced the release of ROM-DOS 6, an MS-DOS
6.2-equivalent operating system designed for use in personal
digital assistants (PDAs), hand-held terminals and other types of
embedded computers.
15 -> Conference On "Virtual Office" Set For Late June 06/07/94
Business Week magazine and computer reseller MicroAge Inc. plan to
sponsor a conference on new office technology in New York June 28
and 29.
16 -> IBM Puts DSP Subsystem On Single Chip 06/07/94 IBM said it
has put a complete digital signal processor (DSP) subsystem on a
single microprocessor. The new chip is part of IBM's Mwave line of
products.
17 -> ****IBM Working On Another PowerPC Chip 06/07/94 IBM
developers are working on another version of the PowerPC
microprocessor that the company developed with Apple Computer Inc.
and Motorola Corp.
18 -> Justice Department Wants More Microsoft Info 06/07/94
Apparently the wheels of justice may be ready to turn one more
revolution in the US Justice Department's probe into possible
anti-trust activities on the part of Microsoft Corporation.
19 -> Microsoft Summit - More "Touchdown" Details Soon 06/07/94 At
the Information Exchange Conference later this month, Microsoft
will spell out more specifics on the messaging strategy outlined by
Bill Gates at the Electronic Messaging Association (EMA) Conference
in April, including information on the client and server components
codenamed "touchdown," Newsbytes has learned.
20 -> LSI Components Supplier Says Exciting Changes Coming 06/07/94
In a survey of 300 system designers, LSI Logic was rated "gate
array supplier of the year," according to market research firm
Dataquest. The low- level logic components supplier says it is
involved in vertical product development it feels will change the
world of electronic and computer products.
21 -> Hungarian Telecom Outlines Phone Net Development Plans
06/07/94 Matav, the Hungarian Telecoms Company, has announced it
will increase the number of phone lines in Budapest over the next
three years by around 60 percent, or 400,000 lines.
22 -> HP France In PC Plus Deal 06/07/94 Hewlett-Packard's (HP)
telecoms systems business unit (TSBU) of Grenoble has announced a
marketing deal with PC Plus Informatik of Munich in Germany. Terms
of the deal call for HP to market PC Plus' international telephone
enquiry system for HP Unix networks on a worldwide basis.
23 -> UK - Psion Dacom PCMCIA Modem Sales Top 100,000 06/07/94
Psion Dacom says that sales of its Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association (PCMCIA) modem, first announced in March
of last year, have topped the 100,000 sales mark,
24 -> IBM Signs Agreement With Excalibur Technologies 06/07/94
Excalibur Technologies, the multimedia retrieval and document image
management software company, has signed an agreement with IBM.
Terms of the agreement call for IBM to offer its customers
information retrieval technology using the Excalibur TRS text
retrieval server.
25 -> UK - Apricot Extends Relationship With Novell 06/07/94
Apricot has announced an extension of its original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Novell. Under the extension,
Apricot can now sell the full range of Novell operating systems,
upgrades and utilities with its PC hardware, through all types of
distribution channels.
26 -> UK - Canon Intros New Flagship Printbook 06/07/94 Canon UK
has announced the UK availability of the BN32, it latest
"Printbook" portable PCs with an integrated bubble jet printer.
27 -> Internet In A Box Debuts At Internet World 06/07/94 With all
the talk about Internet and the information superhighway, a user
might think getting on this great wave of the future is just a
matter of making a phone call and taking-off to "surf the Net." It
has not been quite that easy.
28 -> eWorld Bucks Online Anonymity Trend 06/07/94 Newspapers over
the past year have covered a number of abuses that occur on online
services because of the anonymity of users' identifications.
However, Apple's new eWorld is planning to virtually remove such
user anonymity.
29 -> Dow Chemical Opts For Green PCs In Pacific Rim 06/07/94
igital Equipment Asia is to provide personal computers (PCs) for
Dow Chemical's workforce in 13 countries in the Pacific region
under a comprehensive agreement signed recently.
30 -> DEC Opens New Asia Pacific HQ 06/07/94 igital Equipment
Corp.'s new Asia Pacific headquarters was officially opened in
Singapore recently by Philip Yeo, Chairman of the republic's
Economic Development Board.
(Ian Stokell/19940607)