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/nb060994

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(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00001)

SPA Says Computers Help In Schools 06/09/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Information
technology can make a big difference on how well kids learn in
school, according to a new study by the Software Publishers
Association.

Commissioned by the SPA and conducted by Interactive Education
Systems Design, a technology consulting firm, the study found
that computing and communications technology helps students of
all ages and skill levels, from preschool to college. The report
is the third of its kind SPA has released in the last three years.

"It's most dramatic with low-achievers and students with
special needs," Sue Kamp, SPA's education expert, told
Newsbytes.

According to the study, students respond more effectively to
software that offers "a sense of control over the learning
environment, arouses curiosity, offers multiple levels of
difficulty and challenge, provides feedback, and incudes an
element of fantasy and animation."

Teachers are the key, said Kamp, and teachers are also a
problem. "There's not nearly enough professional development
for teachers in this area and we are hearing from them about
that. We are seeing a lot of computers sitting idle."

While most educators did not get any exposure to computers when
they were in school, that is now changing. "Computers are being
incorporated into audio-visual classes at the college level,"
said Kamp, "as well as into the curriculum in other classes."

For the future, Kamp sees schools connected to the Internet and
the information highway. "SPA's members will be the content
providers for that," she says, "but we don't know what it will
look like yet."

The net is still a distance away for most schools, notes Kamp.
"Only three percent of classrooms have a phone jack," she says.

(Kennedy Maize/19940608/Contact: Sue Kamp, 202-452-1600)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(WAS)(00002)

MCI Aids Eastern European Environmental Librarians 06/09/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Through a grant
from MCI, 22 librarians from six Central European countries
will learn some of the intricacies of the Internet at the
Internet Society's INET 1994 conference in Prague this month.

The group from the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland,
Slovakia, and Hungary will be the nucleus of a new organization,
the International Organization for Information Specialists
(IOIS) to promote international collaboration and training,
with support from the US Agency for International Development.

"The program's mission is to provide training and assistance to
Central Europe's libraries to use the power of the Internet for
access and retrieval of environmental information on-line,"
said Barbara Rodes, a founder of IOIS and a librarian for the
US World Wildlife Fund.

"Many of these Central European librarians are already very
sophisticated Internet users," Pam Small of MCI told Newsbytes.
"They will be looking at things like multimedia on the
Internet, and taking part in the INET conference."

MCI has provided a US-wide backbone network for the Internet
since 1987 and is a major sponsor of the Prague meeting. The
Washington-based company, along with British Telecom and
Czech Telecom International, are putting the largest Internet
link ever into Eastern Europe for the Prague meeting. The fiber
optic link will support interactive video broadcast of the
conference proceedings to 500 sites in 14 countries.

"As the explosive growth of the Internet continues," says
Vinton Cerf, MCI senior vice president and president of the
Internet Society, "it is critical that we introduce the unique
capabilities of this global network to those parts of the world
who need a jump start to get on the superhighway."

The $13,500 MCI grant to the librarians will fund their travel
and expenses at the conference. The conference is sponsored by
the Internet Society and the Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche
Europeenne's joint European networking conference.

(Kennedy Maize/19940608/Contact: Pam Small, 202-887-3000)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00003)

Microsoft/World Wildlife Fund Combine On Software 06/09/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Conservationist and
world traveler Sir Edmund Hillary has endorsed the work of Microsoft
Corporation and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to develop computer
software about endangered species of our planet.

Hillary, 74, and the first person to ascend to the summit of Mt.
Everest, told a standing room only crowd of Microsoft employees
such efforts are "vital to the future of conservation." Hillary said
the global environment is severely stressed and something has to
be done to save it. "We have to do something. We cannot leave it to
other people."

The joint product between Microsoft and the WWF will produce a
Windows-based software program, called Dangerous Creatures, as
one of nine new Microsoft products this year for the home computer
market. Dangerous Creatures includes 1,000 articles and 250
pictures of natural habitats. The WWF served as technical adviser
and fact-checker for the program.

In addition to the text and pictures, the software includes sound
effects, narrations and pronunciations. It takes users on a tour of
various wild areas of the globe to demonstrate the "delicate
balance of the ecosystem" that surrounds the world's wildlife.

Hillary described Dangerous Creatures as "great for the young who
learn so quickly and visually." He added that he personally does
not use computers.

The WWF is a 30-year old international organization dedicated to
the preservation of the world's endangered wildlife and natural
habitats.

Microsoft spokesperson Michelle Dollarhide told Newsbytes that
Dangerous Creatures is scheduled to ship in late June with a
suggested retail price of $79.95. She was uncertain if there will
be a Macintosh version of the program, but said if there is it will
not be in the near future.

(Jim Mallory/19940608/Press contact: Michelle Dollarhide, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft Corporation, 503-245-0905; Reader contact:
Microsoft Corporation, 206-882-8080 or 800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00004)

SunWorld '94 Invites FBI To Discuss Internet Security 06/09/94
FARMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A.,  1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- In
December, 1993, Dr. William Tafoya, special agent for the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), became the first law enforcement
officer to make investigative use of the Internet. He will be taking
part in SunWorld '94.

During investigation of the "UNABOMB" mail-bombing case, whose
victims were all individuals or organizations who participated on
Internet, Tafoya was able to carry out investigative procedures
pertinent to the case.

As part of SunWorld '94, he will be joined by Philip Moyer, security
engineer for Arca Systems and Matt Bishop, assistant professor in
the Department of Computer Science at the University of California
at Davis, for a June 16 conference entitled: "Security: Tough Decisions
for Distributed Systems and Heterogeneous Environments." Internet
security, the limitations of investigative work, and how to improve
system security, will be conference subjects for this panel.

SunWorld '94 tutorials will begin on June 13 and the exposition will
run through June 14-18. The event, produced by IDG World Expo,
will offer educational forums and technical information about Sun
Microsystems, other open systems trends, technology and new
enterprise developments.

More than 250 companies will fill the trade show floor to greet
the estimated 12,000 attendees.

Andrew Rodger, vice president of open systems for IDG World Expo,
told Newsbytes, "This conference is focused on advanced enterprise
solutions and security and international communication. We attract
and audience that is concerned with the application of technology
across local and global networks."

SunWorld '94 will also offer a large educational area for developers
and special highlights will feature a keynote speech by Bill Alaoglu
from the World Cup Association and a panel of race car giants,
including Penske, Ferrari, and McLaren International, who will speak
on design and communication systems in auto racing.

(Patrick McKenna/19940608/Press Contact: Rachel Winett, IDG
World Expo, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00005)

Japan - Computer News Briefs 06/09/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- In today's roundup of items
making news in Japan, Fujitsu develops 64Mbit synchronous
DRAM, NEC to increase GaAs IC production, Japan's government
to draft five-year computerization plan, Sega, four trading
firms to establish CATV-based game broadcasting company,
Car navigation system price war intensifying,

Fujitsu Develops 64Mbit Synchronous DRAM

Fujitsu has developed a 64Mbit synchronous DRAM and will begin
shipping samples in August. Designed using 0.35 double-metal
CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) processes,
140 million elements are integrated on a 232 square-millimeter
chip, about the same size as a 64Mbit DRAM chip. The synchronous
DRAM, which comes in two types -- the MB81164440 configured
16Mword x 4bit x 4bank and the MB81164840 configured 8Mword
x 8bit x 4bank -- has a three-step pipeline structure and operates
at a clock speed of 100 megahertz (MHz) on 3.3volts. The chip also
uses the company's proprietary interface, Terminated Lvttl, for
data transfer between memory and a CPU (central processing unit).
The 8bit model achieves a data transfer rate of 100 megabytes-
per-second, the equivalent of sending 260 newspaper pages in 1/12
of a second, and an access time of six nanoseconds (ns). Sample
prices will be set at 150,000- 200,000 yen ($1,429-1,905). The
chip maker's Mie plant will initially produce 64Mbit synchronous
DRAMs, but Fujitsu will install 8-inch wafer processing equipment
for volume production at its Iwate plant to begin production at one
million units per month three years from now.

NEC To Increase GaAs IC Production

NEC will increase GaAs (gallium arsenide) production in
response to growing demand from makers of mobile phones and
overseas satellite broadcasting antennas. The company plans to
raise three-inch wafer output at its subsidiary NEC Kansai's Otsu
plant by 50% to 1,500 units per month by September and 2,000
units by 1995. The plant currently manufactures 500 types of
GaAs ICs (integrated circuits), but the product line will be cut by
60% to 200 types. In order to expand production, the plant will also
use a pilot line for volume production. NEC intends to boost GaAs
IC shipments from an estimated 20 billion yen ($190.5 million) in
fiscal 1993 to about 30 billion yen ($285.7 million) in fiscal 1994.

Government To Draft Five-Year Computerization Plan

Japan's government will, in fiscal 1994, draft its first-ever
five-year plan aimed at computerizing the nation's bureaucracy.
The government will draft a basic plan covering overall
methodology and plans for cooperation and coordination among
different ministries, while each ministry will create its own
action plan. A project committee spanning four ministries has
been formed and is now at work. Among other things, the plan
calls for the installation of one PC per ministry employee and
conversion to an electronic paperless system for official
documents by 1999.

Sega, 4 Others, To Establish CATV-Based Game Broadcasting Firm

Sega Enterprises, Itochu, Sumitomo Corp., Nissho Iwai, and
Mitsubishi Corp. will cooperatively establish SEGA Digital
Communications, a new corporation which will use cable television
to distribute game software to homes, hotels, and other
commercial establishments. To be capitalized at 200 million yen
($1.9 million), the new firm, in which SEGA will have a majority
stake, will supply CATV companies with game uplink equipment and
software. Games are widely regarded as one menu item which will
hold the promise of spurring CATV usage, and SEGA has begun a
series of experimental game uplink services in both Japan and the
US since May.

Car Navigation System Price War Intensifying

The price war in the car navigation system field is
intensifying. On July 1, Matsushita Communication Industrial will
release the first hybrid-type system costing below 200,000 yen
($1,905). The Cn-v500dj system integrates the GPS (global
positioning system) with a location gyro and a speed sensor.
Priced at 198,000 yen ($1,886), the hybrid system offers improved
position accuracy over systems utilizing only the GPS. At the
retail level price discount competition is continuing, and makers
will now be competing by coming out with systems that are more
affordable for users.

(Terry Silveria/19940608)


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

AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 06/09/94
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- By John Hastings.
Computer users have demanded an upgradable computer for many
years. The idea is good but the implementations have been flawed.

Apple promises a PowerPC upgrade for most Macintosh computers
soon. This may be the first program to work because Apple has
so much riding on it. On the other hand, two years ago Intel
promised a P24T Pentium upgrade for most 486 computers. This
chip is like the abominable snowman. While there is great
discussion about it, no one has seen it in captivity.

The price of color LCD (liquid crystal display) screens will spiral
downward for the next two years. New technology and volume
production will make color screens so inexpensive, they will
become the standard for most notebook and subnotebook computers.
In addition, large color LCD screens will then replace monitors
for desktop computers. Some predict a large folded screen
will be available for portable computers. These screens will
unfold to allow 17- to 20-inch viewing. However, the big payoff
for the manufacturers has nothing to do with computers. The
ultimate market is television. When the appropriate price
point is reached, the LCD manufacturers will own the
television market. This incentive is fueling the current
research and development.

Apple's new notebook computers are receiving
rave reviews. The PowerBook 500's include many new and
innovative features. The most prominent is the replacement
of the trackball with a trackpad. This touch sensitive pad
causes the cursor to move with any finger movement on the
pad. As with many innovative ideas from Apple, the trackpad
will certainly be copied by most other manufacturers. Other
features include a CPU (central processing unit) that is three
times faster than previous PowerBooks, function keys on the
keyboard, and two battery bays. These bays can utilize two
batteries for 5 to 8 hours of usage, or one battery can be
removed revealing the PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory
Card International Association) slots for expansion cards.
Built-in Ethernet networking is also included. The 9.5-inch
screen allows a full 640 by 480 viewing. The low-end
PowerBook 520 in a 4/160 configuration is expected to sell
for less than $2200. This price should have a depressing
effect on the prices of most used PowerBooks.

Sales of Apple's Power Macs may get a shot in the
arm later this year when Apple releases a new version of the
Macintosh operating system. The current version of the
operating system was designed for compatibility and
stability. The next version will emphasize performance. In
running older Macintosh software in emulation mode, the new
system is said to be twice as fast. In addition, native
Power Mac software is expected to see improvements of
20% to 30%.

Apple cut prices up to 27% on a dozen models of
PowerBooks and Quadras last week. Since several of these
models will be discontinued, this inventory clearing move
may have little long term effect on used computer prices.

 The following prices are for June 3, 1994.

                                Average Average

                                Buyer's Seller's

 Machine                        Bid     Ask     Close Change

 IBM PS/2 Model 30/286 20MB     $250    $450    $275    ..

 IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB         400     700     550     -25

 IBM ThinkPad 350               800     1450    975     -25

 IBM ThinkPad 700               1000    1700    1250    -50

 IBM ThinkPad 720               1600    2000    1650    ..

 AST 386/20, 80MB               450     850     550     +50

 Dell 325SX,60MB                400     800     475     ..

 Dell 386/20, 120MB             600     900     600     ..

 Gateway 386SX/20, 80MB         400     850     475     -25

 Gateway 386/25, 80MB           500     800     550     -25

 Gateway 486/33 120MB           900     1300    950     ..

 Clone Notebook 286, 40 MB      350     700     425     -50

 Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB    500     900     700     -25

 Clone 386/25 80MB, VGA         450     850     650     ..

 Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA         550     950     700     -25

 Clone 486/25120MB, VGA         800     1250    900     ..

 Compaq SLT/286 20MB            250     500     400     ..

 Compaq LTE 286 40MB            300     675     525     +25

 Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB   500     800     650     +25

 Compaq Contura 320 60MB        500     1000    775     ..

 Macintosh Classic 40MB         350     600     350     -25

 Macintosh SE/30 40MB           375     800     550     ..

 Macintosh II 40MB              350     650     475     ..

 Macintosh IIcx 80MB            400     700     525     -25

 Macintosh IIci 80MB            700     1000    775     ..

 Macintosh IIfx 80MB            800     1400    950     -25

 PowerBook 100 20MB             525     900     600     -25

 PowerBook 140 40MB             900     1400    1025    -25

 PowerBook 170 40MB             1200    1700    1275    -25

 PowerBook 180 80MB             1400    1800    1425    -50

 LaserWriter IINT               700     1000    725     ..

 Toshiba 1200XE                 300     650     525     -25

 Toshiba 1900 120M              1000    1700    1025    -50

 Toshiba 3200SX 40MB            400     800     575     ..

 Toshiba 5200 100MB             850     1250    1075    +25

 HP LaserJet II                 400     850     800     ..

 HP LaserJet IIIP               375     950     525     ..

 HP LaserJet III                750     1100    975     +25

 HP LaserJet IV                 1000    1300    1175    ..

John Hastings is the president of the American Computer
Exchange Corporation. The American Computer Exchange
matches buyers and sellers of used microcomputer equipment.
For more information contact the American Computer
Exchange Corporation at [phone].

(AmCoEx/19940608)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00007)

Virtual Mark Twain To Appear At INFOCOMM 06/09/94
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Virtual Mark
Twain, who resides in a 16 cube, 11 foot by 11 foot wall, will
preside over INFOCOMM International trade show at the Anaheim
Convention Center on June 9-11.

 The International Communications Industries Association (ICIA),
a group of 1,400 companies comprising of system integrators,
manufacturers, rental firms, producers and dealers will hold its
annual INFOCOMM International to bring together major sound
contractors and manufacturers to demonstrate audio-visual and
sound technology.

Working in conjunction with ICIA, the International Television
Association (ITVA), a group of 8,000 video professionals, has
agreed to jointly present the event of 400 exhibitors to an
estimated 18,000 attendees.

The show will feature virtual reality displays, a multimedia
classroom, the ultimate electronic classroom, teleconferencing
and a video gallery of 150 videotapes from the ITVA Video Festival.

Color Concepts & Images' Virtual Mark Twain is a product of high-
speed computer wizardry which combines three-dimensional (3-D)
computer graphics, real-time animation, a highly visual computer
screen-wall and the wisdom of Mr. Twain. This creation of Gary
Jesch, founder of Color Concepts & Images, brings together the
"ComputerWall" of Moving Pictures Inc. and RGB Spectrum and
SimGraphics' "VActor" software.

Behind the scenes, San Francisco actor, Bruce Parry will be wired to
the computer with "Waldo," special headgear for tracking his head
movements, including eyes and mouth. With hidden cameras Parry
will be able to see and interact with conference attendees, as his
voice and motions are transmitted to the "ComputerWall" Twain with
virtually no time delay.

Gary Jesch, told Newsbytes, "We want to prove that this technology
is commercially viable. That has not been done yet. Once it is
established, we will be able to present any number of historical,
mythical or current-day heroes to special events anywhere in the
world."

According to Jesch, the current cost of Virtual Mark Twain is
somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 per day. Moving Pictures
of Los Angeles is sponsoring the appearance of Virtual Mark Twain,
who will offer wisdom to the audience while he learns of historical
events and technological advances of the twentieth century.

(Patrick McKenna/19940608/Press Contact: Gary Jesch, Color
Concepts & Images, 800-892-4687, International, 702-831-7451/
INFOCOMM940609/PHOTO)


(CORRECTION)(TRENDS)(DAL)(00008)

Correction - Average Hard Disk 1GB In Capacity By 1996 06/09/94
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- In the
article "Average Hard Disk 1GB In Capacity By 1996, Says Survey"
that ran June 3, 1994, Newsbytes quoted market research firm
Frost & Sullivan as saying that, by 1996 most file servers will
have an average storage capacity of over 20 megabytes. Of course,
that should have read over 20 gigabytes.

Newsbytes apologizes for the error.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940608)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(WAS)(00009)

Rival Anti-Piracy Groups Expand Services 06/09/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Washington's two
rival software piracy groups--Software Publishers Association
and Business Software Alliance--are both moving in new
directions, and possibly into a further turf battle.

BSA has created a new in-house policy organization, headed by
a veteran Washington lobbyist. SPA is beefing up its litigation
and international anti-piracy efforts, an area where BSA has
been strong.

BSA is the "new kid on the block," begun two years ago when eight
of SPA's most important members essentially quit the older,
more traditional trade association to form a new organization
focused more narrowly on piracy and especially piracy outside
the United States. The eight renegades were Aldus, Apple,
Autodesk, Intergraph, Lotus, Microsoft, Novell, and WordPerfect.

SPA is a full-service trade association, offering conferences,
training, a range of member services, lobbying in Congress and
the executive branch, and anti-piracy campaigns. Its
anti-piracy efforts have been financed out of a separate pot of
member money, donated for that purpose alone.

BSA has been an aggressive anti-pirate agent, especially
abroad, with intellectual property programs in 55 countries. In
the past, it has done its lobbying through outside law firms in
Washington.

But now BSA has hired Rebecca Gould as policy director, a new
position, and launched an expanded in-house shop. Gould
comes from the well-connected Washington law firm of Verner,
Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand. Before that, she was
Republican counsel on the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
where she was a key staff player in the 1988 Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act.

Lobbying Congress and the executive branch will get greater
attention at BSA, says President Robert Holleyman. "With the
advent of the global information highway--which will intimately
link computer users from all parts of the world," he says,
"important privacy and security issues have surfaced that
require the software industry's involvement and input."

Just a few blocks away, SPA has hired Sandra Sellers as
director of litigation. She has been a partner and specialist in
international intellectual property issues at the Washington
firm of Willian, Brinks, Hofer, Bilson & Lione and, before
that, an attorney at the US International Trade Commission.

In making the announcement, SPA said that it "will expand its
presence against software pirates internationally under
Sellers' direction."

"I think we are seeing both organizations evolving," said a
long-term observer who requested anonymity to preserve ties to
the rival organizations. "BSA will never be like SPA, but it is
broadening its services. And SPA looks like it is moving in on
BSA's territory, as well. There's bad blood between the groups."

(Kennedy Maize/19950609/Contact: Christopher Hopkins, SPA,
202-452-1600; Kim Willard, BSA, 202-872-5500)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00010)

European Counterfeit Legislation Criticized 06/09/94
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- According to a report by the
European Association of Industries of Branded Products (AIM), anti-
counterfeiting legislation varies widely from one European country
to another and is only effective in a few, notably France and
Germany.

According to AIM, all the countries examined (the EC Twelve plus
Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, and Turkey)
have set up legal systems enabling authorities to take measures to
control counterfeit goods, but they have proved truly effective and
sufficiently binding only in France and Germany.

The UK is heavily criticized in the BF 800 report for the cost of
taking civil legal action through the courts. Benelux, meanwhile, is
slated for ineffective criminal and customs provisions, while Italy is
criticized for having a system that "is generally unsatisfactory in
all areas."

AIM is calling for the harmonization of anti-counterfeiting laws at
the higher standards prevailing and for closer judicial cooperation
between the EC member states. The report suggest that
improvements must be made at three different levels: national and
European criminal law; national and European civil law; and customs
controls at EC external borders.

Concerning national and European criminal law, the bodies
responsible for monitoring application of laws must be given greater
powers of investigation and action, additional financial resources
and personnel, and the power to impose dissuasive sanctions (fines
corresponding to the gravity of the fraud, the destruction of
counterfeit goods, for example).

At a European level, the import, transit or export of counterfeit
goods must be considered an offence, European trademark legislation
must be applicable through criminal law and a European network of
national anti counterfeiting coordinators established

Concerning national and European civil law: authorities must be
authorized to seize counterfeit goods more quickly and without
warning the owners; owners should be required to provide
information about the origin of counterfeit goods; the destruction
of seized goods should be allowed; intellectual property legislation
should be strengthened; and existing provisions in the different EC
member states should be harmonized.

In addition, a specific European court should be established to deal
with problems of counterfeiting and its decisions should be directly
applicable in all the member states.

Concerning customs controls at EC external borders, trade in
counterfeit goods should be considered a violation of customs
legislation, and information sharing by customs officials should
be facilitated and stepped up.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940609/Press & Reader Contact: AIM,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00011)

Visa Germany Unveils "Secure" Payment 2000 System 06/09/94
BONN, GERMANY, 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- German members of the Visa
credit and debit card network have been introduced to Payment 2000,
a paperless transaction network that Visa claims is the most
secure of its type in the world.

Visa officials unveiled the system at the second administrative
meeting of the newly established Visa Deutschland, a credit card
pressure group, which took place earlier this month. At the meeting,
held in early June, members agreed to connect all the German Visa
banks to the new Visa network.

According to Visa, Germany is the first country where the Payment
2000 system has been introduced. The advantages of the system are
that it will reduce the extent of fraud and credit losses, according
to the company.

Visa officials added that, because of the security against fraud, it
can now introduce a new charging structure at locations accepting
the Visa brand card.

From the card users' point of view, transactions can be completed
more quickly and, since transaction dates are routed to the
cardholders' statement, better reconciliation can be completed,
especially with cross-currency transactions.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940609)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00012)

UK - Optech Unveils PFS:Window Works 2.0 On CD-ROM 06/09/94
FARNHAM, SURREY, 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Optech has announced the
availability of version 2.0 of PFS:Window Works on CD-ROM.

According to the multimedia specialist, the package is ideal for
the small office/home office (SOHO) market, since it is a low-cost
integrated suite of applications for small businesses.

Why go for a CD-ROM edition over floppy disk-based? Officials with
the company claim that CD-ROM makes the package much easier to
install, as well as allowing extra features to be made available.
Despite the extra features, the package costs just UKP49.

PFS:Window Works 2.0 is actually eight packages in one. The company
claims that, by grouping together a full feature word processor,
spreadsheet, database, chartmaker, address book, terminal, and label
maker, the software meets all home and small business needs.

The eighth module, which is standalone, is the Winfax Ultralite
application from Delrina. The package allows faxes to  be received
automatically and routed to the print menu without the user
leaving a Windows application in the foreground.

Not surprisingly, the whole ensemble uses around 10.3 megabytes
(MB) of hard disk space, hence the use of a CD-ROM to supply the
applications on. The additional space on the CD-ROM is taken up by a
multimedia demonstration tutorial that covers all aspects of the
package modules, as well as Windows functions.

"The use of CD-ROM has also allowed is the expand the help functions
of the package. We now have fully context sensitive help, along with
onscreen dialog boxes," explained a spokesman for Optech.

Optech claims that the package is made easier to use by the addition
of a new customizable Quick Button palette. This facility allows users
to define the facilities most frequently used in an onscreen "tool
box" that allows functions to quickly addressed. The facility,
Newsbytes notes, is similar to the Mac alias feature native to
System, the Apple Mac's graphical user interface (GUI) operating
system.

The use of CD-ROM has allowed PFS to include object linking and
embedding (OLE) functions with the package. The facility allows the
user to created objects from the spreadsheet or chartmaker modules
which can then be inserted into other Windows documents. This could
be used, company officials note, to incorporate charts and diagrams
within the text of a file in the word processor. Because the data is
held in the charts file in this example, any changes to that data will
auto-update the "version" in the word processor.

(Steve Gold/19940609/Press & Reader Contact: Optech,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00013)

UK - Elonex Offers Removable Drive Technology For PCs 06/09/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Elonex, the direct sell PC
manufacturer, has announced that its "My Drive" removable and
interchangeable hard disk system is being made available to all PC
users, including those using non-Elonex PCs.

Previously, the My Drive system was only seen on the NB4000 series of
modular notebook machines from the company. The system, which is
available in 120, 200. 250, 340 and 520 megabyte (MB) formats, was
designed by the company's research and development division, Oakleigh
Systems of California.

Each disk is in a 2.5-inch form factor and measures 76 millimeters
(mm) by 22 mm by 120 mm. A drive mount assembly is available for a
half-height drive bay and links to the PC bus via a 16 bit ISA (Industry
Standard Architecture) slot. The drive bay system is known as the My
Drive Inn and costs UKP40. Drives range in cost form UKP250 for the
120MB unit to UKP405 for the 340MB cartridge. Pricing on the 520MB
unit has yet to be decided, company officials told Newsbytes.

Demetre Cheras, Elonex's systems director, said that removable mass
storage is nothing new. "But we believe that the My Drive system is
the only affordable way for uses to swap hard disks between
desktops and notebook PCs," he said.

"If you're using a My Drive module as a secondary drive, users can
even remove and replace it without powering down the PC. This
effectively gives PC users the easy portability of a standard 1.44MB
floppy disks, but with up to 350 times the capacity," he added.

(Steve Gold/19940609/Press & Reader Contact: Elonex,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00014)

Lotus Offers SmartSuite Upgrade For UKP199 06/09/94
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- For users who already
have a Lotus package, the company is now offering an upgrade to
its Smartsuite integrated software suite, for just UKP199. The
package usually costs UKP545.

The special promotion runs until September of this year.
To keep its resellers happy, as well as offering instant buy
facilities to end users, the upgrade pack is available through
dealers.

The slightly odd condition to this is that the upgrade pack only
contains a voucher which has to be returned to Lotus' customer
services for what the company calls "immediate fulfillment."

Lotus reckons the deal is a good one, but is offering customers its
usual money back guarantee on the product, if the customer is not
happy with the software, for any reason.

The summer promo will incorporate three months of extensive
advertising. Andrew Wyatt, brand manager for SmartSuite, said that
pricing is the result of Lotus' research into how customers look
at pricing in the mainstream marketplace.

"Our own pricing research showed that the upgrade price is a
very attractive option. It dramatically increases the numbers of
customers upgrading," Wyatt explained.

(Steve Gold/19940609/Press Contact: Richard Bailey, Lotus UK,
[phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DAL)(00015)

Star Trek Next Generation CD-ROM For MPC 06/09/94
ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- The television
series may be over, but multimedia personal computer (MPC) users
can begin a Star Trek: Next Generation adventure with a new
interactive CD-ROM from Spectrum Holobyte beginning this October.
Spectrum says it has signed up eight of the principle actors from
the popular science-fiction series for the title.

Company representatives told Newsbytes the title, "Star Trek: The
Next Generation 'A Final Unity,'" will have an originally written
and produced story. The interactivity comes in with the ability
for players to choose to be any of the main characters, including
the computer. The title is to feature three-dimensional (3-D)
graphics and compact disc (CD) quality sound.

Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathon Frakes
(Commander William Riker), Gates McFadden (Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Beverly Crusher), Levar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La
Forge), Michael Dorn (Lt. Worf), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna
Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), and Majel Barrett
(voice of the computer) will all contribute their voices to the game.

Spectrum has a license from Paramount to produce a specific
number of computer and video games from the series and has
already released a Nintendo Star Trek: The Next Generation
video game. The company also has the right to produce games from
the "Generations" Star Trek movie Paramount is working on and
representatives said further CD-ROM titles are in the planning
stages.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940608/Press Contact: Jenny Roelle, Bender
Goldman & Helper for Spectrum Holobyte, tel [phone], fax
310-478-7914; Holly Hartz, Spectrum Holobyte, 510-522-3584)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00016)

Deluxe Corp To Acquire T/Maker 06/09/94
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Deluxe Corp.,
says it has entered into an agreement to purchase all of the capital
stock of T/Maker Company of Mountain View, California.

T/Maker produces the ClickArt series of images that can be inserted
into documents created in other applications. It also develops and
publishes the VroomBooks series of children's multimedia software
on CD-ROM for early learning. The electronic books are available on
Apple Computer's Macintosh platform as well as Windows-based
multimedia personal computers.

Stuart Alexander, VP of Corporate Public Relations at
Deluxe, told Newsbytes all of the T/Maker employees and the
company's management, including CEO Heidi Roizen, will be retained.
The company will be part of the Deluxe Business Systems Division.

Deluxe Corporation is a 79-year old Fortune 500 company perhaps
best known to consumers for its check printing functions. It also
owns direct mail market greeting card company Current Inc., in
Colorado and more than 30 other companies in the US and the UK.

Other functions include electronic payment and benefits processing,
accounts receivables management and collections, and business
forms printing. The company is currently bringing to market an
environmentally friendly lithographic printing system that
eliminates solvents from the printing process.

Alexander said the transaction is expected to be completed by
the end of June. T/Maker is a privately held company, but its
shareholders will have to approve the deal. Alexander declined to
disclose the purchase price or terms of the sale.

(Jim Mallory/19940608/Press contact: Stuart Alexander, Deluxe
Corporation, 612-483-7358 or Heidi Roizen, T/Maker Company,
415-962-0195)


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

Dell Ships 100MHz Pentium PC, Intros Network Setup 06/09/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Dell Computer Corp.,
says it is now shipping 100 megahertz (MHz) Intel Pentium-based
PCs. The company claims that it is the first to ship these types
of systems on a commercial basis.

The Dell desktop servers being shipped include the Poweredge
SP 5100, which starts at $11,047, and the Poweredge XE 5100,
which begins at $12,731.

Both models include Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) local
bus technology, Dell's small computer system interface (SCSI) disk
array subsystem, a thermal monitoring card which monitors
temperature and operation of the key components, hot-swappable
disk drives, and error checking and correcting memory.

The term hot-swappable refers to the ability to change that
component while the computer is running.

Dell has also announced its Network Setup program, a partnership
with Novell Inc.'s Netware Ready program. Network setup is
Dell-developed software code that enables PCs with factory-
installed network interface cards and Netware workstation
drivers to be "quickly" connected to a network.

Network Setup works in conjunction with Dell's LANsolve, a
program that includes a feature called Login-Ready. A user
connects the hardware to the network cabling, turns on the power
and types a few keystrokes. The system then automatically
identifies the network type and configures itself, says the firm.

According to Novell Senior Director of Marketing Toby Corey,
Network Setup works flawlessly. "Customers can be assured that
Dell's factory installation of Netware is outstanding," said Corey.

That may be because of Novell and Dell's close ties. Dell is a Novell
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and a member of its
Strategic Engineering Support and Technical Support Alliance
programs that test, certify, and support Dell networking products.

(Jim Mallory/19940609/Press contact: Dean Kline, Dell Computer
Corp., 512-728-4100; Reader contact: Dell Computer, 800-289-
3355 or 512-338-4400)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DAL)(00018)

HSC Intros Bryce Landscape Designer For Mac 06/09/94
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Named after
the famous Bryce Canyon in Utah, HSC is demonstrating KPT Bryce
1.0 for the Macintosh at the Digital World show in Los Angeles, a
product for the design and rendering of landscapes.

The company claims computer users can now design skies, surreal
landscapes, and never-before-seen-worlds and even use the designs
as a 360-degree panoramic screen saver.

The product comes with a CD-ROM with hundreds of preset images
so beginning users can simply take or redesign a landscape with
the product. Landscapes can be created by combining the dozens of
skies, grounds, and terrains provided in varying ways. KPT Bryce
also ships with a 360-degree panoramic plug-in module that scans
the landscape over and over for use with the popular After Dark
screen saver from Berkeley Systems.

The company claims professionals will appreciate the controls
provided, such as surface contour definition, bumpiness,
translucency, reflectivity, color, humidity, cloud attributes,
and alpha channels.

The company claims that Bryce approaches photorealism with the
ability to produce natural cloud formations, humidity and light
refraction and landscapes with realistic surfaces, reflections,
shadows, and complex textures. The textures are more than just
pictures wrapped around polygons, says HSC, as the textures can
behave in different ways depending on variables such as
orientation, slope, and altitude.

Every item in a scene can be modified, including the textures
themselves, by a point-and-click process, since each item is an
object. Resizing and rotation tools are available as well as a
"Terrain Editor" where surfaces of terrain objects can be
filtered with real-time erosion and smoothing.

A "Materials Editor" allows users to design and assign three-
dimensional (3-D) and attributes to Bryce terrains and objects,
either by choosing from scores of presets, such as water, waves,
vapor, clouds, sand marble, class, ice, and precious metals, or by
creating new materials from scratch.

Scene rendering takes some time, according to Rob Sonner of NSC
technical support. Sonner said users can start a render at night
and wake up to a new world in the morning.

KFP Bryce is expected to ship this month for the Macintosh II
family, LC, Performa, Centris, or Quadra family. A floating point
unit (math coprocessor), System 7 or later, minimum six megabytes
(MB) of random access memory (RAM), and a high density floppy
disk drive are all required. HSC says 8MB of RAM is better, as is a
24-bit color display.

The retail price is $199, but registered users of Kai's Power Tools
can get the product for $79.95, plus $10 shipping and handling.

A Power Macintosh version is expected to ship by August. A
Windows version is also planned, but no definitive release time
frame has been laid out, company officials told Newsbytes. An
animation version of the product will also be released at a
future date that will allow Macintosh users to make Quicktime
movies of landscape "fly-throughs," Sonner told Newsbytes.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940609/Press Contact: Kristin Keyes, HSC
Software, tel [phone] ext 40, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00019)

Mac Utility Handles Hebrew Text 06/09/94
EDISON, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Users of Apple
Macintosh computers who want to include Hebrew text in documents
may want to take a look at TypeRight, a utility that can be used
on its own or from within other Macintosh programs to enter and
edit Hebrew text.

There are two main problems with typing in Hebrew on a computer:
the font, and the fact that the text runs from right to left.

According to Kabbalah Software, the maker of TypeRight, while
Hebrew fonts are available, using them in mainstream word
processors means typing each line in reverse, from left to right.

There are also Hebrew word processing programs that enter text
from right to left, Kabbalah said, but they are usually less
powerful than the big-name word processors.

Hebrew fonts are also tricky because most vowels in Hebrew are
represented with diacritical marks that have to be added
underneath the letters.

Barbara Lustiger of Kabbalah Software told Newsbytes that
TypeRight can be called up from within any Macintosh application
and used to insert Hebrew text. It lets the user type from right
to left, she said, and the resulting text can be output on any
Macintosh printer.

Users who want to insert Hebrew text in other documents can use
the word processors of their choice, calling up TypeRight only
when needed for entering Hebrew, according to Kabbalah.

The software can also import and export text, save commonly used
phrases, insert micro-spaces between Hebrew letters, and support
most popular Hebrew fonts, though Kabbalah said its own fonts are
needed for vowels to work properly. One font is included with the
software.

TypeRight works with both English and Hebrew versions of the
Macintosh operating system, the company said.

TypeRight has a regular list price of $129, but will be offered
at $89 until the end of Chanukah (December 5). Kabbalah sells the
software worldwide, directly and through distributors, Lustiger
said.

(Grant Buckler/19940609/Press Contact: Barbara Lustiger, Kabbalah
Software, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact:
Kabbalah Software, 908-572-0891)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00020)

 ****NexGen, IBM In Chip Manufacturing Deal 06/09/94
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- IBM has signed
another agreement to manufacture microprocessors, this time for
Milpitas, California-based NexGen Inc., the first chipmaker to
develop clones of Intel Corp.'s Pentium processors.

The deal further distances IBM from Intel, the dominant supplier
of microprocessors for IBM and compatible personal computers.
This agreement, however, is not in the same category as one
signed with Cyrix Corp., another maker of Intel-compatible chips.

While the Cyrix deal gives IBM the right to make that company's
chips for its own use and sell them to other computer makers, IBM
spokesman Jim Smith told Newsbytes the NexGen agreement is
"primarily a customer-supplier relationship."

IBM is to supply all of NexGen's Nx586 and Nx587 microprocessors,
NexGen Director of Marketing David Kulbarsh told Newsbytes.

Neither NexGen nor IBM would say whether IBM might use NexGen's
chips in its own PCs. For the time being, it appears, IBM will
simply make chips for NexGen. However, officials also did not
rule out the possibility of NexGen chips being used in IBM
hardware in future.

Though this arrangement probably will not give NexGen the kind of
credibility boost that Cyrix received from the announcement that
IBM had obtained the right to make the Richardson, Texas,
company's designs for use in its own products, the IBM connection
will not hurt NexGen. "PC manufacturer want to know who
manufactures your product," Kulbarsh said, and when they know it
is IBM "they feel much better about committing to us."

NexGen will benefit from IBM's large manufacturing capacity and
sophisticated production systems, Kulbarsh said. The chips will
use IBM's "flip-chip" packaging technology, in which the silicon
die is attached using solder bumps within the die. IBM said this
makes for reliable chips at low cost.

(Grant Buckler/19940609/Press Contact: David Kulbarsh, NexGen,
tel [phone]; Jim Smith, IBM Microelectronics, tel
914-892-5389; Public Contact: NexGen, tel [phone] or
408-435-0202)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DAL)(00021)

Multimedia LCD Display Panel Memorizes Slide Shows 06/09/94
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Sharp is
releasing a color new liquid crystal display (LCD) panel that is
smart enough to record slides, then play back the slides by
itself -- without connection of a computer or other input device.

The QA-1500 weighs 5.5 pounds and uses a Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) card to store
the images. Sharp says it is aimed at users who only want to
carry one device for on-the-road presentations.

The QA-1500 is being unveiled this week for the first time at
the Infocomm International show in Anaheim, California. Sharp
officials told Newsbytes the unit has its own microprocessor, an
application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a slot for
PCMCIA Type III storage cards with capacities of up to 40
megabytes (MB).

The way it works is the user develops the presentation on the
computer, connects the QA-1500, and then runs the presentation.
The panel records the images. A video camera can be used to input
images as well, though the unit will only accept still-frame
images, not moving video, Sharp officials said. The QA-1500 also
offers a loop-through mode for simultaneous viewing of an image
on the panel and on a computer monitor.

Up to 80 images can be stored, Sharp said, and special
transitional effects can be added. Both IBM-compatible personal
computers (PCs) or Macintosh computers can be used for recording
the images. Playback is in up to 1.7 million colors using either
the unit's own backlighting or on an overhead projector.

A wireless remote control handles playback of the images, with
forward, reverse, freeze, as well as offering image enlarge, and
switching between input sources. In addition, the infrared remote
can be programmed to "learn" up to five functions from another
remote control unit, such as a video cassette recorder (VCR),
laser disc, or Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I) player. The unit
can also be used for wireless control of a computer mouse via a
"track-stick" -- a hybrid of joystick and trackball.

The panel also offers a built-in speaker enabling audio recording
from both computer and video sources. Stereo audio line output
connectors can support larger sound systems and the audio levels
can be controlled from the remote.

The QA-1500 is expected to be available in July of this year for
a suggested retail price of $5,795. Sharp offers optional
accessories such as PCMCIA cards, carrying bags, screens, and
the QA-BL2 backlight unit. The unit can also be ordered with the
backlight at a retail price of $5,995.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940609/Press Contact: Frannie Gillin, Dorf
& Stanton for Sharp, tel [phone], fax [phone];
Public Contact: Sharp, 201-529-8731, fax [phone]/
SHARP940609/PHOTO)


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

Panasonic Wireless PBX Approved As Standard 06/09/94
SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- The
Telecommunications Industry Association has approved a
Panasonic technology as an industry standard, allowing cellular
phones to use standard private branch exchanges, or PBXs.

The protocol, developed by Matsushita in Japan, integrates low-
power cellular telephone service as an extension to existing
PBXs, which act as corporate phone switches.

"It will enable you to take the phone and use it in an office
over the PBX, then take it outside and use it as a cellular
phone," explained TIA spokesman Kathy Hammond to Newsbytes.
"Other companies can now follow this standard so all their phones
will be compatible with one another. Panasonic is agreeing to
license it."

The protocol is already in use with two products manufactured
by Panasonic. One it sells directly as BusinessLink, the other is
sold by Southwestern Bell as FreedomLink.

The same handset can be used as a standard cellular phone when
out of the coverage area of the PBX. Through call-forwarding,
subscribers can have the same mobile and office phone number,
receiving calls automatically no matter where they are.

"Panasonic's aim is to spur development of cellular technology
as the technology of choice for personal communications," said
Panasonic executive Steve Yuhas in a press release.

The protocol will formally be known as IS-94, "Mobile Station-
Land Station Compatibility Specification for Analog Cellular
Auxiliary Personal Communications Services."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940609/Press Contact: J.A. Frazer, for
Panasonic, 212/887-8075; Kathy Hammond, TIA, 202/457-4935)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00023)

Gateway 2000 PCs Bundle Software, CD-ROM Drive 06/09/94
NORTH SIOUX CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) --
Gateway 2000 has announced that is pre-loading the Microsoft
Office Professional version 4.3 software suite on all of its
Pentium-based PCs and some Peripheral Component Interconnect
(PCI)-bus 486 systems.

Microsoft Office Pro integrates four fully functional software
applications: word processing, spreadsheet, presentation graphics,
and database. The specific Microsoft programs included are Word
6.0, Excel 5.0, Powerpoint 4.0, and Access 2.0 respectively.

Gateway Pentium-based systems that will include Microsoft Office
Pro include its P5-90, P5-66 and P5-60, and the P4D-66 and P4D
PCI-based 486 models.

Gateway entry-level PCs now include the Microsoft Works
Multimedia Edition 3.0, a collection of word processing,
spreadsheet, and database software.

The company's Family line of computers ships with a package of
five titles on a CD-ROM disk including: Microsoft Encarta 1994
Multimedia Encyclopedia; Microsoft Money, a personal finance
management program; Microsoft Works Multimedia Edition 3.0;
Corel Professional Photo CD Sampler; and the Microsoft Golf game.
Called the Home Bundle, the software is included at no extra cost
with Family model PCs, and is available as an option with other
Gateway desktop systems.

The company also says it is including a double-speed CD-ROM drive
as standard equipment with each of its desktop systems.

Speaking of the bundled software and the CD-ROM drive, Gateway
President Ted Waitt said, "Instead of making customers buy one
application at a time, we're including the most comprehensive
productivity suite available. You'll see more software distributed
on CD-ROM, just like Office Professional."

Gateway also sells a Multimedia Starter Pack for $139 that includes
a 20-disk storage rack, two CD jewel cases, a CD cleaner and a
variety of software. Starter Pack titles including: Lawnmower Man;
Mad Dog McCree; Tuneland; the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book; the
Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook; Sitting on the Farm; and CD
Deluxe. The latter includes: Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing;
Chessmaster 3000; and a US and World Atlas.

Gateway spokesperson Wendell Watson told Newsbytes that
Tuneland is an animated interactive cartoon with tunes you can
sing along with, and some puzzles and related adventures. Mad Dog
McCree is a wild west arcade game that features live movie action.
Lawnmower man is based on the movie of the same name, as the
user battles the evil character in a virtual reality world. Sitting on
the Farm is a collection of sounds and animation designed to help
improve reading skills and build a French-English vocabulary.
Children can record their own voice and sing along with a variety
of instruments. They can also write and print your own stories that
include the program's illustrations.

(Jim Mallory/19940609/Press contact: Wendell Watson,
Gateway 2000, 605-232-2723; Reader contact: Gateway 2000,
tel [phone] or 800-846-2000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00024)

OneSource To Offer American Banker On CD-ROM 06/09/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- OneSource
Information Services Inc., has announced a deal to put American
Banker, a daily banking publication, on a CD-ROM disk.

OneSource will offer American Banker Full Text, the electronic
edition of the banking daily, as an addition to its CD/Notes line
of CD-ROM databases that work with Lotus Development Corp.'s
Notes groupware. The company also plans, before the end of the
year, to put out the banking database in a form that can be used
with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows.

OneSource's U.S. Banks information product is currently available
for PCs running the DOS operating system, company spokesman
Michael Bailey told Newsbytes, but a Windows version is planned
for the fourth quarter of the year. The Windows version of
American Banker Full Text will be part of that offering, he said.

OneSource previewed its Windows offering in late May. The Windows
version of American Banker Full Text will use OneSource's own
search and retrieval engine, giving it some capabilities not
available with the Notes version, Bailey said.

Like other CD/Notes titles, the American Banker database will be
usable with Corporate Monitor, a client/server research tool that
integrates numeric and text information from various Notes-based
sources.

The OneSource version of American Banker will be updated monthly,
company officials said. The CD/Notes version will start at around
$2,000 for a single-user, one-year subscription, according to
Reilly Cobb, marketing manager for the banking industry at
OneSource. Prices will be higher for distribution to more users.
Prices for the Windows version have not been determined, Cobb
told Newsbytes.

American Banker has previously offered the electronic version
online and through other electronic media.

(Grant Buckler/19940608/Press Contact: Michael Bailey, OneSource,
tel [phone]; Gregory Barrett, American Banker, tel
212-943-6304; Public Contact: OneSource, tel [phone] in
US, +0784 445186 in UK)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00025)

Governor & Boston Mayor At OEC Open House 06/09/94
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- "I don't know
how you managed to get OEC (Open Environment Corporation) to move
from Cambridge to Boston," joked Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to
Massachusetts Governor William Weld. What brought these two
dignitaries together? An Open House for the software company's
new headquarters at 25 Travis Street in the Boston neighborhood of
Brighton.

Speaking to a group that included OEC staffers, plus guests from
other Bay State computer companies, the governor, mayor, and OEC
officials described how their organizations worked together, with
assistance from Boston Edison, to turn the renovated schoolhouse on
Travis Street into the new home of the quickly growing start-up.

Nathan Morton, who joined OEC as president and chief executive
officer (CEO) eight weeks ago, explained that the 18-month-old
enterprise has expanded over the past year from $3.5 million in
revenues to $10 million, and from about 30 employees to 125.

"We hope to build OEC to a $100 million company over the next few
years," added Morton, who was previously chairman and CEO of
CompUSA.

Governor Weld noted that OEC, which launched its flagship OEC
Toolkit product last fall, represents many other Massachusetts-
based high tech firms that have started out small, but have then
grown quickly, sometimes into giants the size of DEC.

Weld told the audience that these are the kinds of companies his
administration is trying to foster in Massachusetts. "We are not
'rolling over and playing dead,' and just seeing what economic
influences will wash over Massachusetts this year, or the next
year, or the year after that," the governor added.

"I do not really believe in 'industrial policy' along the lines of
the Japanese or Korean model. But I do believe that you can help to
make it possible for those who are 'doing the winning' to win even
more."

Since 1991, when he took office, the number of software companies
in Massachusetts has soared from 1,200 to nearly 2,000, according
to Weld.

Although companies like Wang, Raytheon, and Digital have
experienced losses, the total number of jobs in Massachusetts has
increased more than 150,000 over the past three years, the
Republican said. "You don't read about 'company X adds new 64 jobs'
in the paper, but it happens all the time."

Aside from software development, other types of enterprises his
administration is encouraging include telecommunications,
artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and forms of manufacturing
like textiles and millworking that "are much more 'high tech' than
they have been in the past," he said.

This economic strategy, he added, is "avowedly high-wage."
Massachusetts is currently third in the country in net income per
capita, behind Connecticut and New Jersey. "Now they're going down
and we're going up. I want to catch them by 1998."

Mayor Menino, a Democrat, observed that the state and the city are
united in the pursuit of economic development. "We may have our
differences at times, but the common good is to create jobs for the
people who live in our city and our state. That's the bottom line,"
he said.

After an economic downturn, the city of Boston is now on a rebound,
according to the city administrator. "We've come back," asserted
Menino, who became acting mayor of Boston when President Bill
Clinton named long-time Mayor Raymond Flynn to the job of US
ambassador to the Vatican. Menino was then elected to the post of
mayor.

Menino noted that just last week, he announced the establishment
of three new companies in Boston, including a computer company.

"OEC is on the threshold of something great in the computer field,"
he told the OEC employees. OEC says it is the first vendor to have
introduced the "three-tier architecture," a new technology, now
being adopted by major players like Microsoft, in which distributed
computing operations are separated into user interface (client),
applications logic (server), and data access components.

The company's OEC Toolkit is a set of tools for developing
applications in which users can access multiple databases from
simple graphical user interfaces (GUIs). OEC also offers executive
and technical education courses in the use of client/server
technology.

The company opened an expansion office in San Francisco,
California, last fall, and recently launched international offices
in Tokyo, London, and Shannon in Ireland.

Another speaker at the Open House, Massachusetts Secretary of
Economic Affairs Gloria Larson, said that OEC "showcases" three
assets that Massachusetts offers to employers: intellectual
resources, "leading edge technology capability," and "international
accessibility."

"By offering an exciting new technology, OEC is clearly positioned
to become one of our most significant employers in Massachusetts,"
the state cabinet officer said.

Larson added that she is pleased that staff from the mayor's
office, the state's Office of Business Development, and Boston
Edison "have been helpful to you in the site selection process, as
well as in other matters."

She continued: "We have every confidence that OEC will continue to
prove its ingenuity and its strength in the world market. I can
think of no company that better matches the strengths of the
Commonwealth, and I wanted to come here today to personally thank
you for continuing to grow with us."

John Donovan, company co-founder and financier, and the final
speaker at the Open House, thanked Weld, Menino and Larson for
their attendance at the event. "It's a real honor for us to have
you come to such a small organization. But we will expand it," he
pledged.

Speaking with Newsbytes at the close of the ceremony, Boston Edison
officials explained their company maintains a database of available
real estate properties in Massachusetts, and works with the state
and various municipalities to help match interested companies to
these sites.

The database contains information on 1,700 parcels of land, each
offering more than 10,000 square feet of space, said Donald A.
Walsh, director of economic development for Boston Edison.

Steve Driscoll, executive assistant to Boston Edison's president
and CEO, told Newsbytes that the intent of these efforts is two-
fold: to attract new businesses, and to help keep existing
businesses within Massachusetts.

An OEC spokesperson told Newsbytes that the 30,000-square-foot
building at 25 Travis Street, Brighton, offers facilities the
company was unable to find in Cambridge, including a large parking
lot and a layout that provides classroom, as well as office, space.

A local development company converted the building, which was
originally a school, into mixed-use space during the 1980s, she
added. OEC is using the classroom space to hold executive and
technical training courses for customers. OEC was previously
located at 219 Vassar Street in Cambridge.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940508/Reader Contact: Open Environment
Corporation, 617-562-0900; Press Contacts: Brenda Harrison,
OEC, 617-562-5856; Laura Desmarais, Beaupre & Company Public
Relations for OEC, 603-436-6690)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(BOS)(00026)

Miros Intros "Computer Face Recognition" Technology 06/09/94
WELLESLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Miros Inc.
has unveiled Face-to-Face, a new technology, based on neural
networking, that is aimed at automatically checking out people's
identities by comparing their faces to previously taken photos.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Michael Kuperstein, president of
Wellesley, Massachusetts-based Miros, said that the new "computer
face recognition technology" is both easier-to-use and less
intrusive than "hand geometry" or voiceprints, two other new
approaches that corporations and governments are now delving into
for fraud prevention.

"There's a lot of fraud going on with card transactions, whether it
be ATM (automated teller machine) cards, credit cards, or 'green
cards.' But if you're going to use technology to prevent fraud, you
want to do it in a way that doesn't turn away potentially valuable
customers," he told Newsbytes.

Many people are opposed to being fingerprinted, due to the long-
time association between fingerprinting and "criminality,"
Kuperstein explained. As a result, alternative approaches are
arising.

In the "hand geometry" approach, a print is taken of the entire
hand, and compared through neural networking against a previous
print for elements such as "length of finger" or "where the knuckle
is." In voiceprinting, another neural networking technology, a
print is made of an "utterance," such as "hello," or the
individual's name.

In "hand geometry," though, the hand must be touched to a piece of
metal that "thousands of other people may have touched already,"
Newsbytes was told. This situation brings up issues of cleanliness
and hygiene, Kuperstein maintained. Voice printing, he added,
cannot be used in noisy environments, and its accuracy can be
affected by factors such as temporary hoarseness.

Face-to-Face, in contrast, has been "shown to be correctly verify
over 99 percent of faces," said the company president. For
situations involving "human back-up," such as passport
verification, the "face recognition" technology is correct at
catching imposters over 95 percent of the time. "Human back-up"
is used when an application requires double-checking of people
rejected through computer face recognition.

"We're the first in the market to be announcing face recognition
technology that can be delivered today," Kuperstein told Newsbytes.
The MIT Media Lab, he asserted, "has a technology, but no product."

Face-to-Face is now being evaluated by a Fortune 100 firm for use
in a country that intends to issue 40 million smart cards for use
in functions such as voting, food stamps, and driver's licenses, he
said. "We've been told by the company that we're at the top of the
list."

Face-to-Face, he reported, is able to recognize patterns in facial
features. Like other neural networking technologies, the product
also "learns from experience."

The system can correctly identify people even in situations where
the person's appearance is altered through a suntan, the addition
of glasses, or a new hairstyle, according to Kuperstein. Face
recognition can be stymied by cosmetic surgery, though, and a new
picture should be taken for comparison's sake every two to three
years, he acknowledged.

"People can understand uncertainties, vagaries, and highly varying
aspects of the world around them. Now, it's time for machines to do
the same," said Kuperstein, who has been involved with neural
networking since the 1980s.

In 1988, Kuperstein co-authored a book on the subject called Neural
Dynamics of Adaptive-Sensory Motor Control. The same year, a neural
network-driven robot developed by Kuperstein was written up in a
front page article in the New York Times.

Kuperstein then co-founded a company called Symbus Technology
that produces InScript, a neural networking product for forms-
based automatic data entry. In-Script users include Blue Cross/
Blue Shield and Consolidated Edison of New York, he told Newsbytes.
Kuperstein is also a contributing editor to Neural Networks
magazine.

In the future, Kuperstein is interested in extending neural
networking technologies to such areas as multimedia,
pharmaceutical, and medical imaging applications.

The Face-to-Face product line consists of three offerings: the
Face-to-Face Engine, for locating a face in an image and "verifying
the level of match between two face images;" the Face-to-Face
System, for "managing the enrollment and verification processes;"
and the Face-to-Face Development Kit.

The Face-to-Face Development Kit comprises: the Face-to-Face
Engine; the Face-to-Face System; a "complete hardware setup" that
includes a camera and card reader; source code for device driver
integration; and a two-day training program at Miros. Pricing
starts at $24,900.

The Face-to-Face System includes both the Face-to-Face Engine and
a "Miros designed application program." The Face-to-Face System
and Face-to-Face Engine are each priced independently of hardware.
Pricing begins at $8,950 for the system and $2,950 for the engine.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940609/Reader Contact: Miros Inc., 617-235-
0330; Press Contact: Christine Sheroff, Sheroff & Associates for
Miros, 508-429-4870)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

Virtual Reality & Persons With Disabilities Conf Opens 06/09/94
BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- The second
annual Virtual Reality (VR) and Persons with Disabilities
Conference is being held this week at the San Francisco Airport
Marriott Hotel, in California.

Dr. Harry J. Murphy, founder and director of Center on Disabilities
at California State University, Northridge, told Newsbytes, "There
is really something exciting going on in the world of technology
and it is just around the corner."

he continued: "For several years now I have wanted to bring the
disabled community and the virtual reality community together
so that disabled persons are a part of the leading edge in this
research and development. Often, the disabled community is the
last group to get the benefits of technology and we spend a lot
of time and money adapting it to our needs. What we want to do
is be at the beginning of technology and be an integral part of it."

The first day of conference sessions brought together educators,
members of the disabled community and various local, state and
federal government employees to hear presentations from speakers
representing the VR community and other related technologies.

Among the subjects addressed: medical applications of VR; VR
on the personal computer (PC); VR and movement disorders; VR as
related to therapy and rehabilitation; the virtual wheelchair; and
VR applications for traumatic head injury.

In attending a number of the conference sessions, Newsbytes
learned that many attendees were here to get their first exposure
to VR technology.

With the aid of a signing interpreter, Newsbytes interviewed Ed
Rogers, assistant deputy director, Northern Region Field Operations
Division of the Department of Rehabilitation.

Rogers told Newsbytes, "My first experience with VR was probably
one of my most striking. The VR environment duplicated the field
of vision of a person who was visually impaired. When I put the
headgear on, she told me, 'Now you know what it is like for me to
see the world!' I think this is just one example of what VR can offer.
We can help people understand what the environment it like for a
disabled person. In VR, a person can sit in a wheel chair and learn
how difficult it is to get around and what kind of obstacles there
are that only a person confined to a wheelchair will know."

Rogers went on to point out the advantages for the disabled in VR
technology with examples of replicating environments that will
allow disabled persons to determine the practical architectural
design requirements of their environment, to learn how to operate
a wheelchair in a safe environment, to examine the requirements
of a job or to view the medical model of their particular disability.

At today's session, Ray Bradbury, noted science-fiction writer, will
present the keynote address.

Dr. Murphy said, "We are so pleased to have Ray Bradbury because so
many people who are in the technology fields have been stimulated
by Bradbury's works to enter into what might have seemed futuristic
careers. It is only fitting that he is here to address these two
communities. We think we are in the right place to bring these
people together to let them interact and find out if that special
chemistry and excitement is there to contribute to both worlds
and ultimately to the public at large."

(Patrick McKenna/19940609/Press Contact: Michael Evans,
Sentient Design, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DEN)(00028)

New Firm To Develop Multimedia Interactive Catalogs 06/09/94
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- A newly formed
company says it will focus on the development of multimedia-based
technology for interactive catalogs.

Craig Danuloff, president of Interactive Catalog Corporation (ICC),
says one of the firm's two main business units will develop and
market the Know-it-All catalog series for consumer use, while the
other will create custom catalogs for companies by licensing the
same Know-it-All data engine and offer data management and graphic
services.

Each CD-ROM based catalog will contain comprehensive product
information in a specific category. The disk contains both
IBM-compatible and Mac versions of the catalog. The catalogs use
what Danuloff describes as a simple user interface to access the
relational database and the multimedia effects. Icons, pictures and
sound accompany the catalog text, photos and news to guide the
customer through the information as they browse, view and compare
products.

ICC's first Know-it-All catalog will contain information about
computer hardware and software and will be titled Multimedia
Know-it-All. The company says the catalog will include information
on thousands of Macintosh and IBM-compatible multimedia products.

ICC spokesperson Elaine Rickman said many of the news items about
products listed in the Multimedia catalog will be come from the
worldwide coverage provided by Newsbytes global network of reporters.

In addition to the information provided in the catalog manufacturers
can purchase space for brochures, video, demonstrations and other
promotional material.

Multimedia Know-it-All will have a suggested retail price of $14.95
for a single issue or you can get quarterly updates for one year for
$29.95. ICC will distribute 500,000 copies of the premiere edition
through Egghead software, InfoWorld magazine and other sources to
selected addressees at no charge.

The company says it plans support for game systems and interactive
television at a later date.

(Jim Mallory/19940609/Press contact: Craig Danuloff, Interactive
Catalog Corporation, 206-623-0977; Reader contact: Interactive
Catalog, 206-623-0977)


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

Entertainment Drive On CompuServe 06/09/94
ASTORIA, QUEENS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- Producer
Michael Bolanos has 25,000 members on his Entertainment Drive
service with CompuServe, and plans to continue live coverage of
major industry events.

He and a typist will be covering the Tony Award ceremonies this
week, and Newsbytes got a chance to talk with him.

Bolanos said his live coverage will be held in the CompuServe
Convention Center area, reached by typing "go convention" at any
prompt, from 9-11 Eastern Time Sunday, June 12. Transcripts and
other files, including digitized drawings by entertainment
cartoonist Hirschfeld, are available by typing "go edrive" at any
prompt.

"Rather than trying to do live coverage of what's happening on-
stage, which is on CBS, we try to cover the atmosphere, the
comments backstage," he told Newsbytes. "That material isn't
released until the following day, when reporters have filed
stories. It's a direct source to get new answers from new
winners."

We asked Bolanos what got him online. "I've produced concerts and
represent Broadway people," he said, but he first got a taste for
the technology's power when a personal friend, actor Ben Vereen,
was in a car accident. "We logged into CompuServe and that's how
we found out what was going on at UCLA Medical Center," where he
was taken. "His family was in New Jersey, I was in New York, and
we weren't able to get through by phone, so we used CompuServe
and found out there what was going on, from reporters at the
hospital. That stopped me cold, and made me realize this was an
extraordinary technology."

This is Bolanos' fifth industry event since he brought his area
online in March, and he has learned a lot about how to cover
online events. "We had four reporters at the Oscars, on their
own laptops," he said. "What we ultimately did was put it all
together and rotate" typing. "At the Sports Emmys we tried to do
all the typing ourselves, and that was a big problem. We had a
lot of access to the talent there -- they'd step off the photo
stage and wait in line to talk with us. To try to listen to what
they were saying and try to type at the same time was more than
enough. Then we brought a typist for the Daytime Emmys," and it
worked well. "There I co-hosted with Jonathan Reiner of 'Soap
Opera Weekly' magazine, and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of
the field. We were also lucky at both events when Tom O'Neil, who
has written books on the Emmys, came along. He was able to give
some analysis. The consumers get the benefit of a lot of
information."

Bolanos has not just done award shows, either. "We also did 'The
Big Picture' conference at the Pierre, which Wertheim Schroeder
and Variety put together. That was a whole-day event. We had the
head of the FCC, and talked a lot about the future of the
industry," as well as information heavy-hitters talking about
the information Highway. "It was the first time this was covered
live online."

In addition to the public area, Bolanos maintains an Industry
Canteen that only industry players are allowed into. Those who
want in apply and are admitted based on their status in the
industry. "It's a private place where they can interact and
exchange ideas.

Next for Bolanos is the regular Emmys this September, and he will
work with Marilyn Beck, a syndicated columnist who's on E!'s
gossip show. Beck writes a daily column for CompuServe called
Hollywood Exclusive. The Tony show will also be Bolanos' first
using a wireless modem, giving more flexibility to the coverage.

Newsbytes asked Bolanos what he has been proudest of with his new
service. "We've been able to link people with specific projects,
with people who have specific interests. We had people in Spain
ask about an Oscar winner from there. Someone asked Tom Hanks
about how AIDS affected him, doing the movie 'Philadelphia,' and
how individuals could practice the tolerance he was encouraging.
He ended up giving an extremely passionate, emotional answer."

Background information about the Tony Awards is available on
Edrive in Library 11, Theatre Row. Photographs are in Library 15,
The Photo Gallery.  Other arts-related contributors to the
service include Music Theatre International, the Margo Feiden
Galleries, which has the Hirschfeld illustrations, Cameron
Mackintosh Inc., and Theatre Direct Inc.

"Our goal is 100,000 active members by the end of this year," he
added. "We want to be established in terms of credentials and
credibility as an accredited media outlet. Like E! Entertainment
Television, or Showbiz Today, but in the electronic sense."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940609/Press Contact: Michelle Moran,
CompuServe, 614-538-3497; Jeffrey King, Entertainment Drive,
718-721-5500)


(CORRECTION)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00030)

Correction - VMark Intros Vantage Services 06/09/94
FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- In the story
"VMark Intros Vantage Services," which ran May 24, Newsbytes
incorrectly listed "617" as the area code for VMark Software, a
Framingham, Massachusetts-based producer of "post-relational
databases" and object-oriented client-server software. The story
also gave an incorrect telephone extension number for Paula Levis
Suita, press contact at VMark.

The story concerned the launch of VMark's Vantage Services, a suite
of support, education, and consulting services for customers and
distributors.

Readers and members of the press who would like more information
can contact VMark and Suita at 508-879-3311.

Newsbytes apologizes for the errors.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940608/Reader Contact: VMark Software, 508-879-
3311; Press Contacts: Paula Levis Suita, VMark, 508-879-3311; Jeff
Aubin or Ann Hawkins, Brodeur & Partners for VMark, 617-894-0003)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 06/09/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 9 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> SPA Says Computers Help In Schools 06/09/94 Information
technology can make a big difference on how well kids learn in
school, according to a new study by the Software Publishers
Association.

2 -> MCI Aids Eastern European Environmental Librarians 06/09/94
Through a grant from MCI, 22 librarians from six Central European
countries will learn some of the intricacies of the Internet at the
Internet Society's INET 1994 conference in Prague this month.

3 -> Microsoft/World Wildlife Fund Combine On Software 06/09/94
Conservationist and world traveler Sir Edmund Hillary has endorsed
the work of Microsoft Corporation and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
to develop computer software about endangered species of our planet.

4 -> SunWorld '94 Invites FBI To Discuss Internet Security 06/09/94
In  December, 1993, Dr. William Tafoya, special agent for the
Federal  Bureau of Investigation (FBI), became the first law
enforcement  officer to make investigative use of the Internet. He
will be taking part in SunWorld '94.

5 -> Japan - Computer News Briefs 06/09/94 In today's roundup of
items  making news in Japan, Fujitsu develops 64Mbit synchronous
DRAM, NEC to increase GaAs IC production, Japan's government  to
draft five-year computerization plan, Sega, four trading  firms to
establish CATV-based game broadcasting company,  Car navigation
system price war intensifying,

6 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 06/09/94 By John Hastings.
Computer users have demanded an upgradable computer for many  years.
The idea is good but the implementations have been flawed.

7 -> Virtual Mark Twain To Appear At INFOCOMM 06/09/94 Virtual Mark
Twain, who resides in a 16 cube, 11 foot by 11 foot wall, will
preside over INFOCOMM International trade show at the Anaheim
Convention Center on June 9-11.

8 -> Correction - Average Hard Disk 1GB In Capacity By 1996 06/09/94
In the article "Average Hard Disk 1GB In Capacity By 1996, Says
Survey" that ran June 3, 1994, Newsbytes quoted market research firm
Frost & Sullivan as saying that, by 1996 most file servers will
have an average storage capacity of over 20 megabytes. Of course,
that should have read over 20 gigabytes.

9 -> Rival Anti-Piracy Groups Expand Services 06/09/94 Washington's
two rival software piracy groups--Software Publishers Association
and Business Software Alliance--are both moving in new directions,
and possibly into a further turf battle.

10 -> European Counterfeit Legislation Criticized 06/09/94 According
to a report by the European Association of Industries of Branded
Products (AIM), anti- counterfeiting legislation varies widely from
one European country  to another and is only effective in a few,
notably France and Germany.

11 -> Visa Germany Unveils "Secure" Payment 2000 System 06/09/94
German members of the Visa  credit and debit card network have been
introduced to Payment 2000,  a paperless transaction network that
Visa claims is the most secure of its type in the world.

12 -> UK - Optech Unveils PFS:Window Works 2.0 On CD-ROM 06/09/94
Optech has announced the availability of version 2.0 of PFS:Window
Works on CD-ROM.

13 -> UK - Elonex Offers Removable Drive Technology For PCs 06/09/94
Elonex, the direct sell PC manufacturer, has announced that its "My
Drive" removable and interchangeable hard disk system is being made
available to all PC users, including those using non-Elonex PCs.

14 -> Lotus Offers SmartSuite Upgrade For UKP199 06/09/94 For users
who already  have a Lotus package, the company is now offering an
upgrade to  its Smartsuite integrated software suite, for just
UKP199. The  package usually costs UKP545.

15 -> Star Trek Next Generation CD-ROM For MPC 06/09/94 The
television series may be over, but multimedia personal computer
(MPC) users can begin a Star Trek: Next Generation adventure with a
new interactive CD-ROM from Spectrum Holobyte beginning this
October.  Spectrum says it has signed up eight of the principle
actors from  the popular science-fiction series for the title.

16 -> Deluxe Corp To Acquire T/Maker 06/09/94 Deluxe Corp., says it
has entered into an agreement to purchase all of the capital  stock
of T/Maker Company of Mountain View, California.

17 -> Dell Ships 100MHz Pentium PC, Intros Network Setup 06/09/94
Dell Computer Corp., says it is now shipping 100 megahertz (MHz)
Intel Pentium-based PCs. The company claims that it is the first to
ship these types of systems on a commercial basis.

18 -> HSC Intros Bryce Landscape Designer For Mac 06/09/94 Named
after the famous Bryce Canyon in Utah, HSC is demonstrating KPT
Bryce  1.0 for the Macintosh at the Digital World show in Los
Angeles, a product for the design and rendering of landscapes.

19 -> Mac Utility Handles Hebrew Text 06/09/94 Users of Apple
Macintosh computers who want to include Hebrew text in documents may
want to take a look at TypeRight, a utility that can be used on its
own or from within other Macintosh programs to enter and edit Hebrew
text.

20 ->  ****NexGen, IBM In Chip Manufacturing Deal 06/09/94 IBM has
signed   another agreement to manufacture microprocessors, this time
for Milpitas, California-based NexGen Inc., the first chipmaker to
develop clones of Intel Corp.'s Pentium processors.

21 -> Multimedia LCD Display Panel Memorizes Slide Shows 06/09/94
Sharp is releasing a color new liquid crystal display (LCD) panel
that is smart enough to record slides, then play back the slides by
itself -- without connection of a computer or other input device.

22 -> Panasonic Wireless PBX Approved As Standard 06/09/94 The
Telecommunications Industry Association has approved a  Panasonic
technology as an industry standard, allowing cellular  phones to use
standard private branch exchanges, or PBXs.

23 -> Gateway 2000 PCs Bundle Software, CD-ROM Drive 06/09/94
 Gateway 2000 has announced that is pre-loading the Microsoft
Office Professional version 4.3 software suite on all of its
Pentium-based PCs and some Peripheral Component Interconnect
(PCI)-bus 486 systems.

24 -> OneSource To Offer American Banker On CD-ROM 06/09/94
OneSource Information Services Inc., has announced a deal to put
American Banker, a daily banking publication, on a CD-ROM disk.

25 -> Governor & Boston Mayor At OEC Open House 06/09/94 "I don't
know  how you managed to get OEC (Open Environment Corporation) to
move  from Cambridge to Boston," joked Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to
Massachusetts Governor William Weld. What brought these two
dignitaries together? An Open House for the software company's  new
headquarters at 25 Travis Street in the Boston neighborhood of
Brighton.

26 -> Miros Intros "Computer Face Recognition" Technology 06/09/94
Miros Inc.  has unveiled Face-to-Face, a new technology, based on
neural networking, that is aimed at automatically checking out
people's identities by comparing their faces to previously taken
photos.

27 -> Virtual Reality & Persons With Disabilities Conf Opens
06/09/94 The second  annual Virtual Reality (VR) and Persons with
Disabilities  Conference is being held this week at the San
Francisco Airport  Marriott Hotel, in California.

28 -> New Firm To Develop Multimedia Interactive Catalogs 06/09/94 A
newly formed company says it will focus on the development of
multimedia-based technology for interactive catalogs.

29 -> Entertainment Drive On CompuServe 06/09/94 Producer  Michael
Bolanos has 25,000 members on his Entertainment Drive  service with
CompuServe, and plans to continue live coverage of  major industry
events.

30 -> Correction - VMark Intros Vantage Services 06/09/94 In the
story "VMark Intros Vantage Services," which ran May 24, Newsbytes
incorrectly listed "617" as the area code for VMark Software, a
Framingham, Massachusetts-based producer of "post-relational
databases" and object-oriented client-server software. The story
also gave an incorrect telephone extension number for Paula Levis
Suita, press contact at VMark.

(Ian Stokell/19940609)