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/nb061794

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(NEWS)(TRENDS)(DAL)(00001)

 ****Pentium, Chicago, PowerPC Driving DRAM Shortage 06/17/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Dataquest says
it anticipates a short-term shortage of 16-megabyte (MB) dynamic
random access memory (DRAM) chips by the end of this year and
early in 1995. The push of the Pentium by Intel, the introduction
of Chicago, and the Power Macintosh by Apple Computer, without a
corresponding increase in the supply of 16 MB DRAM, will drive up
prices, Dataquest predicted.

Demand for the larger DRAM chips is driven by the design of IBM-
compatible personal computers (PCs) which have slots for single
in-line memory modules (SIMMs). The slots will accommodate SIMMs
which have DRAM chips on a small circuit board that plugs into
the slot, but the SIMMs must all be the same capacity. In other
words, a computer with 4 SIMM slots capable of supporting 64 MB
of RAM needs four 16 MB SIMMs to fill those slots to get to 64
MB. If it already has two 4 MB SIMMs, the user has the option of
adding two more 4 MB SIMMs for a total of 16 MB or taking out the
4 MB SIMMs and replacing them with 16 MB SIMMs.

Part of what is driving the increased need for more memory is the
Pentium processor, which won't run with any less than 8 MB of
DRAM. In order to have memory for applications, users add to
the 8 MB.

Intel is pushing the Pentium and Ronald Bohn, senior industry
analyst at Dataquest's Memories Worldwide, told Newsbytes the
market research firm is predicting demand will increase to 5.5
million Pentium PCs shipping in 1994 and 18 million shipments in
1995.

In addition, Chicago, the big brother of Microsoft Windows 3.1
without DOS underneath, is also expected to ship in the first
quarter of 1995. Microsoft says Chicago will run in 4 MB, but
Bohn said 8 MB is a more practical minimum and users will want
even more memory.

The PowerPC-based Power Macintosh could also be a factor, as it
requires significant quantities of memory as well, Bohn added.

Dataquest said the PC market overall will grow. The market
research firm said it is assuming IBM-compatible personal
computer (PC) shipments worldwide will grow at a rate of 15
percent in 1994, and US shipments will grow even faster at 16
percent in the same period. The company is also noting the
average amount of memory in a PC will increase from the 5.5 MB
average of 1993 to 8 MB average in 1994.

Looking from an original equipment manufacturer's (OEM's)
perspective, 16 MB DRAM at lower prices is what OEMs want, but it
is also something they're not likely to get. Despite the growth,
Dataquest doesn't see a corresponding increase in the supply of
16 MB DRAM. In addition, 16 MB SIMMS are expensive, so that's
sure to create conflict in the price sensitive, slim-profit
margin PC OEM market, according to Bohn.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940616/Press Contact: Olaf Vlieks, Dataquest,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00002)

Kodak Intros New Digital Camera 06/17/94
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Eastman Kodak
Company has introduced a new professional digital camera that
stores its images for use on an Apple Computer Macintosh or a
PC.

The new Kodak Professional DCS 420 Digital Camera is the next
generation of Kodak's DCS 200. The 420 uses a full frame imager that
has a total resolution of 1.5 million pixels (picture elements) and
12 bits per RGB (red-blue-green) color for 36-bit color designed
to produce greater highlight and shadow detail.

The new system stores its images on removable PCMCIA (Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association) hard disk and
memory cards. Kodak says the high-power battery can provide at least
1,000 images per charge. Recharge time is rated at about one hour.

Kodak has also built in a microphone that lets the user record
sound clips or other information before or after exposing the image.

The company says the DCS 420 is designed for use in desktop
publishing, presentation development, catalog publishing,
scientific research and other "on location" uses. Kodak also
developed the Associated Press NC 2000 digital camera for use by
photojournalists.

The new system is the first in Kodak's DCS 400 series. It's a
combination of a camera back and a Nikon N90 camera body that
accepts all F-mount Nikon lenses. The N90 first came to market in
1992. It has a top shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second. The motor
drive can advance film up to 3.5 frames per second in continuous
mode. Autoloading and power rewind are provided. Metering is by
eight-segment matrix, 75 percent centerweighted and one percent
spotmetering. A lightable top deck displays shutter speed, f-stop,
exposure mode, metering pattern, ISO, and other necessary
information. By itself the N90 carries Nikon's suggested retail
price of $1,190 without lens.

DCS 420 users can choose exposures equivalent to ISOs from 50 to 400
in color and from 100 to 800 in black and white. It takes about 1/4
of one second for the camera to be ready to shoot once it's turned
on. If the user holds down the shutter release it can fire off a
five-image burst in 2.25 seconds.

The DCS 420 serves as a PCMCIA card reader once the user is ready
to move the images to a computer. A standard SCSI (small computer
system interface) cable connects the camera to a Macintosh
PC. A host adapter is provided if you want to connect to an
IBM-compatible system.

Kodak ships software with the camera that lets Mac users move the
images directly into Adobe Photoshop. Separate software interfaces
work with Aldus Photostyler or other TWAIN-compliant applications.

The DCS 420 is available in three models: a 420c for color, 420m for
black and white, and a 420IR for infrared images. All three ship with
the camera, an AC adapter/charger, MAC and PC cables, driver
software and manuals. Lenses and PCMCIA storage cards are sold
separately.

Kodak says the suggested retail price for the DCS 420 is $10,995.

(Jim Mallory/19940616/Press contact: Paul Allen, Eastman Kodak,
716-724-5802; Reader contact: Eastman Kodak 800-242-2424 or your
local Kodak dealer/KODAK940617/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DAL)(00003)

Symantec Software Give-away To Sysops Who Support Ethics 06/17/94
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- As one of the
sponsors of the National Computer Ethics and Responsibilities
Campaign (NCERC), Symantec has announced it will give away a free
copy of The Norton Utilities 8.0 or The Norton AntiVirus 3.0 to
the first 500 bulletin board system (BBS) operators or sysops who
help get the word out about computer ethics.

The requirement is the sysops must post one of several available
ethics codes so users will see it as part of the normal use
of the BBS for a period of four months.

Several ethics statements are available for posting including:
"The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics" or "The Basic Tenets of
Computer Ethics," both developed by the Computer Ethics Institute
(CEI); "The Five Considerations for Computer Conduct," developed
by SRI; "Six Unacceptable Internet Activities," by the Internet
Activities Board; or EDUCOM's "Basic Statement of Computing
Ethics." Here is one of the codes.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF COMPUTER ETHICS

1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.

3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.

4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.

5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.

6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you
have not paid.

7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without
authorization or proper compensation.

8. Thou shalt not use other people's intellectual output.

9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program
you are writing or the system you are designing.

10. Thou shalt always use a computer in ways to demonstrate
consideration and respect for your fellow humans.

The ethics statements have been made available electronically
from the NCERC Compuserve forum (GO CETHICS or on the Software
Creations Bulletin Board.

Sysops who post an ethics statement in the manner the NCERC
requests may contact Symantec before September 30, 1994 with their
choice of which one of the two software packages offered. The
requests must include a statement of compliance with the
conditions or evidence of compliance and can be mailed or sent
electronically.

The promotion is part of the launch of the NCERC planned for June
21, 1994, in Washington, D.C on Capital Hill. Launch sponsors
are: Edward J. Markey, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and Finance; George E. Brown Jr., Chairman,
Committee on Space, Science and Technology; Charlie Rose,
Chairman of House Administration.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940615/Press Contact: Ana Thorne, Symantec,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Mike Volpe, Volpe
Communications, tel [phone]; Public Contact: NCERC,
Compuserve forum, GO CIS:CETHICS; Software Creations Bulletin
Board, tel [phone]; Mail Requests, BBS Ethics Software
Request, c/o Peter Tippett, Symantec Corporation, 2500 Broadway,
Santa Monica, CA 90404-3063; E-Mail requests, Internet
[e-mail]; CompuServe 72350,750; MCI ptippett or 429-
5370; Note -- subject field should be: BBS Ethics Software
Request)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00004)

Picasso Paints Again On Hong Kong Telecom 06/17/94
TAI KOO SHING, HONG KONG, 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Hongkong Telecom
CSL has introduced Picasso, an innovative still image video
phone system that offers a simple means of exchanging
full-color, high-quality images using ordinary telephone
lines.

Images are captured by a video camera and transmitted; at the
destination they can either be displayed on a TV or a PC
monitor, saved in the Picasso's on-board memory, copied
straight to videotape or output as hard copy using a video printer.

"Hongkong Telecom CSL introduced the first videophones to Hong
Kong in 1992," said Richard Yu, general manager, telecom
products at Telecom CSL. "Now, with Picasso, we are expanding
the possibilities of desktop video communications to meet
the needs of the territory's dynamic business community."

One of the key advantages of the Picasso Still Image Phone
is that it supports simultaneous voice and image transmission.
A real-time annotation function enables users at both ends
of the line to highlight any area of the displayed image
using a standard mouse.

All of the annotations can be stored with the image, so users
have a complete record of their call. The unit has an
internal storage capacity of 32 images, any or all of
which can be stored or saved to videotape. "This will make
Picasso very attractive to users in the electronics,
textiles, manufacturing or trading companies where the
ability to discuss changes to products in a visual manner
is of extreme value," said Yu.

"We see Picasso being used by manufacturers, traders and
designers to present their concepts and models," said Yu.
"By actually seeing what is under discussion, the two parties
on the phone will be able to communicate their ideas far
more effectively than if they were simply looking at a photo
or a drawing."

The device's Image Enhancement Controls enable users to
perform enhancements on a per-image basis. A jitter-free
option is available to reduce the effects of interlacing
and a text enhancement feature can be utilized to sharpen
the readability of text-based images.

A built-in, high-speed modem operating at 14.4 Kbps ,
the highest data rate available for a standards based
dial-up modem, allows images to be transmitted in as
little as five seconds. However, if the quality of the
phone connection deteriorates, Picasso can automatically
fall back to a slower transmission mode, ensuring that
sent images are received perfectly.

(Keith Cameron/19940616 Press Contact: Rita Li, Hongkong
Telecom CSL, Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00005)

Sydney Home Computer Show Attracts Bad Publicity 06/17/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- The Home Computer Show
in Sydney attracted more visitors than last year, but it
also attracted unwelcome attention from the press. Two stands
that were selling CD-ROM disks had devoted large display
areas to their X-rated disks, and much of the showgoing
audience was school-age.

After many protests from the public and other exhibitors,
the show organizers AES asked the offending stands to remove
the items, although an AES spokesman said he was unsure
that they could force the issue. Part of the problem stems
from the fact that laws have not caught up with this
technology. Film and videotape versions of X-rated movies
are only available for sale in the Australian Capital
and not in any of the states.

A glance through many Australian computer magazines shows
mail-order companies offering these disks, from as low as
AUS$20 (around US$15). These disks are mostly manufactured
in the US and range from what appear from the titles to
be swimsuit parades to well-known X-rated movies.

(Paul Zucker/19940616)


(REVIEW)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00006)

Review of - Field Guide Series Of Books 06/17/94

From: Microsoft Corp., One Microsoft Way, Redmond,
WA 98052-6399

Price: $9.95

PUMA Rating: 4.0 (on a scale of 1=lowest to 4=highest)

Reviewed for Newsbytes by: Ian Stokell 06/17/94

Summary: Excellent series of handy books covering many
Microsoft products.

======

REVIEW

======

You have to look long and hard these days to find a computer book
for under the $10 mark. And to find one that actually contains
plenty of useful information is even more difficult. So it is a
pleasant surprise to find that Microsoft has a complete series of
them for that low price.

I read through six of them for this review: Windows 3.1; MS-DOS
6.2; Access 2 For Windows; Excel 5 For Windows; Word 6 For
Windows, and Works 3 For Windows.

They are all offered at the compact size of 4.75-inches by
eight-inches. The number of pages in the books I read ranged
from 169 for the Access 2 book, to 198 for the Works 3 book.

The layout of the books is very pleasant and easy to read, and the
screen shots are clean and informative. There are plenty of menus,
examples, and screen shots to make things easier to understand.
Also, there are some fun additional graphics to lighten things up
and to provide access to more information.

Each book follows a set format involving an introduction; a short
chapter on the "Environment" pertaining to the specific product
the book is about; a lengthy alphabetical listing of commands,
tasks, terms, and procedures; a Troubleshooting section; a Quick
Reference section; and an Index.

The Environment section sets out the "lay of the land" relating
to whatever product the book covers. Double-page screen shots
and examples have many paragraphs of information around them
with arrows pointing to the corresponding details.

A small "paw-print" (three prints left by an animals foot)
graphic throughout the book refers the user to cross-referenced
additional subjects in the A to Z section. For example, at the end
of the Batch Programs section in the MS-DOS 6.2 book, "paw
prints" indicate more information is available in Call; Choice;
Echo; For; Go To; If; Pause; Rem; and Shift sections. In another
example, in the Startup Dialog Box double-page screen shot in
the Works 3 book, paw-prints at the end of the short paragraph
explaining the Open An Existing Document button refer the reader
to more information in Exporting Documents; Filenames; and
Opening Documents.

A small picture of a "guide" in a safari helmet appears from time
to time during the book. The text accompanying the graphic gives
an additional tip on the subject matter just covered in the main
text.

The A to Z section, typically around 120-pages long, depending on
the book, covers many subjects, tasks, and procedures the user is
likely to need while running the program. In the Windows 3.1 book,
for example, subjects range from Copying Files and Dialog Boxes,
to Multitasking and Wildcard Characters. In contrast, the Excel 5
For Windows book covers such subjects as Default Directory and
Default Font, to What-If-Tables and Relative Cell Address.

Explanations of each subject listed are concise and not over-
technical, although they cover the necessary information
perfectly well. The book is designed to help out beginners, but
is also intended as a quick reference for experienced users.
And it does both jobs pretty well.

The Field Guide series does not claim to be a definitive desktop
reference. It is designed as a....well.....a field guide! The books
offer plenty of useful and accessible information, in an easy
to understand format. They are also well written. All in all, a
great buy for under $10 each.

======

PUMA RATING

======

PERFORMANCE: 4.0 Very pleasant format, easy to read, good
graphics and screen shots.

USEFULNESS: 4.0 Highly useful as a quick reference source,
for beginners and experienced users alike.

AVAILABILITY: 4.0 As Microsoft Press books, they are
available nationwide, or direct from the company.

(Ian Stokell/19940617)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00007)

UniversityWorks Automates College Registration 06/17/94
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Syntellect Inc., has
introduced a software package that automates college and
university student services such as registration, grade inquiry,
fee payment and other functions.

UniversityWorks is the latest addition to Syntellect's
ApplicationWorks series of modular voice-processing packages
targeted at specific markets.

Students can access UniversityWorks via telephone or a personal
computers, reducing long waiting lines and waiting times as well
as cutting down on the amount and cost of paperwork.

The UniversityWorks package comes with a graphical user interface
that lets the institution design caller menu layouts, prompting
and system parameters. The package can be tailored to each school's
specific needs.

The basic UniversityWorks includes the grades/GPA inquiry and
registration modules. There are optional modules for a bulletin
board service and for fee payment and financial assistance. The
fee payment module includes the ability to obtain credit card
verification while the student is connected to UniversityWorks. It
also interfaces with the school's main computer system to capture
fee information for each student, and marks the record paid once
the credit card charge is approved.

Syntellect Director of Application Programs Rita Dearing told
Newsbytes the basic system has a suggested retail price of $31,500
for a four-line system. The fee module sells for $4,500 and the
bulletin board can be added for $1,500.

The standard system is a turnkey package that contains the
necessary hardware, software, voice recordings, and installation
services. UniversityWorks runs on a 33 megahertz 486 PC built by
Intel Corporation.

(Jim Mallory/19940616/Press and reader contact: Tricia Lester,
Syntellect Inc, 602-789-2804)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00008)

Ambra Bundles Borland Apps, Lowers Prices On Portables 06/17/94
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Ambra has
started bundling the newly introduced Sidekick for Windows, in
addition to Borland Office 2.0, with all subnotebooks and two of
its notebook models. At the same time, prices have been reduced to
$1799 for each of the two notebooks, and to between $899 and $1599
for the three subnotebooks.

The first Windows edition of Borland's Sidekick will also be sold
separately in retail stores, at an expected street price of $30, a
Borland spokesperson told Newsbytes. The new PIM (personal
information manager) began shipping this week to selected
resellers, he added.

On Monday, June 20, Borland will officially announce the
establishment of a new Consumer Products Division, with Sidekick
for Windows as the division's first product, according to the
spokesman.

Ambra products that are bundling the Borland software include the
SN425-80, SN425-170, and SN425C-170 subnotebooks and the NC425SL
and N433C notebooks. Ambra is also including an external 1.44-
megabyte (MB) 3.5-inch diskette drive and a carrying case with all
the subnotebooks.

Software bundles are a rarity among portable PCs, an Ambra
spokeswoman told Newsbytes. Ambra, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based
wholly owned IBM subsidiary, selected Sidekick for Windows and
Borland Office 2.0 for the bundling deal because of the wide
ranging functionality the products represent, she said.

The Borland Office 2.0 productivity suite incorporates the
WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows word processor, the Quattro Pro 5.0
Workgroup Edition spreadsheet, and the Paradox 4.5 Workgroup
Edition database, along with Desktop Application Director (DAD), a
customizable navigation tool.

The newly launched Sidekick for Windows offers a series of
integrated components that include a calendar, calculator, card
file, contact manager, plus a freeform "notes" section, according
to the Ambra spokesman.

With the first Windows edition of the long-standing PIM, Borland is
"recapturing the flavor and feel" of the earliest version for DOS,
a product that was "small, fast, flexible, and always there when
you needed it," he maintained.

The new Sidekick for Windows is a "well behaved Windows
application" which consumes only 3.1 megabytes (MB) of hard disk
space, he reported. The PIM provides considerable "surface
functionality," meaning that most features can be accessed through
one-click menu bars, Newsbytes was told.

Each of the three subnotebooks in Ambra's SN line offer a 25
megahertz (MHz) 486SX-SL processor, 4 megabytes (MB) of random
access memory (RAM), a removable hard disk drive (HDD), a 3.5-inch
floppy drive, a Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association (PCMCIA) Type II slot, and an 86-key keyboard
integrated with a 16-millimeter (mm) trackball. The
subnotebooks weigh in at four pounds apiece, including battery.

The SN425C, which has been lowered in price to $1599, provides a
7.8-inch color display and removable 170 MB HDD. The SN425-170,
which is now $1199, includes an 8.2-inch LCD display and removable
170 MB HDD. The SN425-80, now $899, has an 8.2-inch LCD display and
removable 60 MB HDD.

A port replicator is optionally available for the subnotebooks.
Also on an optional basis, Ambra offers two "special packages" for
the SN425 models. "Road Warrior" provides a PCMCIA 2.4/9.6
kilobit-per-second (kbps) data/fax modem, carrying case, battery,
and battery charger for $376. "Quick Dock" sports a port
replicator, a 14-inch SVGA monitor, and a full-size desktop
keyboard for $404.

Ambra also provides an optional docking station that can
accommodate two 16-bit expansion cards (subnotebook models) or
four 16-bit expansion cards (433C notebook).

Ambra's NC425SL and N433C notebooks, now priced at $1799, each
include a 9.5-inch DSTN dual-scan color display, 4 MB of RAM, a
removable 120 MB HDD, and a 3.5-inch diskette drive. The NC425SL
has a 25 MHz 486SX-SL processor, an 85-key keyboard with integrated
trackball, and an integrated fax/modem.

The N433C comes with a 33 MHz 486SX processor, two Type II PCMCIA
slots, and an 86-key keyboard with integrated 16mm trackball.
Two "special packages" are available for the N433C. "Instant
Office" incorporates a docking station, a 15-inch flat square
monitor and a full-size desktop keyboard for $927. "Traveler"
offers a PCMCIA 2.4/9.6 Kbps data/fax modem and battery for $278.

Orders for Ambra systems can be placed through the company's toll-
free number, 800-25-AMBRA. All system purchases are protected by a
30-day money-back guarantee as well as a one-year limited warranty.
Toll-free technical support is provided through IBM 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940616/Reader Contacts: Ambra, 800-25-AMBRA;
Borland, 408-431-1000; Press Contacts: Craig Conrad, Ambra, 919-
713-1550; Pam Erickson or Anne Marie Clark, Cunningham
Communication for Ambra, 617-494-8202; Knox Richardson, Borland,
408-431-1000)


(EDITORIAL)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00009)

Editorial - Audio News Conferences 06/17/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- By Dana Blankenhorn.
It's the best thing to happen to reporters since the Model 100.
It's the audio press conference. Using the latest telephone
technology, reporters can, from the comfort of their offices or
home, listen to top executives dispense news and even (sometimes)
query them.

The services have greatly improved in just the last year.
At some early conferences, it was impossible to type notes
because typing could be heard over the link. At
others, it was impossible to ask questions -- the traffic was all
one-way. Lately they've become more standardized. Reporters are
given a chance to queue up for questions by pressing the 1, or
 *1, keys on their touchtone keypads. Distant reporters have been
brought into meetings held in large halls, rather than be
relegated to full interactivity only in conferences held via
speakerphone in cramped offices.

But there are some improvements that still should be made. As a
public service, I'm listing some:

Music. Some of the music while on hold is atrocious. Give me
the option of muting it, then ring a buzzer when you're ready to
usher me in the door. That's what you'd do if I came to your
office.

Spelling. At most audio news conferences none of the speakers
spell their names for the audience. This can cause mistakes in
finished copy.

Identification. Especially in the early stages of a
conference, it's hard to tell which of several industry speakers
is speaking. Reporters are asked to identify themselves when they
start speaking. Sources should do the same, at least until we all
have video.

AT&T claims it has a solution in WorldWorx, a video dialtone
service announced this week. But there are still a few bugs in
the system. For one, the press conference announcing WorldWorx
allowed callers linked to that system to ask questions, but
didn't allow those with plain telephone connections to ask
questions. More important, WorldWorx, and other fast-data
services, rely on local availability of the needed circuits.
Such services as "Switched 56" data services are becoming common
in many office parks, where there are large services requiring
them so PBXs can access them. But they're very rare in
residential neighborhoods, where millions of home-based
businesses are located. For them, the solution is the integrated
services digital network, or ISDN. Trouble is, local companies
are still not pushing ISDN, and where it is offered on a
residential tariff, as in Georgia, it costs more to get from home
than from work.

All this means that audio news conferences will remain common for
years to come. They're an innovation. It's fun covering the
news in shorts and a t-shirt. But things can always be better.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940616)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(ATL)(00010)

Baltimore Dispute on School Technology, Test Scores 06/17/94
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Baltimore City
Schools and Education Alternatives, a private company managing
eight of the city's schools, claimed victory in releasing new
test score results, but critics called the claim nonsense.

Education Alternatives pushes a program called Tesseract, which
uses technology heavily both for learning and administration. The
company is seeking contracts to run public schools across the
country, and the Baltimore situation is being watched closely not
only as a model for technology implementation, but as a model for
privatizing schools. The word Tesseract is from the book "A
Wrinkle in Time" by Madeline L'Engle and is copyrighted by
Education Alternatives.

According to the city's school superintendent, Walter Amprey, a
preliminary analysis of scores on the California Test of Basic
Schools shows that results in schools managed by Education
Alternatives went up, not only from last fall but from a year ago
as well. Scores were up for both reading and math, and Amprey
called himself "pleased with these early indicators, saying the
program is moving in the right direction."

Amprey also addressed critics of the program in his statement.
"While many people expected to see dramatic and unrealistic
increases in test scores in the early stages of the program, we
expected student gains to be relatively small immediately
following implementation because there were so many major
adjustments for students and teachers to make."

In a statement issued in response to the Baltimore release the
American Federation of Teachers claimed officials are "trying
hard to turn a defeat into a victory." The AFT noted that three
years into the contract with Education Alternatives, reading
scores are still lower in its schools than they were before the
company took over. The AFT also noted that scores are going up in
other Baltimore schools as well, and those results weren't
released so valid comparisons could be made.

Newsbytes discussed that charge with Donna Franks, a spokesman
for the Baltimore City Schools. "We don't have the scores" in the
other schools "ready," she acknowledged. "We would have liked to
have had them. We were under pressure to get these out because of
interest in the Tesseract program. We hope to get the other
results out in a couple of weeks." She said the district gets
pages of scores from the testing centers, which must be analyzed
and put in perspective before they're released." William Caritj,
the school official who heads the district's educational
accountability office, said the AFT's claims of poor performance
were exaggerated, and it's not unusual for scores to drop
slightly in the first year of a major reform effort.

Baltimore added it plans to select a third-party to evaluate the
second year of the Education Alternatives program, looking at
material resources, instructional technology, staff development,
parent involvement and the institutional program as well as test
scores. The city also asked that each Tesseract school be matched
to a similar city school for comparison.

The AFT opposes Education Alternatives because of fears it will
lose membership as schools are privatized. In Baltimore,
Education Alternatives has worked with union teachers, but has
added non-union teacher aides to the classrooms and replaced
maintenance staffs with its own crews.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940617/Press Contact: Baltimore City
Schools, Donna Franks, 410-396-8577; Lory Sutton, Education
Alternatives, 612-832-0092; Donna Fowler, American Federation of
Teachers, 202-879-4482)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00011)

IBM Storage Products Use PCMCIA 06/17/94
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- IBM has announced
an assortment of new storage devices, including several that use
the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
(PCMCIA) expansion slot specification.

The PCMCIA devices include a handful of wallet-sized flash-memory
cards that fit in PCMCIA slots and do the job of small hard
disks, plus an adapter to allow an external Integrated Drive
Electronics (IDE) hard drive to be attached to a computer through
its PCMCIA slot.

PCMCIA slots have become quite popular as expansion facilities
for notebook computers, and some PC makers, including IBM, have
begun including PCMCIA slots in desktop computers as well. The
slots accept expansion devices, including memory cards, modems,
and hard disks, that are about the size of a credit card.

IBM's new devices, which will be sold under the company's Options
by IBM brand, include flash memory cards with capacities of five,
10, 20, 30, and 40 megabytes (MB). These cards are used like hard
disks, but instead of rotating magnetic disks, they use memory
chips which do not lose their contents when power is shut off.
IBM said they resist shock better than regular disks and use less
power.

IBM's PCMCIA-to-IDE Adapter provides all the circuitry needed to
attach an external IDE hard drive to a computer via the PCMCIA
slot. Company spokesman Kevin Bourke told Newsbytes this will
appeal to computer users who need extra disk space for special
projects, whether they work with portable or desktop machines. It
could also be a way to attach a portable computer to a larger
hard disk when using it at the office.

All the user has to do is plug the adapter into the PCMCIA slot
and attach the external drive to it and the drive is ready for
use, Bourke said.

The PCMCIA flash-memory cards range in prices from $339 for the
five-MB to $1,599 for the 40-MB model. The PCMCIA-to-IDE Adapter
is sold with a 364-MB IDE drive for $569 or with a 527-MB drive
for $685.

IBM also announced a one-gigabyte (GB) IDE hard disk drive for
$785, an $1,185 hot-swap enclosure that accepts as many as seven
drives and allows them to be replaced while the system is
running, a $949 one-GB hot-swappable hard disk using the Fast and
Wide Small Computer Systems Interface 2 (SCSI-2), and a 3.5-inch,
2.88-MB diskette drive for some IBM personal computers priced at
$89.

On the optical front, the company unveiled a 127-MB external
rewritable optical drive for $829, and internal and external
1.3-GB 5.25-inch optical drives for $2,589 and $2,995
respectively.

All the new storage products are available now except the
hot-swap enclosure and hot-swappable disk drive, which are due to
ship in August, IBM said.

(Grant Buckler/19940617/Press Contact: Kevin Bourke, Brodeur &
Partners for IBM, tel [phone]; Tim O'Malley, IBM, tel
914-766-1855)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00012)

On-Demand Debuts Digital Video Server 06/17/94
AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- On-Demand Technologies
has announced it will ship a second generation digital video
server for the interactive telecommunications market later this
month.

The Digital RAIS (Random Access Interactive System) Video Server
Model 1040 stores and delivers interactive video applications
such as movies, TV programs, shopping catalogs, video games and news
programs using an integrated Unix-based software-hardware
combination.

ODT President Marc Hafner says the scalable design of the 1040
allows information and service providers such as telephone
companies, cable TV operators, and hospitality businesses to field
interactive systems ranging from 40 interactive data streams to tens
of thousands of streams. Director of Sales Charles Leadford told
Newsbytes the scalability of the Model 1040 allows it to be used in
existing markets as well as future, larger markets as the
industry develops.

Leadford said the pricing for the system can range from $100,000 to
millions of dollars depending on how it is configured.

ODT has demonstrated the system at several trade shows recently. The
video server was integrated with a digital T1 switch to deliver
video to a typical local loop configuration through both
asynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) and hybrid-fiber coax
cable at last month's SuperComm show.

RAIS includes an operations, administration, maintenance, and
provisioning package that provides telephone companies and cable
operators with the tools to manage the system. The video server
runs on Unix System V, Release 4. Since industry standards are still
being determined, RAIS provides an open interface to integrate with
set-top boxes.

ODT says the system performs transparently with digital video
storage devices such as magnetic disk, RAM, CD-ROM and digital
tape. It supports MPEG-1, JPEG, CD-I and DVI compression. Storage
elements and network interface assemblies are hot-pluggable. The
current version supports network interfaces T1/DS1 and E1, and ODT
says it plans to migrate RAIS to OC-3, OC-12 and ATM networks at a
later date.

(Jim Mallory/19940617/Press contact: John Pope, GTT Communications
for On-Demand Technologies, 512-219-6337; Reader contact: On-Demand
Technologies, 512-834-9551, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MSP)(00013)

 ****Technical Problems Challenge Cable TV Of The Future 06/17/94
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, U.S.A., JUN 17 (NB) -- In preparing its
infrastructure for the handling of telephony, the cable television
industry will have to address several, highly specific return-path
requirements.

That was the major focus of an address by Charles A. Merk,
vice-president of engineering, Philips Broadband Networks, Inc.,
Manlius, N.Y., at the annual Engineering Conference of the Society
of Cable Television Engineers (SCTE), which is holding its annual
convention in St. Louis through Saturday.

"The cable television industry has announced trials of the full
service network concept, which includes voice and videophones
over the hybrid fiber/coaxial cable network," Merk said.
Merk then added that the cable industry has some experience with
two-way, send and return path data streams but nowhere near the
track record of the telcos -- who, presumably, cable would compete
against if system operators decide to get into telephony.

"The customer interaction with the cable company is mostly
now as a passive recipient. The signals are delivered from a
central source to all local customers simultaneously. Some
limited switching does occur, such as in pay per view switches on
the requested signal for the customer," said Merk, but the lack of
transmission symmetry cannot represent this distribution as
something similar to to the telephone network.

Merk then described cable's present limitations in this
regard. "Cable television distribution of video in the downstream
direction greatly exceeds the return, or upstream, signal
transmission today. While some cable television distribution
systems do employ cable return today, that return is generally
limited to a very low capacity, digital signal from the set-top
converter to the head-end. It is important to remember that in
contrast to the network of telephony, cable TV has
traditionally been a bus architecture."

To plan to overcome these limitations, Merk said that
cable television will have to define parameters for at least four
return path requirements. He named these as increasing the return
path bandwidth, reducing the number of subscribers per path, tie-
sharing of the existing bandwidth for telephone service rather
than allocating dedicated bandwidth per home passed, and
increasing the spectrum utilization through more sophisticated
modulation techniques.

To satisfy these criteria, Merk proposed several measures,
including an allocation of the 850 MHz to 1 GHz spectrum for
future return systems; reduction of subscribers per return path by
building additional fiber optic transmitters, receivers, and output
bridgers, that will lower homes served per fiber node to 480 or
less, while cutting down on noise and increasing and broadening
available bandwidth.

"Through the end of the first decade of the next century,"
said Merk, a hybrid fiber-coaxial cable system can deliver more
total capacity to the subscriber than a telephone distribution
plant which is limited by the copper-pair drop at the subscriber's
site.

"The 480-home fiber node provides an optimum starting
point for the evolution of video and telephony for the future,"
Merk added. A node size of 480 homes passed would combine with
recommended modulation techniques and good maintenance procedures
to allow 240 dedicated telephone circuits in today's 5-30 MHz
return band or 480 telephone circuits using newly available 5-42
MgZ return equipment."

Merk closed with one caveat. "In the final say, it will be
the customer requirements that ultimately drive the nature of the
network's evolution," he said.

(Russell Shaw/19940617)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00014)

LANNET Module For Multinet Hub 06/17/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- LANNET is adding
an enhanced eight-port 10BaseT module to its fault-tolerant,
ATM (asynchronous transfer mode)-ready MultiNet modular
intelligent hub products family.

The LE-80XTN is an eight-port Ethernet 10BaseT plug-in module.
Designed for use with LANNET's MultiNet modular smart hubs, it
provides standard unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or shielded
twisted pair (STP) connectivity. Individual link lengths
may extend to 180 meters.

The LE-80XTN has two user-selectable modes of operation. In
standard mode, it provides connection to one of two internal
Ethernet LANs (local area networks) in the MultiNet hub. In
stand-alone mode, it functions independently as an eight-port
repeater.

The module is fully manageable by MultiMan, LANNET's SNMP-based
network management system. This provides control, monitoring and
administration from the remote management console. MultiMan offers
performance and event reporting as well as module analysis down to
the port level.

The LE-80XTN provides port redundancy. Ports may function individually
or may be switched to redundant operation through hardware control
or through the management system. Automatic switch-over from one
port to the other is triggered in case of a partition or link failure.

Disruption of network operation is prevented through automatic
partitioning of faulty segments. When normal operation resumes,
reconnection also takes place automatically.

The module preserves network integrity by providing collision
detection as well as automatic correction of reversed polarity
in data packets which are caused by wiring errors.

While the LE-80XTN is an asynchronous module, it may be used in
conjunction with LANNET's synchronous modules through the hub's
unique synchronous backbone. This provides repeaterless backbones
and accommodates a large number of cascaded hubs. Thus, an all
twisted pair Ethernet may extend to diameters of over 2.5
kilometers.

LANNET also unveiled a new family of Integrated Token Ring Repeater
and Remote Extender modules - LTR-108F, ITRE-1 and ITRE-2 -
to expand its existing range of Token Ring inter-networking
products for MultiNet hubs.

The eight-port LTR-108F is a hybrid twisted-pair/optical fiber
Token Ring repeater module for use with MultiNet modular smart
hubs. Combining six twisted pair ports and two configurable fiber
optic ports, the LTR-108F supports local Token Rings over twisted
pair to the desktop while providing fiber links to larger Token Ring
network structures.

The ITRE-1 and ITRE-2 are both integrated Token Ring remote extender
modules for LANNET's MultiNet family of intelligent hubs. All three
new products can be fully managed by MultiMan, LANNET's SNMP-based
Network Management Systems.

LANNET Data Communications is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.

(Keith Cameron/19940616 Press Contact: Kelvin Lam, LANNET Asia Ltd
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(HKG)(00015)

Hongkong - Rockwell Digital-To-Analog Converter Unveiled 06/16/94
CENTRAL, HONG KONG, 1994 JUN 16 (NB) -- Rockwell Telecommunications
claims it has introduced the world's fastest digital to analog
converter (DAC) in a bid to establish a strong foothold in the
data conversion business.

The new 10-bit DAC, designed and manufactured by Rockwell's
Microelectronics Technology Center (MTC), operates at clock and
data speeds greater than 1200 MHz, while consuming less than 800mW
of operating power.

"This new DAC targets the growing fiber-to-the-curb, and eventually
fiber-to-the-home data communications market," said Edwin Chen,
Rockwell's Asia Pacific Marketing Manager. "This market is gaining
momentum in certain regions in Asia where large infrastructure
investments are being made to upgrade communications systems to
fiber optics," he added.

The DAC converts digital data from the fiber to analog signals that
can be received by existing television sets, enabling consumers to
access hundreds of television channels, as well as providing them
with voice, data, and multimedia capabilities.

Another potential application is direct digital synthesis. When
coupled with a digital Sine-ROM accumulator, the DAC can be used
to replace phase locked loop (PLL)-based synthesizer circuitry
in digital radio frequency (RF) transceivers, lowering total system
costs of spread spectrum technologies, such as cellular phones, for
end users.

The product, the first in a family of Rockwell-designed data converter
products based on 50 GHz HBT technology, is available now at prices of
US$15.95 for 100K quantities.

(Keith Cameron/19940616 Press Contact:Edwin Chen, Rockwell: 886-2-
720 0282)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00016)

DiagSoft Offers Diagnostics, Service 06/16/94
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 16 (NB) -- DiagSoft's
Electronic Technical Support Center (ETSC) may be the
answer to troubled personal computer users who have waited hours on
long distance calls with technical support providers only to be told
to call another software company.

"When software packages that were selling for $395 started selling
for $99, many users thought they were getting the buy of a lifetime.
They were about to learn that free technical support, which used
to define the software industry, became a precious commodity that
required a membership and credit card and was delivered by
technicians on a time-per-call schedule," said Jeffrey
Kraft, general manager, retail division for DiagSoft.

Determined to provide users with a tool which can eliminate hours
of long distance calling and frustration, DiagSoft announced
QAPlus/Win 6.0 and Piece of Mind (for the Mac, to be released
later) as desktop and notebook diagnostic tools which will
perform system analysis by using a system's modem to call into one
of DiagSoft's ETSC centers. Technicians then receive the diagnostic
report including the user's problem. The ETSC will report necessary
corrections back to the user within one hour or make the changes.

Kraft told Newsbytes, "With many new programs requiring involved
changes to autoexec.bat and config.sys files, as well as IRQ and COM
port assignments, users need a fast and reliable means to identify
problems and make the necessary corrections. With ETSC, we
eliminate the need for lengthy and often technical conversations with
tech support people. From our software, our technicians have a
complete systems analysis right in front of them, so that users do not
need to have technical skills to solve specific problems. The software
allows our technician to access the user's computer and make the
necessary corrections whenever possible."

According to the company, installation problems are only a beginning
of possible diagnostics performed by the software. QAPlus/Win is
capable of detecting problems before a user does. It can check the
system board, video, multimedia devices, hard drives, memory, COM
ports, printer, keyboard, pointing devices, local area networks,
and configurations of DOS, Windows and CMOS parameters.

To have access to the service, users need only enter the nature of
the problem they are having and click on the necessary Full or
Quick tests required, either on the entire system or on single
components.

QAPlus/WIN 6.0 requires a 386 or higher processor, 2 megabytes
(MB) of random access memory, Windows 3.1 or higher, a 2400 bits
per second modem and approximately 4MB of hard drive space.
Included with QAPlus/WIN is one free call to ETSC. ETSC support is
offered in a gold and a platinum support package. The Gold support
package includes toll-free personal computer or Mac hardware trouble-
shooting for up to 30 minutes, free product updates via CompuServe
or an electronic bulletin board, and discounts on DiagSoft products
and upgrades, for an annual membership of $85.00. The Platinum
package differs by offering both software and hardware diagnostics
and corrections with an additional 30 minutes (60 minutes total) of
time for an annual fee of $180. For customers who find neither
package fitting to their needs, DiagSoft offers a flat credit card fee of
$2 per minute. QAPlus/WIN 6.0 will ship the second week of July and
ETSC versions of Piece of Mind and a QAPlus for DOS will ship late
in the year.

(Patrick McKenna/19940616/Press Contact: Roland Going, The Terpin
Group, tel [phone] )


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00017)

Westcott Going Slow on ACTV Distance Learning 06/17/94
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Westcott
Communications told Newsbytes it will move slowly on putting
ACTV's interactive technology into its distance learning
programs.

ACTV offers a PC-based program called REACT which it says can
make any programming interactive, whether delivered by tape,
satellite, or cable television. In the last 18 months the
company has introduced 130 interactive television titles in
reading, math, and vocational education. Westcott owns 21
specialized education networks, eight of which provide
specialized training via satellite to about 12,000 downlink sights
in the US.

Newsbytes discussed the ACTV contract with Mike Mooney,
Westcott's vice president-broadcast services, who called it a
"market test." There's no exclusivity on either side in the
contract, he noted, and no relation between his deal with ACTV
and another deal ACTV recently signed with Turner Broadcasting.

"Westcott is a distance learning provider. We provide programming
to individuals in the workplace, as well as in public schools. We
train with continuing education everyday, and educate about 6,500
kids in rural schools. It's all delivered via satellite, and we
would still deliver the programming in that way. But ACTV will
provide us with an interactive response mechanism for the
learners to be able to get immediate feedback to choices they
might make in the course of instruction, like a multiple-choice
test."

So Westcott will set-up a total of 8 sites, in two different
networks, with the ACTV technology. One is a tie-in network aimed
at kids in grades K-12, which currently has about 1,700
subscribing schools. It's used to bring advanced lessons to rural
school children. The other test is with Westcott's Long Term Care
Network, which has about 800 sites and helps train nurses and
others to work in nursing homes and other long-term care
facilities.

"The question is how well will potential markets adapt to use of
the technology," he continued. "That's what we're hoping to prove
with the test mentioned in the release. This is a really slick
new technology, but what we've learned over the years is that
customers don't always adopt new technologies as fast as
providers want them to. So we want to do a test with a few sites
and see how they respond, so we understand that if we deploy the
technology it will be productive."

A year from now, Mooney concluded, his company will look at the
results of its tests and decide whether, and how, to expand its
work with ACTV. The cost to Westcott of the tests was estimated
at $50,000, and the tests will be done this fall.

ACTV drew extensive publicity recently when it unveiled its
interactive distance learning technology at the dedication of
TCI's new J.C. Sparkman Center for Educational Technology, in a
ceremony in which vice president Al Gore participated.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940617/Press Contact: Annemarie Marek,
Westcott Communications, 214-716-5234)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00018)

Parsons Offers Car, Home Buying Software Help 06/17/94
HIAWATHA, IOWA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Parsons Technology is
now shipping two software titles that help the user buy a car or a
home.

The Windows-based programs are called The Car Buyer's Companion and
The Home Buyer's Companion. You can get both products for a total
of $19.

The Home Buyer's Companion leads you step-by-step through an
interview that asks questions about your gross income, savings and
debt and some other information. A feature called Dream Solver uses
that information to let you know the largest mortgage for which you
can qualify.

There's also a Closing Estimator that calculates how much the
closing costs like escrow, taxes and insurance will be based on the
price of the home you are considering. To the first time home buyer
the amount of money needed for closing costs can be a surprise if
they are not prepared.

Other features of The Home Buyer's Companion include a refinancing
module that calculates how much one can save in interest and how
soon the proposed mortgage would be paid off if one refinances
a current home.

There's also a Loan Viewer that calculates the monthly payments for
a loan, a Tax Saver that estimates the taxes before and after
assuming a mortgage, and a Living Index feature that compares the cost
of living and other expenses for various areas across the country.

The Car Buyer's Companion comes with a database of nearly two
hundred 1994 cars, trucks, and vans. The user selects the price
range they want and preferences like foreign or domestic manufacturer
and front or rear wheel drive. One can even select a specific make
and model. The software offers information about vehicles that
meet one's specifications, including a price range and fuel economy.

A Payment Estimator calculates payments based on price, down
payment, and interest rates. It will also evaluate purchase options
such as cash, loan or lease.

You need an IBM-compatible PC running Windows 3.1 or higher and four
megabytes of memory to run either program. Home Buyer's Companion
requires 1.5 megabytes of available disk space, while Car Buyer's
Companion needs 2.5 meg of disk space.

(Jim Mallory/19940617/Press contact: Joan Dyal, Parsons
Technology, 319-395-9626, ext 1198; Reader contact: Parsons
Technology, 800-223-6925 or 319-395-9626, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00019)

 ****Palmer Claims Board Backing For DEC Reorganization 06/17/94
MAYNARD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Management at
Digital Equipment Corp. remains tight-lipped about exactly what
will be done to reorganize the money-losing company, but in a
letter to senior managers this week, the company's president and
chief executive said DEC's board of directors supports his plans.

The letter from Robert Palmer to senior DEC managers was made
available to reporters, but in doing so DEC officials revealed no
secrets. The letter simply confirms that Palmer reviewed
reorganization plans with the company's board on Thursday and the
board "unanimously supports our direction and progress."

The letter also says that DEC management "will make announcements
when we are ready to do so" and will "head off or respond to
speculation that is misleading."

Under the "misleading" heading, according to company spokesman
Joe Codispoti, falls a report that DEC will turn itself into a
holding company with five business units covering storage,
personal computers, peripherals, supplies and consulting, and
other services. Codispoti flatly denied this, and told Newsbytes
the report was "wild speculation."

However, industry analyst Chris Christiansen, of International
Data Corp., said the holding company idea is plausible, and would
simply be an extension of DEC's existing structure.

According to a report in the industry weekly PC Week this week,
analysts believe the holding company move would make it easier for
DEC to sell off some of its business units. The company's
intention to dispose of some of its operations is well known and
DEC is not denying it, though Codispoti said the firm is not
ready to provide more specifics.

Newsbytes has also learned that DEC will announce greater
autonomy for at least one of its existing business units next
week.

In a speech to employees in early May, a transcript of which was
obtained by Newsbytes, Palmer said DEC's revenue per employee was
too low compared to major competitors and the company needed to
cut its payroll -- then roughly 92,000 -- to about 65,000 in the
next couple of years.

The company is making rapid progress toward that goal. All
temporary employees who were on the payroll are already gone, and
6,000 jobs have been cut from European operations along with at
least 3,000 in the US. DEC may well end the current quarter with
fewer than 80,000 employees, Christiansen said.

A sizeable number of the lost jobs will be in the company's sales
force, Christiansen added. He said the company needs to reduce
its direct sales force and rely more on indirect channels.

DEC also needs better cost controls and financial forecasting,
Christiansen said, but most importantly, the company needs to
develop a comprehensive plan and then communicate this to its
customers, prospects, and investors.

In the company's third quarter, sales stopped falling after two
quarters of decline, but overall revenues took another drop
after five consecutive quarters of growth, and DEC lost $183
million.

(Grant Buckler/19940617/Press Contact: Joe Codispoti, Digital
Equipment, tel [phone])


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

IBM Canada To Do Service For Wellfleet 06/17/94
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- IBM Canada Ltd.,
will provide technical support and maintenance for Wellfleet
Communications Canada's products across the country. The two
companies announced a cooperative service deal that parallels an
arrangement between their respective parent firms in the United
States.

Wellfleet said its Canadian customers will still call Wellfleet
when they have equipment problems. A Wellfleet engineer will do a
diagnosis, and if the vendor believes there is a hardware problem
with its equipment it will dispatch an IBM Canada representative
to the site. IBM will carry an inventory of parts and will manage
their deployment.

A variety of on-site response plans are available depending on
the customer's location, Wellfleet said. The deal is effective
right away and IBM support is available to Wellfleet Canada
customers now, officials said.

Wellfleet said it will provide IBM Canada staff with full
training on its product line.

IBM's service organization provides on-site hardware support,
technical help, and maintenance to Wellfleet users in the United
States.

Wellfleet opened its first Canadian office in Mississauga in
July, 1992, and formally announced the creation of the Canadian
subsidiary in April, 1993.

(Grant Buckler/19940617/Press Contact: Sheryl Schultz, Wellfleet,
tel [phone]; Sharon Mackay, IBM Canada, tel [phone];
Public Contact: Wellfleet Canada, tel [phone], fax
905-819-1221)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DAL)(00021)

Syquest Reluctantly Settles With Nomai & Iomega 06/17/94
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- While it seems
Syquest cannot resist a few parting barbs, it has announced the
out-of-court settlement of litigations with French competitor
Nomai and Nomai's US distributor Iomega. Syquest originally
claimed Nomai had no right to make the removable, Winchester-
type hard disk cartridges for Syquest drives.

Syquest, whose largest market segment is with Macintosh users,
has made every move possible to discourage purchase of
cartridges, from claiming industrial espionage to releasing a
statement that it will void the warranty on a drive if it can be
discovered that a Nomai cartridges was used. When the binding
memorandum of understanding was signed in April between the three
companies, Syquest released a statement that there
was still some possibility the companies might not settle. In its
latest statement, the company admits the settlement will bring in
revenue and cut legal costs, but is still making attacks claiming
poor quality of the compatible cartridges and deceptive marketing
practices on the part of retailers.

Syquest is claiming the Nomai and Iomega refused its help in
"improving the quality of their cartridges" and it will only
honor warranties on its SQ555 and SQ5110 drives where compatible
cartridges have been used if Iomega and Nomai pay for the cost of
repairs. However, Iomega said the compatible cartridges have been
certified for use in Syquest drives by leading compatibility
testing company XXCAL and have media designed for removability by
IBM. In addition, the Iomega-branded cartridges come with a five-
year "no questions asked" warranty and free data recovery
services.

In addition, Nomai was awarded an ISO 9002 rating for its
compatible cartridges. Meeting the tough European ISO standard is
another sign of quality, Iomega officials told Newsbytes.

Syquest asserted the compatible cartridges are being sold as
Syquest cartridges by some retailers. However, Iomega said
beginning in May the compatible cartridges are being sold under
its own brand and label.

The settlement includes unnamed royalty payments from Nomai and
Iomega for a two-year period retroactive to January 1, 1994. In
exchange, the companies receive the intellectual property rights
to the 5.25-inch 44-megabyte (MB) and 88 MB removable
cartridges.

The day after the settlement was announced, Syquest lowered the
prices of its 5.25-inch 88 MB cartridges as well as prices on its
5.25-inch 200 MB and 3.5-inch 270 MB cartridges. The company
claims its lower production costs allowed the price cuts of up to
25 percent. The company said expected street pricing for the
Syquest 5.25-inch 88 MB cartridge is $69, the 200 MB is $79, and
the new 3.5-inch 270 MB cartridge is $59. The 200 MB and 270 MB
cartridges each require the purchase of a separate drive, though
the 200 MB drive will read the 44 MB and 88 MB cartridges.

The Iomega branded cartridges carry a suggested retail price of
$56 for the 44 MB and $67 for the 88 MB. Iomega representatives
told Newsbytes over 400,000 Nomai cartridges have been sold since
their introduction in 1993.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940617/Press Contact: Michael Perez, Syquest,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; A. Cory Maloy, Iomega, tel
801-778-3712, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00022)

Personnel Changes Roundup 06/17/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- This is a
regular feature, summarizing personnel changes not covered
elsewhere by Newsbytes: FOCUS Enhancements Inc., PR Newswire,
Apple Computer Inc., Weitek Corp., and AT&T.

Robert Kavner, AT&T's (908-221-6900) executive vice president
and chief executive officer for its Multimedia Products and
Services Group and the communications company's former chief
financial officer, will join the Los Angeles-based literary and
talent representatives, Creative Artists Agency, in a senior
executive capacity, effective July 1, 1994. Kavner is one of four
AT&T executive vice presidents and group CEOs responsible for
AT&T's business units. He reports directly to AT&T's chairman
Robert E. Allen. Kavner will reportedly "lead in the identification
and development of opportunities for the agency's clients in the
merging digital, interactive and networked media."

William B. Coldrick has been appointed executive vice president
responsible for worldwide sales and marketing by FOCUS
Enhancements Inc., (617-938-8088). Coldrick was an initial
investor in FOCUS and has served on the board of directors since
January 1993. Coldrick joined Apple Computer as regional manager
in 1982. During his nine-year career at Apple he held a number of
senior sales and marketing positions. As senior vice president of
US sales he was responsible for leading all sales, support, service,
distribution and channel activity for the US market. He retired
from Apple in 1991. FOCUS is a developer, manufacturer and
marketer of software products for the Macintosh.

Susan McPherson has been named PR Newswire's (800-832-5522)
national market manager, High Technology, with responsibility
for national sales, marketing and media relations. Also, Tom
Beyer has been appointed manager, Fax-on-Demand, for the high
tech industry. Beyer will market PRN's advanced fax-on-demand
applications to clients on a national basis. McPherson began her
PRN career in 1989 as an account executive in Los Angeles and
later opened a satellite bureau in Orange County. She was named
Seattle bureau manager in 1992. Previously, McPherson held
marketing and public relations positions with USA Today and
the Discovery Channel. Beyer joined PRN's Seattle bureau as an
account executive in 1991 and was promoted to senior account
executive in 1992. He was named Seattle sales manager in 1993.
Previously, Beyer served as PR manager for a major medical
center in Seattle and as an account executive with Hill &
Knowlton.

Paul G. Stern has resigned from Apple Computer Inc.'s
(408-974-3983) board of directors, effective immediately.
Stern resigned from the board in order to avoid any perception
of conflict of interest arising from his other affiliations in the
converging computer, telecommunications, and cable industries --
where Apple's business interests are expanding, according to the
company. Dr. Stern is a limited partner with the private
investment firm of Forstmann Little & Co. He joined Apple's
board in January, 1994.

Paul K. Kidman has been promoted from corporate controller to
director of finance at Weitek Corp., (408-738-8400). The company
has also announced that Earl E. Fry, Weitek's vice president
finance is leaving the company to join a privately held software
company. Paul K. Kidman joined Weitek as assistant controller in
1990 from Ampex Corp. He holds an MBA from UCLA and is a CPA.
Weitek makes processors and controllers designed to enhance the
performance of standard operating systems, user interfaces and
application software.

(Ian Stokell/19940617)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00023)

Networking Roundup 06/17/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- IDEA
expands IDEA Concert architecture, DaVinci ships eMail Remote
2.5, Optus Software to Intro FacSys fax server for Windows NT,
and LXE acquires wireless wide area network product line.

IDEA Expands IDEA Concert Architecture

IDEA, (508-670-8512), has announced Telnet and Ethernet
software modules for its IDEA Concert family of communication
processors, adding additional access and network integration
flexibility for SNA (Systems Network Architecture) environments
that require support for "open systems" computing. The Telnet
software is reportedly designed for environments requiring Telnet
Client, Telnet Server, and TN3270 Server "solutions." Support for
these TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
applications is frequently a requirement for organizations that
want to either consolidate a variety of network protocols or
provide concurrent access to SNA applications and new client/
server applications on Unix hosts. The new software modules
available with IDEA Concert Version 3.0 are: IDEA Concert Telnet
Client ($495), IDEA Concert Telnet Async Server ($795), and IDEA
Concert TN3270 Server (ranging from $995 to $8,345), all for
mainframe and TCP/IP environments; and IDEA Concert SNA Over
Ethernet for SNA and Ethernet environments ($495).

DaVinci Ships eMail Remote Version 2.5

DaVinci Systems Corp., (919-881-4320), is shipping version
2.5 of remote eMAIL for DOS and Windows. DaVinci eMAIL Remote
2.5 supports the enhanced functionality provided by Novell's new
NetWare Remote MHS and offers mobile users a rich feature set
fully compatible with the LAN (local area network)-based version
of DaVinci eMAIL. It supports NetWare Remote MHS' part-time
remote user mode which reportedly provides traveling professionals
the flexibility to operate their portable computers as a desktop or
remote PC. This feature allows users to send and receive mail
remotely via a modem or by connecting to a network via a LAN
adapter. Version 2.5 features a graphical user interface (GUI)
administrative interface. Other enhancements are several improved
addressing features including an updated address book viewer
which allows users to automatically update the public address
book, an address take feature which allows a user to automatically
add a sender's address to the personal address book, and an
automatic address settings feature which allows users to set
default characters in the message header. DaVinci eMAIL Remote is
currently available for the suggested retail price of $199 for a
DOS\Windows single user license and $169 for a DOS single user
license. Remote and Personal MHS must be purchased separately.

Optus Software To Intro FacSys Fax Server For Windows NT

Optus Software, (908-271-9568), plans to announce a new
version of its FACSys fax server for Windows NT at Microsoft's
Information Exchange Conference next week. FACSys for
Windows NT will support leading network operating systems,
desktop clients, electronic-mail packages and fax hardware
clients, as well as Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft At Work
communications platforms. Optus says it has developed its own
Named Pipes interface between Windows NT and NetWare, along
with bindery import facilities for FACSys to ease administration.
Other key fax server administration features include remote
management, native NT services, and customizable control over
user rights and system parameters. The Windows NT version of
FACSys will be available in September

LXE Acquires Wireless Wide Area Network Product Line

LXE Inc., (404-447-4224), has announced an agreement in principle
to acquire the Comm-Rad mobile wide-area data communications
product line of ModemsPlus, Inc., a privately owned Atlanta-based
company. Comm-Rad hardware and software enable real-time
connectivity of computers on wide-area, radio-linked networks
that include both central host computers and mobile client
computers, such as laptops. These products are marketed to major
utility and public safety customers within the US. The president
and founder of ModemsPlus, H. Thomas Thorsen, will join LXE to
manage the Comm-Rad business area. Specific terms were not
disclosed, but LXE says that "the proposed purchase agreement is
not expected to have a significant effect" on its financial position.

(Ian Stokell/19940617)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00024)

Company Results Roundup 06/17/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- While
computing giant Unisys says that its European operation is
dragging it down, Spectrum HoloByte reported a huge yearly
loss as the result of its acquisition of MicroProse Inc.

Unisys Blames Europe For Slowdown

Unisys Corp., (215-986-6948) said that, due principally to
continued weakness in its European business, earnings per share
in the second quarter will likely be less than the 17 cents per
share reported in the first quarter of 1994. Said Unisys Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer James A. Unruh, "Unisys financial
results are being negatively affected by our European business
which remains under pressure from a combination of economic
and operational weakness." However, the company said revenue
from services and systems integration grew at a double digit
rate in the first quarter and will likely do the same again this
quarter, both worldwide and in Europe. Unisys added that, while
total European revenue is down, revenue from its commercial
business in both the US and in its Pacific/Asia/Americas group
appears to be on track to exceed year-ago figures for the second
quarter and six month periods. The company is also expecting
commercial orders for the second quarter to be up, year over year,
for all three geographic sales groups, with total worldwide
commercial orders also up for the first six months.

MicroProse Acquisition Results In Spectrum Losses

Spectrum HoloByte, (510-522-3584), a developer and publisher of
interactive entertainment software, has released financial results
for its fiscal year ending March 31, 1994. In it, the company
reported net revenues of $40,887,000 and a net loss of $58,460,000
for the year. For the prior fiscal year, net revenues were
$13,682,000 with a net loss of $4,059,000. The loss for fiscal
1994 reportedly reflects non-cash write-offs associated with the
acquisition of MicroProse, Inc. including about $45,634,000 of
in-process research and development and $1,475,000 of
amortization of purchased software and goodwill. The company's
reported financial results only include the results of MicroProse
since the December 14, 1993 date of the merger. On a fully
combined proforma basis, the aggregate revenues for Spectrum
HoloByte and MicroProse would have been $68,216,000 for fiscal
1994 compared to $59,877,000 for fiscal 1993.

(Ian Stokell/19940617)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00025)

CompuServe Covers World Cup And Aerosmith Song 06/17/94
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- With the opening of
the first World Cup on June 17, CompuServe users should be well
versed on game schedules, players profiles, the latest news and last
minute stories. A special World Cup area, under GO WCUP, is being
offered to CompuServe users around the world while the games are
being played, June 17 to July 17.

Reuters News Pictures Forum (GO NEWSPIX) will carry photo images
of games and CompuServe's Sports Forum (GO FANS) will provide
a communication area for members' opinions and ideas. The
special World Cup area will carry the latest Associated Press
(AP) stories as well as clips from French and German news
wires.

Speaking to Newsbytes, Daphne Kent, spokesperson for CompuServe,
said, "We want to provide our members with a complete and immediate
coverage of all the different games that are beginning to take
place. As an international event, the World Cup is the perfect
event for CompuServe which has members in more than 140 countries."

CompuServe also announced the inclusion of news wires from the
United Kingdom (UK), France, and Australia to broaden its news
coverage of specific areas. The UK service, Press Association, is
listed under the GO PAO command; the French service, Associated
Press France en Ligne is accessed with the GO APFRANCE command
and is published in French; the Australian Associated Press Online
may be reached through the GO AAPONLINE command. These news
wires are being added as part of CompuServe's basic service package.
CompuServe had previously announced a German service, Deutsche
Presse-Agentur.

Calling it a first for online service, CompuServe and Geffen Records
announced the capability to download Aerosmith's new hit, "Head
First" (GO AEROSMITH). Geffen and CompuServe have been offering
30-second samples of various Geffen artists and have now decided to

offer an entire song. To mark this event Aerosmith has waived all
royalties and CompuServe is offering free connect time for this limited
offer. Users should keep in mind that downloading a file of an entire
song will take more than an hour with a high speed modem and even
longer at speeds of 2400 bits-per-second or less.

(Patrick McKenna/19940617/Press Contact: Michelle Moran,
CompuServe, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00026)

UK - School Computer Porn Scare Raised 06/17/94
PRESTON, LANCS, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- The University of
Central Lancashire has announced the results of a study
into the awareness and circulation of computer pornography
in British schools.

According to the study, which polled more than 7,500 replies
from the headmasters of 28,800 schools in England and Wales,
almost a third of boys in UK secondary schools (for ages 12 to
18) admitted they were aware of the existence of computer
porn.

In primary schools (for ages 8 to 11), this percentage fell
to just two percent, while for both primary and secondary
schools, the awareness of girls was just one percent.

Do the findings surprise the police? Not according to Sergeant
Philip Stockford, head of the Greater Manchester Police
Obscene Publications Squad, who said the real extent of the
problem is likely to be much worse.

"While computers are freely available in schools, disks can and
will be copied, just as they are for pirated computer games,"
he said, adding that much more effective policing and education
in this area is needed if the problem is to be tackled.

Stockford, one of a small band of police officers dealing with the
obscene publications, said that the UK has only two police forces with
a squad specializing in this area of crime -- Manchester and London.

According to Vicki Merchant, a special officer with Central Lancs
University that deals with cases involving sexual and racial
harassment, and a driving force behind the report, it highlights
a problem that teachers were well aware of, but were not trained
to handle, nor had they the resources to tackle the problem.

Merchant revealed that, while the bulk of the computer pornography
circulated in the school playground was relatively soft in nature,
some was hard core. The problem stems, she said, from the ease
with which a porn magazine or video can be scanned into a computer.

Perhaps the most damning aspect of the report was that some teachers
said they had discovered porn involving some of their own pupils,
Worse still, some of the porn depicted clearly illegal topics such as
domination, children, and bestiality, most of which appeared to
originate from videotapes.

"Computer pornography is a very powerful technology and children are
very impressionable. Computing is addictive to some children, so if
you can put all these factors together it is good news for
pornographers because they have a rapid, high-quality, cheap way of
spreading pornography," Merchant said.

Most damning of all, the report highlighted the fact that the primary
sources of the material, other from within the school itself, was from
the home, in particular from the father's place of work. It appears
from the report that many adults are actively seeking out and hoarding
computer porn.

One computer security consultant who has been investigating the
problem of computer porn over the last few weeks for a national
newspaper told Newsbytes that computer porn, in particular
hard core material, was freely available online as well.

"I think that what surprised me most of all was the fact that, while
many of the major online services had the usual run of `top shelf'
magazine-style pictures, it was the ease with which I could find very
hard core pictures on servers linked to the Internet," he told
Newsbytes on agreement that his name was withheld.

"I know I haven't led a particularly sheltered background, but
some of this stuff opened even my eyes," he added.

So how does the computer porn get into circulation in the school
environment? The report seems to show that, as well as sourcing disks
through parents, pupils exchanged or bought disks at computer clubs,
downloaded files from bulletin board systems (BBSs) and even bought
them by mail order.

Back the University of Central Lancashire, Merchant said that
the problem was immense and one that teachers were clearly
worried about. It is important, she said, for people to realize
that 30 percent of porn circulating amongst kids as young as
eight was hard core and not the type of material that can
legally be bought in a magazine, even by adults, in the UK.

(Steve Gold/19940617/Press & Public Contact: University of Central
Lancs [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LON)(00027)

Greece - Former Prime Minister To Be Tried For Wiretapping 06/17/94
ATHENS, GREECE, 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- The long-running saga over
Greece's former Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who is alleged to have
instructed various staff during his term of office to carry out
wiretaps outside the scope of the Greek legal system, has come to a
head. Members of the Greek Parliament have now voted to bring
Mitsotakis to trial for his alleged misdemeanors on a 163 to six
majority.

The move is a first for Greece and, indeed, for most Western
Democracies other than the US, where Watergate springs to mind.
Most ex-Presidents have always enjoy immunity from all but
the most severe of crimes, on an informal basis of "needs must."

What appears to have soured this informal arrangement is that,
during his tenure in the early 1990s, Mitsotakis allegedly
asked several aides to arrange the illegal wiretapping of
journalists and senior opposition MPs. This appears to have
upset the press, resulting in a tide of reporting against
the former President.

The turning point in the Mitsotakis case came last September when
Nikos Gryllakis, a senior advisor to Constantine Mitsotakis,
Greece's Prime Minister, was suspended from his duties.

Gryllakis, a retired general, was suspended after being summoned to
testify before prosecutors to discuss his role in the scandal. The
prosecution has alleged that he was the central figure in a plot to
tap the phones of all the senior opposition MPs in Greece.

Gryllakis and Mitsotakis were surrounded by the scandal in April of
last year when Christos Mavrikas, an ex-engineer with the Greek state
telecoms company, sold his story on the bugging to the Greek press.
Mavrikas claimed that he was instructed by persons unknown to tap the
phones of Andreas Papandreou, the popular Socialist Prime Minister, as
well as Mitaiades Evert, the former conservative minister, and several
other leading political figures.

Under pressure, he claimed that Gryllakis had instructed him to bug
various phone lines. Later investigation revealed that the bugging
scandal was not a one-off, with Mavrikas carrying out a series of
wiretaps in the period 1988 to 1990.

OTE, the Greek telecoms company, subsequently revealed that its
investigations had turned up evidence that Mavrikas' story was true.
This was in June of last year, when a formal investigation into the
affair began.

As the investigation ground on, Gryllakis started to defend himself
and Mitsotakis. In press reports of a year ago, he said that the whole
affair had been trumped up to discredit his leader. "It is a plot to
destroy me because I am Mitsotakis' shield. I am at peace with my
conscience," he said.

It now seems that, despite Gryllakis' best efforts, Mitsotakis must
now stand trial in a case that, for Greece, could be as earth-
shattering as Watergate in the US.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940617)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00028)

Wordperfect Ships Version 6.0 for Unix Platforms 06/17/94
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation has
announced it is now shipping graphical user interface (GUI)
Unix versions of Wordperfect 6.0 for SunOS and Solaris 2.

While the Unix operating system has never approached the popularity
of DOS and later Windows, Wordperfect is optimistic about the
market for the Unix-based word processor. "With an increasing Unix
presence in the commercial business computing sector, there is an
increasing demand for Unix users to manage compound documents with
carrying data types," according to Brent McKinley, director of
Wordperfect Unix product marketing.

Users of Wordperfect for Unix can share files across the Unix,
Windows, DOS and OpenVMS platforms using the software's binary file
compatibility. Version 6.0 for Unix also includes WPPRINT, which
performs batch mode command line printing and merging in the Unix
environment.

Many of the features available in Wordperfect 6.0 for Windows
are also included in the Unix version. Users can customize the
Button Bar, Power Bar, Ruler Bar, status bar and keyboards. An
ExpressDocs feature provides more than 70 document templates for fax
forms, memos, invoices, newsletters, expense reports and other
common documents.

The Tables feature lets users create multi-column, multi-line
mini-spreadsheets that can not only contain information but can
perform mathematical calculations and data fills and accept various
numerical formatting attributes. The included Wordperfect draw
module can create charts and graphs direct from the spreadsheet
data.

There is also a File Management feature that lets the use copy.
move, rename, delete and change attributes of files. The QuickList
lets users assign descriptive names to any directory or group of
files, while QuickFinder performs indexing and text retrieval.

Like its Windows counterpart, Wordperfect 6.0 for Unix includes
Grammatik, the grammar and spelling checker. Graphics editing
tools are also provided that allow the user to move, rotate and size
an image within a box, wrap text on both side of the image and
contour text around irregularly shaped objects. A variety of
borders and fill patterns can be assigned to paragraphs, pages,
columns, table cells and graphics images.

Wordperfect version 6.0 for Unix has a suggested retail price of
$495. When the character-based Unix version of the software
becomes available later this year, users get both the GUI and the
character-based versions in the package.

On systems running SunOS you need up to 81 megabytes (MB) of disk
space, 9MB of memory for the initial user and 2MB for each additional
user. On the Sun Solaris platform a full install takes up to 82MB of
disk space. The memory requirements are the same as for the SunOS
system. Wordperfect lists a range for the required disk space
because it varies depending on the number of printers selected
during installation.

The company says it will release Wordperfect 6.0 for SCO Unix, SVR4
Intel, IBM RS/6000, HP 9000 and MIPS ABI during the fourth quarter.
International versions of each will also be supported.

Wordperfect spokesperson Dan Cook told Newsbytes current users of
earlier versions can upgrade to version 6.0 for $129, with
additional license upgrades available for $89. If you purchased
Wordperfect 5.1 for Unix after May 1, 1994 you can upgrade for the
cost of the materials, about $40.

(Jim Mallory/19940617/Press contact: Dan Cook, wordperfect
Corporation, 801-228-5014; Reader contact; Wordperfect Corp,
801-225-5000 or 800-451-5151, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00029)

 ****Lotus LCS To Provide Interoperability With Microsoft 06/17/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- In acquiring
SoftSwitch, Lotus will raise its competitive standing versus
Microsoft, while at the same time providing interoperability
between the forthcoming LCS (Lotus Communications Server) and
Microsoft products, Lotus and SoftSwitch officials said in a
teleconference yesterday.

As reported in Newsbytes, Lotus and SoftSwitch officials
said in the teleconference that Lotus will acquire SoftSwitch, a
major provider of electronic mail switches and directory
synchronization services, for about 1.3 million shares of Lotus
stock, equivalent in value to $64 to $73 million.

In a separate interview with Newsbytes, Greg Loux, product
marketing manager for SoftSwitch, said that Lotus and SoftSwitch
had kept plans for the proposed deal "very quiet," to the point of
not pre-briefing any analysts.

Journalists and analysts listened intently during the one-hour
teleconference, which was attended by Newsbytes, as the acquisition
and its anticipated effects were outlined by Jim Manzi, CEO and
president of Lotus; Jeff Papows, VP of the Lotus Notes Products
Division; Michael Zisman, president of SoftSwtich.

Manzi told the teleconference participants that Lotus has been in
discussions with SoftSwitch "for some time." He described the
Wayne, Pennsylvania-based company as "world leaders in messaging
switching technology, in terms of converting one messaging protocol
or structure to another, and in terms of synchronizing directories,
which is more and more a bigger issue for large corporate
accounts."

The SoftSwitch technology will contribute the "scalability" needed
to "connect LAN (local area network) systems with each other...but
also LAN systems with legacy systems, legacy mail systems with
public systems..and also connection to EDI systems."

"There's no company better positioned...in that business than
SoftSwitch," Manzi added. "The big opportunity for us is (building)
our presence in the enterprise marketplace and dealing with these
scalability requirements that our customers keep talking about."

SoftSwitch products already connect 3 million electronic mail
products, many of them Lotus customers, with legacy systems, Manzi
noted. "We're excited about that, and about the ability to migrate
many of the SoftSwitch customers to Lotus on a continuing basis,"
he said.

"Finally, I think this `universal switching technology' will be a
big piece in the kind of business we're trying to create in terms
of inter-enterprise computing."

Manzi then announced that, in conjunction with the deal, Lotus has
established the new Inter-Enterprise Computing Group (IECG), to be
co-headed by Zisman and Larry Moore, VP of Lotus'
Telecommunications Server Group, which is overseeing the upcoming
AT&T Notes.

"We believe that there is extraordinary connection between what
Mike's products and Larry's products...in companies connecting with
their customers, or their vendors, or their buyers in electronic
links to try to improve their business," he said.

SoftSwitch also has a "very strong presence" with public telephone
companies (PTTs) and value-added network providers VANs worldwide,
Manzi explained.

Zisman told participants that the merger is a strong "fit" because
of the "similarity in cultures" between Lotus and SoftSwitch, in
addition to technological factors. A large percentage of SoftSwitch
customers are already using Lotus Notes or cc:Mail, he pointed out.

"Scalability will be achieved ultimately through backbone switches.
We've always been exclusively focused on the backbone tier, and
have carved out a very large part of that market segment. Lotus has
emerged as the clear leader in user agents and messaging servers,
both for basic mail and for workgroup computing through Notes,"
Zisman said.

"By bringing together the Notes replication capability with the
multiprotocol capability of SoftSwitch, we have the capability, the
technology, the expertise and the people to evolve towards an
enterprise server that can provide both database replication and
multiprotocol mail switching, and we'll be evolving that capability
over time by moving together the capabilities of EMX and LCS (Lotus
Communications Server)," he said.

In the integration of Lotus' upcoming LCS (Lotus Communications
Server) with SoftSwitch's EMX, SoftSwitch will also contribute
connectivity to legacy systems, "very broad" directory
synchronization and "some very exciting administrative and
management capabilities," according to Zisman.

Ed Gillis, CFO for Lotus, explained that the purchase price for
SoftSwtich is approximately equal to the combined annual revenues
for SoftSwitch during 1993 and 1994, which amounted to about $35
million per year. The acquisition is expected to be completed in 90
days, he added.

"We would expect the impact on our 1994 earnings to be immaterial,
slightly dilutive. For the full year, we are not altering our
perspective on earnings guidance as a result of the transaction,"
according to Gillis.

In a Q&A session that followed, Manzi was asked how the merger will
affect Lotus' competitive standing versus Microsoft. "Obviously
we're hoping it will improve it," Manzi said. "What we're getting
is capability in terms of technology but also in terms of customer
presence in large customer accounts."

Another teleconference participant asked Zisman: "Were there other
bidders for your company?" Zisman replied that there had been
discussions with other bidders, but that these had tapered off as
discussions had become "serious with Lotus."

Zisman declined comment on speculation that Microsoft had been the
"other important bidder," and that SoftSwitch decided to go with
Lotus "for reasons of strategy and technology and not for price."

Also in the A&A, Zisman said that a deal between Microsoft and
SoftSwitch, jointly announced at the EMA Conference in April, will
not be affected in terms of the agreed upon interoperability
between EMX and Microsoft's EMS.

"SoftSwitch and Microsoft have important, loyal customers. I
believe it is Microsoft's responsibility and SoftSwitch's
responsibility to continue to meet the needs of those customers,"
he said.

Papows reported that Lotus will take an "evolutionary" approach
toward integrating EMX into LCS. The first release of LCS, which is
scheduled to ship in the first half of 1995, will include some EMX
capabilities, such as directory synchronization, he said. After
that, Lotus will incorporate greater capabilities from EMX,
including an SMTP (Simple Transport Protocol) MTA (Message
Transport Agent, he added.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940617/Press Contacts: Richard Eckel, Lotus,
617-693-1284; Lauren Lampinen, Lois Paul & Associates for Lotus,
617-862-4514; Betsy Chapman, SoftSwitch, 610-640-9600)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DAL)(00030)

Rasterops' New Graphics Cards, Bundles For PCs 06/17/94
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- Rasterops
and its subsidiary Truevision announced new graphics accelerator
cards for the IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) market as
well as a new 17-inch multi-frequency monitor. The companies are
hoping the aggressive pricing of the new products will make a big
splash in the PC market.

For $999 PC users can get the 17-inch PC Color Productivity
Graphics Display Bundle which includes the 1 megabyte (MB)
dynamic random access memory (DRAM), Industry Standard
Architecture (ISA) version of the Truevision Colorimpact 100
graphics card with the Rasterops Clearvuecolor monitor. The card
supports 16.7 million colors at 640 by 480 picture element
(pixel) resolution.

A bundle including the 17-inch Rasterops monitor and the 2 MB
video random access memory (VRAM), video local bus (VLB) version
of the Truevision Colorimpact Pro 1000 graphics card retails for
$1,299. The extra memory allows this graphics card to support
16.7 million colors at a resolution of 800 by 600 or 65,000
colors at the higher resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels.

Both of the Truevision graphics cards incorporate 64-bit graphics
chips from Cirrus Logic and Weitek and provide 24-bit, 16.7
million color support. The graphics cards are also available in a
configuration aimed at the Intel Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI) standard as well as ISA and VLB versions. One
MB of memory can be added to the Colorimpact 100 graphics card
for a total of 2 MB using industry-standard dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) single in-line memory modules (SIMMs). An
additional 2 MB of memory may be added to the Colorimpact Pro
1000 card for a total of 4 MB, but the card uses video random
access memory (VRAM) double in-line memory modules (DIMMs).

The Colorimpact graphics cards may be purchased separately. The
Colorimpact 100 is $139 with 1 MB of RAM and $219 with 2 MB of
RAM. The Colorimpact Pro 1000 retails for $319 with 2 MB of RAM
and $569 with 4 MB of RAM.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940617/Press Contact: Anne-Lise Stannard,
Rasterops, tel [phone], fax 408-562-
4065; Public Contact: Rasterops, Customer Info, 800-729-
2056/RASTEROPS940617/PHOTO)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 06/17/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 17 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 ->  ****Pentium, Chicago, PowerPC Driving DRAM Shortage 06/17/94
Dataquest says it anticipates a short-term shortage of 16-megabyte (MB)
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips by the end of this year and
early in 1995. The push of the Pentium by Intel, the introduction of
Chicago, and the Power Macintosh by Apple Computer, without a
corresponding increase in the supply of 16 MB DRAM, will drive up
prices, Dataquest predicted.

2 -> Kodak Intros New Digital Camera 06/17/94 Eastman Kodak Company has
introduced a new professional digital camera that stores its images for
use on an Apple Computer Macintosh or a PC.

3 -> Symantec Software Give-away To Sysops Who Support Ethics 06/17/94
As one of the sponsors of the National Computer Ethics and
Responsibilities Campaign (NCERC), Symantec has announced it will give
away a free copy of The Norton Utilities 8.0 or The Norton AntiVirus 3.0
to the first 500 bulletin board system (BBS) operators or sysops who
help get the word out about computer ethics.

4 -> Picasso Paints Again On Hong Kong Telecom 06/17/94 Hongkong Telecom
CSL has introduced Picasso, an innovative still image video  phone
system that offers a simple means of exchanging  full-color,
high-quality images using ordinary telephone  lines.

5 -> Sydney Home Computer Show Attracts Bad Publicity 06/17/94 The Home
Computer Show  in Sydney attracted more visitors than last year, but it
also attracted unwelcome attention from the press. Two stands  that were
selling CD-ROM disks had devoted large display  areas to their X-rated
disks, and much of the showgoing  audience was school-age.

6 -> Review of - Field Guide Series Of Books 06/17/94 From: Microsoft
Corp., One Microsoft Way, Redmond,  WA 98052-6399

7 -> UniversityWorks Automates College Registration 06/17/94 Syntellect
Inc., has introduced a software package that automates college and
university student services such as registration, grade inquiry, fee
payment and other functions.

8 -> Ambra Bundles Borland Apps, Lowers Prices On Portables 06/17/94
Ambra has started bundling the newly introduced Sidekick for Windows, in
addition to Borland Office 2.0, with all subnotebooks and two of its
notebook models. At the same time, prices have been reduced to $1799 for
each of the two notebooks, and to between $899 and $1599 for the three
subnotebooks.

9 -> Editorial - Audio News Conferences 06/17/94 By Dana Blankenhorn.
It's the best thing to happen to reporters since the Model 100.  It's
the audio press conference. Using the latest telephone  technology,
reporters can, from the comfort of their offices or home, listen to top
executives dispense news and even (sometimes)  query them.

10 -> Baltimore Dispute on School Technology, Test Scores 06/17/94
Baltimore City  Schools and Education Alternatives, a private company
managing  eight of the city's schools, claimed victory in releasing new
test score results, but critics called the claim nonsense.

11 -> IBM Storage Products Use PCMCIA 06/17/94 IBM has announced an
assortment of new storage devices, including several that use the
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA)
expansion slot specification.

12 -> On-Demand Debuts Digital Video Server 06/17/94 On-Demand
Technologies has announced it will ship a second generation digital
video server for the interactive telecommunications market later this
month.

13 ->  ****Technical Problems Challenge Cable TV Of The Future 06/17/94
In preparing its  infrastructure for the handling of telephony, the
cable television industry will have to address several, highly specific
return-path requirements.

14 -> LANNET Module For Multinet Hub 06/17/94 LANNET is adding an
enhanced eight-port 10BaseT module to its fault-tolerant,  ATM
(asynchronous transfer mode)-ready MultiNet modular  intelligent hub
products family.

15 -> Hongkong - Rockwell Digital-To-Analog Converter Unveiled 06/16/94
Rockwell Telecommunications  claims it has introduced the world's
fastest digital to analog converter (DAC) in a bid to establish a strong
foothold in the  data conversion business.   The new 10-bit DAC,
designed and manufactured by Rockwell's  Microelectronics Technology
Center (MTC), operates at clock and  data speeds greater than 1200 MHz,
while consuming less than 800mW  of operating power.

16 -> DiagSoft Offers Diagnostics, Service 06/16/94 DiagSoft's
Electronic Technical Support Center (ETSC) may be the  answer to
troubled personal computer users who have waited hours on  long distance
calls with technical support providers only to be told  to call another
software company.

17 -> Westcott Going Slow on ACTV Distance Learning 06/17/94 Westcott
Communications told Newsbytes it will move slowly on putting  ACTV's
interactive technology into its distance learning  programs.

18 -> Parsons Offers Car, Home Buying Software Help 06/17/94 Parsons
Technology is now shipping two software titles that help the user buy a
car or a home.

19 ->  ****Palmer Claims Board Backing For DEC Reorganization 06/17/94
Management at Digital Equipment Corp. remains tight-lipped about exactly
what will be done to reorganize the money-losing company, but in a
letter to senior managers this week, the company's president and chief
executive said DEC's board of directors supports his plans.

20 -> IBM Canada To Do Service For Wellfleet 06/17/94 IBM Canada Ltd.,
will provide technical support and maintenance for Wellfleet
Communications Canada's products across the country. The two companies
announced a cooperative service deal that parallels an arrangement
between their respective parent firms in the United States.

21 -> Syquest Reluctantly Settles With Nomai & Iomega 06/17/94 While it
seems Syquest cannot resist a few parting barbs, it has announced the
out-of-court settlement of litigations with French competitor Nomai and
Nomai's US distributor Iomega. Syquest originally claimed Nomai had no
right to make the removable, Winchester- type hard disk cartridges for
Syquest drives.

22 -> Personnel Changes Roundup 06/17/94 This is a regular feature,
summarizing personnel changes not covered elsewhere by Newsbytes: FOCUS
Enhancements Inc., PR Newswire, Apple Computer Inc., Weitek Corp., and
AT&T.

23 -> Networking Roundup 06/17/94 IDEA  expands IDEA Concert
architecture, DaVinci ships eMail Remote  2.5, Optus Software to Intro
FacSys fax server for Windows NT,  and LXE acquires wireless wide area
network product line.

24 -> Company Results Roundup 06/17/94 While  computing giant Unisys
says that its European operation is  dragging it down, Spectrum HoloByte
reported a huge yearly  loss as the result of its acquisition of
MicroProse Inc.

25 -> CompuServe Covers World Cup And Aerosmith Song 06/17/94 With the
opening of  the first World Cup on June 17, CompuServe users should be
well  versed on game schedules, players profiles, the latest news and
last  minute stories. A special World Cup area, under GO WCUP, is being
offered to CompuServe users around the world while the games are  being
played, June 17 to July 17.

26 -> UK - School Computer Porn Scare Raised 06/17/94 The University of
Central Lancashire has announced the results of a study  into the
awareness and circulation of computer pornography  in British schools.

27 -> Greece - Former Prime Minister To Be Tried For Wiretapping
06/17/94 The long-running saga over Greece's former Prime Minister
Mitsotakis, who is alleged to have instructed various staff during his
term of office to carry out wiretaps outside the scope of the Greek
legal system, has come to a head. Members of the Greek Parliament have
now voted to bring Mitsotakis to trial for his alleged misdemeanors on a
163 to six majority.

28 -> Wordperfect Ships Version 6.0 for Unix Platforms 06/17/94
Wordperfect Corporation has announced it is now shipping graphical user
interface (GUI) Unix versions of Wordperfect 6.0 for SunOS and Solaris
2.

29 ->  ****Lotus LCS To Provide Interoperability With Microsoft 06/17/94
In acquiring SoftSwitch, Lotus will raise its competitive standing
versus Microsoft, while at the same time providing interoperability
between the forthcoming LCS (Lotus Communications Server) and Microsoft
products, Lotus and SoftSwitch officials said in a teleconference
yesterday.

30 -> Rasterops' New Graphics Cards, Bundles For PCs 06/17/94 Rasterops
and its subsidiary Truevision announced new graphics accelerator cards
for the IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) market as well as a new
17-inch multi-frequency monitor. The companies are hoping the aggressive
pricing of the new products will make a big splash in the PC market.

(Wendy Woods/19940617)