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/nb062294

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(NEWS)(IBM)(DAL)(00001)

Creative Intros Video/Conferencing/SOHO Products 06/22/94
SINGAPORE, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Creative Technology has
announced new video and videoconferencing products, as well as
those designed to bring multimedia into the small office/home
office (SOHO) market. The new products are the Video Blaster
RT300 video capture card, the Sharevision PC300 and Sharevision
PC3000 desktop video products for the personal computer (PC)
platform, and the Sound Blaster Multimedia Office.

The Video Blaster RT300 is the company's newest video capture
technology, based on the 82750PE video processor and Indeo video
software technology, both from Intel. The card offers real-time
capture and compression of composite and S-Video analog video in
NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) and the European
PAL formats at 30 frames-per-second (fps).

The company claims the RT300 is unique in that it offers the
capture and compression in one-step, instead of storing the video
to the computer's memory and then compressing it off-line.
However, the video card can capture at full-motion video a screen
size of only 320 by 240 picture elements (pixels), compressing
the 200 megabytes (MB)-per-minute raw data down to 30 MB-per-
minute.

The compressed video has the advantage of playback on any Indeo-
equipped 386-, 486- or Pentium-based PC, with or without video
playback hardware. Indeo adjusts the playback automatically for
the processing power of the system.

The RT300 will ship in July and is also bundled with the popular
video editing program Adobe Premiere, all for a suggested retail
price of $499.95.

The Sharevision products, originally offered by Creative
Technology's subsidiary of the same name for the Macintosh
platform are available in two configurations for desktop
videoconferencing on the IBM-compatible PC.

The Sharevision PC300 offers an audio compression card, an
external fax/modem, application software, and a headset for $749.
The PC3000 version adds a color video camera and the RT300 video
capture and compression card for $1,599. Both products are
scheduled to ship in August of this year.

Creative Technology says the advantage to using its Sharevision
products for videoconferencing is that the cards do not require
expensive integrated services digital network (ISDN), switched
56, or T1 telephone lines, but can use standard analog lines for
video data.

The video capabilities allow users to communicate real-time
through live, color video and audio, and users can also capture
from either party's camera for on-line editing. Those who opt for
the lower-priced PC300 system can also upgrade by adding the
Video Blaster RT300 card and a video camera, the company said.

The Sound Blaster Multimedia Office is designed to add multimedia
capability to existing computers in the SOHO market. Besides a
Sound Blaster 16 with Advanced Signal Processing audio card and
a Creative double speed CD-ROM drive, the package comes with a
suite of Microsoft's business application software.

This suite is the first to use Microsoft's Sound System 2.0
software drivers with Creative's audio hardware, per a recent
agreement between the two companies. Additional Microsoft
application software includes Microsoft Office Professional
4.3 -- a bundle of word processor Microsoft Word 6.0, spreadsheet
Excel 5.0, presentation package Powerpoint 4.0, database Access
2.0, and a workstation license for electronic messaging software
Mail 3.2. In addition, Microsoft is offering its CD-ROM Encarta
Encyclopedia.

For voice applications, Creative has included its Voiceassist, a
speech recognition program, Creative Textassist, a text-to-speech
system. A microphone is included so users can add their own voice
messages to documents or applications using voice annotation, and
stereo headphones have been added for private listening.

The Sound Blaster Multimedia Office is expected in July of 1994
at a retail price of $749.95.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940621/Press Contact: Theresa Pulido, Creative
Labs subsidiary of Creative Technology, tel [phone] ext
6416, fax [phone]; Karen Magill, Cunningham Communication
for Creative Technology, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(BOS)(00002)

Lotus 2 Qtr Revenues $20M Lower Than Forecast 06/22/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Lotus now
expects to achieve second quarter revenues of $230 to $240 million,
about $20 to $25 million less than Wall Street analyst estimates,
company officials said in a teleconference. They attributed the
shortfall mainly to shipment delays in upgrades to SmartSuite,
Lotus 1-2-3, Ami Pro, Freelance, and Approach.

With shipments pushed back to July or August from the initially
slated June time-frame, Lotus will not see revenues and earnings
from SmartSuite 3.0, Approach 3.0. Ami Pro 3.10, Freelance
2.1, 1-2-3 Release 5.0 for Windows, or 1-2-3 Release 4.0 for DOS
until the third quarter, explained Ed Gillis, senior vice president
and chief financial officer, and other officials during the
teleconference, which was attended by Newsbytes.

"The lion's share of the revenue shortfall relates to product
slippage in the desktop applications business," said Gillis.
"Additionally, June sell-through is behind plan. A lot of this
relates to where we are in the (product) cycle vis-a-vis
Microsoft."

A "third reason" for the shortfall concerns implementation of a
new volume sales program with the introduction of Lotus'
Passport Program on May 2, Gillis added.

Gillis launched the teleconference by delivering a short
summary of a press release issued by Lotus less than an hour
before. The CFO then opened up the phone lines to questions
from analysts and journalists.

"This quarter's performance is disappointing to all of us. However,
our communications business remains strong, and we have very
high confidence that all of the products that moved into the third
quarters will ship in July or August, which should contribute to a
strong second-quarter performance. Despite our expectations for a
strong second half performance, we are reducing our earnings
forecast to $1.80 from previous guidance to $2.00 to $2.15," he
said in summarizing the press release.

Lotus anticipates earnings of 20 to 25 cents per share for the
second quarter ending July 2, Gillis said. The company will report
its second-quarter results on 19.

Noted the CFO: "We're not changing our expectations for the second
half of the year, (as) the guidance of $1.80 to $2.00 in the press
release would indicate. There's going to be some combination of
either sticking to our revenue plan or adjusting our spending plan."

During a lengthy Q&A period, officials were asked to elaborate on
where Lotus stands in the product cycle. "We have new releases of
virtually all our desktop applications coming imminently, (but) our
related products in those categories are probably a year or plus
old," Gillis said.

In contrast, Microsoft released the constituent parts of Microsoft
Office in the fourth quarter of 1993 and the first quarter of the
current year, he said. "So where we are to a certain extent at the
trough of our product cycle, Microsoft is at the top (of its
cycle)." During the end of a product cycle, sales demand for
products drop, as customers await shipment of new releases, he
explained.

Another questioner wanted to know the reasons for the shipment
delays. The Windows-based SmartSuite "is a difficult thing in
a development context because the products are highly integrated
and therefore interdependent," said Gillis. "You don't want to get
one product out too far ahead of another if you want them to work
together as a suite." For the upgrade to the DOS-based version of
Lotus 1-2-3, he added, the delay will be only a matter of "a couple
of weeks."

Added Bob Weiler, senior VP of Lotus' North American Business
Group: "The integration of the individual products (in the suite)
really gets to be complex. We also have a real commitment to
making sure the products will be out there at high quality, that
they're not going to ship prematurely."

Other listeners asked for clarification on the role of the Passport
Program in the projected shortfall. Weiler explained that,
particularly in the US and North America, Passport replaced
previous contracts known as LSVP and RSVP, "where customers
would deal with a reseller in conjunction with Lotus Direct."

Elaborated Bob Schechter, senior VP of the International Business
Group: "The objective of the (Passport) program is to dramatically
simplify the way customers can buy through Lotus from their
dealers throughout the world. A customer can (now) have a single
contract, and buy from their dealer everywhere in the world on the
basis of this contract."

Noted Weiler: "For customers who had the older versions of our
contracts, which were a little bit different in the US and Europe,
there's been an administrative process for the channel partners
to go through in signing up all those customers."

Gillis reported that although channel activity levels seem to be
high, Lotus "underestimated the start-up time associated with this
new program." As a result, he said, "Contract volumes that would
generally be expected to close at the end of the quarter appear to
be behind."

By the third quarter, though, Passport will benefit Lotus and its
dealers and customers by "enabling the channels to negotiate and
close large, high volume contract business," according to Gillis.

The officials were also asked about current demand for desktop
productivity applications. "There continues to be growth in the
applications market, albeit in the five to ten percent range,"
responded Schechter.

"From our point of view, there is definitely an impact in terms of
where we are, and where our competitors are, in the product cycle.
(But) in terms of corporate accounts, we have seen zero erosion,
zero instances where people are moving away from our strategy
to anybody else's," he added.

Another analyst wanted to know about the effect of Microsoft's
move into messaging. "What is absolutely clear in our minds is
that our strategy is absolutely sound. Our communication strategy
continues to bring in large corporate customers. Essentially we
believe we have a 'one-quarter issue' here that has really been
driven by 'desktop product shifting' that is causing a shortfall
in the revenue side," Weiler answered.

"I know you won't see any change in the strategy, the direction,
or the way we're selling it. In fact, one of the reasons we put
this Passport program in is that more of the corporate accounts
want to benefit from our communications products as well as
our desktop products," he maintained.

Persisted the analyst: "If you feel you lost some ground in the
first half of '94, and yet you didn't lose accounts, then what
accounts are buying the Microsoft products at the expense of the
Lotus products?

Replied Weiler: "It's pretty much the channel and the retail base.
In large corporate accounts and corporate resellers, the business
is quite healthy."

Another listener asked whether the upgrades to SmartSuite and the
standalone applications will offer "enough new functionality" for
non-Notes users. "Is there a risk that they might wait for the
follow-on release for Chicago if indeed the difference is perceived
as more integration than major new functionality?" he inquired.

"No, I don't think there's risk of that," said Weiler. "There's a
lot of new functionality, both as individual products and as a
suite." The new upgrade to 1-2-3 for Windows brings functionality
for networks as well as Notes, and has just been named the
"premiere workgroup spreadsheet" by PC Week, he asserted. In
addition, "there are tremendous synergies between Approach and
1-2-3" in SmartSuite 3.0, he said.

"On the Chicago question," Weiler added, "Chicago will not be out
until early '95 as an operating system. Corporations are looking at
that. We think there will be a dual life of products for awhile:
16-bit and 32-bit."

Schechter told the analysts and journalists that "people
will not just be buying upgrades. The momentum of the whole
product line is also influenced by the newness of the product,
the currency of reviews."

Another inquiry concerned sales in Europe. Replied Schechter: "In
Europe, what we've been seeing over the last several quarters was
continued steady growth in our Windows application business, led by
SmartSuite, which more than offset a decline in the DOS base. What
happened this quarter was essentially a flattening of the Windows
business and a continued decline of the DOS business." Demand for
the Windows applications was temporarily lowered by the shipment
delays, he added.

At the close of the briefing, Gillis was asked for further
elaboration on Lotus' financial plan for the year. "We think we can
deliver on plan for the second half of the year, but obviously if
we see softness in revenues, we will adjust spending," he said.

"Our expectation is that, with a communications business that's
doing fine and with a desktop business that will be improved with
the product cycle, we should be able to close back on our plan at
the revenue line in the third quarter, in which case we won't do
anything different at the spending line," he concluded.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940621/Press Contacts: Richard Eckel, Lotus,
617-693-1284; Lauren Lampinen, Lois Paul & Partners for Lotus,
617-862-4514)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00003)

UK - Dataquest Places US Robotics Ahead Of Modem Pack 06/22/94
SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- After a lot of
jostling and price repositioning over the last year, US Robotics' UK
operation has reached the number one sales slot, something that
Managing Director Clive Hudson has been pushing over the last few
years since his appointment.

According to the latest figures from Dataquest, the market
research company, US Robotics is now market leader in the UK
high-speed modem marketplace with a 16.5 percent share,
ahead of Cray Communications with 11.4 percent.

In the total marketplace, US Robotics with 13.7 percent is on the
tail of Cray, which has a 14.4 percent share. According to US
Robotics, these results are interim only and are based on a full
1993 sales report expected from Dataquest in August of this
year.

The report signals a major shift towards high speed modems
from the low-speed -- 2,400 bits-per-second (bps) and below.
In 1993, 70 percent of modem sales were 9,600 bps or faster.

Newsbytes notes that, during 1993, the 14,400 bps modem
market quadruped in size from 50,000 to more than 200,000
units. This, USR claims, is due to the opening up of the home
and small office/home office (SOHO) marketplaces to high-
speed modem technology.

Hudson is predicting that 1994 will see USR pull away from
the rest of the modem pack, and top out the market on the
overall market share as well. "We've gone from 15th in 1990
to number one in 1993. The figures tell their own story," he said.

Dataquest's interim report predicts that the modem market will
continue to keep on growing for the next two to three years,
primarily as a result of the newly-ratified V.34 (V.Fast) modem
standard, which allows data transmissions of 28,800 bps
without recourse to data compression technology.

(Steve Gold/19940621/Press Contact: Frank Smith, Edge
Partnership for US Robotics, [phone]; Reader
Contact: US Robotics, [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00004)

UK - MPC MIDI-Compatible Home Music Studio Intro'd 06/22/94
FARNHAM, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Optech has
launched the Cakewalk Home Studio for Windows, a Multimedia
PC (MPC)-compatible multi-track MIDI (musical instrument
digital interface) sequencer for Windows that it claims allows
users to create, record, play back, edit and even print music,
all on a PC.

According to Ewan MacGregor of Optech, Cakewalk Home Studio
is pitched at both novices and experts alike. The software allows
users to "build" music scores layer by layer using up to 256
tracks -- each track can be recorded separately and allocated
to individual song elements such as the melody line, various
instruments, vocals and sound effects from Windows WAV files.

Music can be created and recorded in steps or in real-time using a
MIDI instrument linked to a PC or via the on-screen music staff or
piano roll grid using the PC's mouse. Likewise, music can be edited
and notes deleted.

For non-musicians, the package has an online help facility that
can be accessed from almost anywhere in the program. The help
facility includes definitions, useful examples and a topic search
function. There is also a set of "load" and "play" MIDI sequences
to help absolute beginners start their music programming.

The Staff printing facility allows a composition to be printed
off in true musical score mode. Up to 16 staves per page can be
printed, all in selectable sizes. A print preview mode is also
included.

If all this sounds old hat to users of the Atari ST or Commodore
Amiga, Newsbytes readers should remember that both these
machines were designed to accommodate multi-channel MIDI
programming. The PC, however, was not designed with such
features in mind, making Cakewalk a major breakthrough in PC
music/MIDI program terms.

The UKP186.65 package needs a 10 megahertz (MHz) 80286
based PC or better running Windows 3.1 or later. Minimum
memory requirements are two megabytes. In use, the package
supports up to 16 MIDI ports with multimedia extensions
drivers, such as the Roland MPU-40.1 or Music Quest. The
package also supports Microsoft Windows MIDI Mapper.

(Steve Gold/19940621/Press & Reader Contact: Ewan
MacGregor, Optech, [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00005)

Great Bear Offers Symptoms, Illness & Surgery CD 06/22/94
MORAGA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Based on the
best-selling book of the same name by H. Winter Griffith MD,
Great Bear Technology has announced the Complete Guide to
Symptoms, Illness & Surgery on CD.

Great Bear's HealthSoft division produces medical information
for the general public and this latest product uses multimedia
technology to cover more than 800 symptoms, 500 illnesses
and 177 surgeries, as well as preventative medical suggestions
for "better health." With the advantage of multimedia, users
are provided with both medical information and color diagrams
showing phases of particular surgeries.

An interesting feature is the audio pronunciation of complex
medical terms that are indexed for easy location. The company
claims this CD not only allow users to investigate a particular
symptom or surgery, but also serve as a means of reiterating
information already provided by a doctor before and after a
surgery. Similar to most multimedia productions, search
engines are used to make inquiries "fast and efficient."

Offering an unusual marketing strategy, Great Bear will
provide the program on Windows floppy disks free of charge to
purchasers of the CD when they return the enclosed registration
form. Information on floppy disks reduces the audio and graphic
features found on the CD.

Doug Cole, president and CEO of Great Bear, told Newsbytes,
"This CD completes the set of five titles we have in our medical
line. We think it offers the 'lay person' a valuable tool for
personal investigation  and as well, an educational tool to
enhance communication with medical professionals."

Addressing the offer to provide floppy disks, Cole said, "It is
our goal to make our material available to as many people as
possible. We think this will allow a much larger group learn
about our medical information line and begin to learn about the
advantages of multimedia technology."

The $49.95 program requires an IBM or compatible computer,
four megabytes (MB) of RAM, 1MB of hard drive space, Windows
3.1 or higher and a CD-ROM drive.

Great Bear also announced the addition of pronunciations and
color photographs to its Complete Guide to Prescription and
Non-Prescription Drugs. Both products are currently on display
at CES in Chicago.

(Patrick McKenna/19940621/Press Contact: Maria Amundson,
A&R Partners, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00006)

India - Price Waterhouse Sets Up Software Consultancy 06/22/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Price Waterhouse
Associates (PWA) is setting up a software consultancy center at
Saltlec, the electronic complex near Calcutta. It is slated to be
operational by December 15.

The center will house three major facilities. Firstly, there will be
a unit to impart training to consultants on methodologies which
have been developed by Price Waterhouse World Firm (PWWF). These
include PWWF's proprietary system management methodology (SMM),
package implementation and information systems risk management.
The center will also train PWA consultants in PWWF methodologies
like 'change integration' and 'business process transformation' to
assist companies in reengineering their business processes.

Secondly, the center will serve as a software sourcing point for
PWA worldwide. Thirdly, the center aims to help Indian clients
assess emerging technologies and the potential for using them in
business.

It will be linked with PWWF's technology center in Palo Alto,
California, and to industry expert groups and databases in PWA
in the US and Europe. The aim will be to share with clients,
based in India, knowledge in chosen industries like banking,
insurance, financial services, petroleum, and electricity.

PWA has a worldwide revenue of $4 billion, of which $750
million is consulting revenue.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19940621)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00007)

Lotus Australia Continues As Top Subsidiary 06/22/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Lotus Development's
subsidiary of the year, Lotus Australia, has announced record
revenue growth for the year so far. This contrasts with
predictions for no little growth for the organization
worldwide, for this quarter.

Lotus Australia expects gross revenues for the first half of
1994 to be 36 percent up on the same period last year.
Operating income is up 90 percent and revenue from sales of
Notes is up 126 percent for the same period.

MD for the subsidiary, Gerhard Rumpf, said the results are due
to strong sales of Lotus' desktop products, especially the
integrated package SmartSuite, and the ongoing success of
Lotus Notes and cc:Mail.

"Our new discount package for corporate buyers -- Lotus
Passport -- has received almost immediate success. We
started out this year with the clear goal of lifting awareness
and sales of SmartSuite and continuing our Notes momentum,
and we've done better than expected," he said.

He continued: "I believe much of our success is due to the
integrated marketing campaign staged over the last few months.
We have also enjoyed excellent support from our business
partners in the communications and retails."

(Paul Zucker/19940621)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEL)(00008)

SPSS Launches Indian Subsidiary 06/22/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- SPSS Inc., the Chicago-
based statistical data analysis and presentation software
developer, has set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India,
called SPSS India Pvt. Ltd. Along with the subsidiary, the
company plans to move its headquarters for South Asia to
India.

Headquartered in Delhi, the new company will also be
responsible for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India,
the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Up to now, these
had come under the UK subsidiary.

The company will have a major software development facility
in India, according to Ian Durell, vice president and head of
SPSS International Operations. Plans are to upgrade to Windows,
develop a Unix Motif version, as well as local language versions
in India.

The Indian subsidiary will export software to the parent
company and to customers in the South Asian region. The
company has a marketing partnership with IBM for Sri Lanka
and Ciproco for Bangladesh, Burma, and Pakistan, besides
Wipro Systems for India.

Even though SPSS has only now set up a subsidiary, its products
are claimed to have an installed-base of over 2,000 in India.
Over the last five years, the company has contracted offshore
software development work to Indian companies, such as Tata
Consultancy Services, International Computers Indian
Manufacture (ICIM), and Wipro Systems Ltd.

Starting with an investment of $100,000, it will go up to $1.5
million by 1995.

Also, following the reduction in duties on application software,
the company has dropped the price of a site license of its SPSS
6.0 product to R24,000 (about $800) from R250,000 (about
$8,300). Apart from premier institutes like the Indian Institute
of Technology, and Indian Institute of Management, educational
institutions will get a 10 percent discount.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19940621)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00009)

Canon Intros Workstation For Nextstep 06/22/94
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Canon's
new Advanced Technologies Operation (ATO) business unit, in
alliance with Next Computer, has announced its first product, an
Intel 486DX4/100-based workstation called "object.station 41."

Canon, a longtime advocate of Next technology, built
object.station 41 to take advantage of NextStep, Next's object-
oriented operating system. the company claims the new
workstation is the logical successor to the NeXTstation.

A spokesperson for Canon told Newsbytes, "The ATO group was
designed by Canon to expand its small office/home office (SOHO)
position by developing high-end computer products and solutions
that penetrate client-server technology and object-oriented
systems."

According to Canon, object.station 41 will perform up to 30
percent faster than standard 486-based systems and 15 percent
faster than Pentium-based systems running NextStep, based on
NX benchmarks.

Canon says its proprietary video subsystem is the basis which
creates the advantages found in speeding video throughput of
NextStep's native resolution.

The workstation matches NextStep's designated workstation-
class video resolution of 1,120 by 832 pixels and has met all
of the necessary standards to earn the NextStep-certified
system label, which assures Next customers of compatibility
and Next support.

Immediately available and priced at under $6,500, "object.station
41" is delivered with NextStep 3.2 pre-installed and a demo-
version of Insignia Solutions' SoftPC for running Windows and
DOS applications within NextStep.

The system features two 2 megabytes (MB) of VRAM, 16MB
RAM, CD-quality audio with SoundBlaster compatibility, 32-bit
LAN (local area network) interface, SCSI (small computer
systems interface)-2 controllers, a Canon keyboard with Next-
specific keycaps, keyboard-resident audio volume and monitor
brightness controls, and the ability to upgrade to Pentium
processing through Pentium Overdrive technology.

(Patrick McKenna/19940621/Press Contact: Christine
Thomas, Hajjar/Kaufman, tel [phone]/CANON940622/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00010)

TI Intros Network Interface For MicroLaser Printers 06/22/94
TEMPLE, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Texas Instruments has
announced a new network interface for its microLaser Pro 600
printers that simultaneously supports four of the popular network
operating systems using any of three different interfaces.

TI says its new Pro Network Interface (PNI) option supports Novell
Netware, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol,
a low level protocol standard used for non-proprietary networks
such as the Internet), Microsoft LAN (local area network) Manager,
and IBM LANServer network protocols.

PNI allows a microLaser Pro 600 to be connected to a network using
10BaseT, 10Base2, or 10Base5 interfaces. 10BaseT is an Ethernet
thin unshielded twisted cable interface that requires concentrators
with a port for each connected device. 10Base2 is the designation
for the Ethernet protocol running on a thin coaxial cable, while
10Base5 is for Ethernet running on a thick coaxial cable.

TI says the microLaser Pro 600 printer is designed for the high
volume printing associated with workgroups. it uses a RISC (reduced
instruction-set computing) processor, has a 500-sheet capacity paper
tray, built-in Localtalk, six megabytes (MB) of standard memory,
Adobe's Postscript Level 2 software and can print at up to 600
dots-per-inch (dpi).

PNI ships with PRINTSET network management software. A
feature called Automatic Protocol Sensing allows the printer to
simultaneously monitor and automatically switch to the proper
network protocol when a print job is executed, without any manual
intervention by the operator.

Port switching and printer language switching is also automatic.
TI says the port switching is done through an intelligent interfacing
feature that allows all ports to remain active when more than one
computer is connected to the printer. The automatic printer
language switching between Hewlett-Packard and Postscript
modes is done via Adobe's IntelliSelect technology.

TI offers several options for the microLaser Pro 600, including
Powerstep to boost performance to the performance level of a 40
megahertz RISC workstation and provides four times the cache
storage plus built-in floating point processing. Memory upgrades
to 22MB and additional fonts and communications interfaces are
also available.

TI spokesperson Jerry Rycaj told Newsbytes the PNI option has a
suggested retail price of $599 and is shipping immediately. The
microLaser Pro 600 series printers start at $1,599.

(Jim Mallory/19940622/Press contact: Jerry Rycaj, Texas
Instruments, 817-774-6110; Reader contact: Texas Instruments,
800-848-3927)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00011)

DynaTek Launches Mac Storage Line 06/22/94
BEDFORD, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Storage
peripherals maker DynaTek Automation Systems Inc. has moved
into the Apple Macintosh market with a line of disk drives, tape
drives, and optical storage devices, all using the small computer
systems interface (SCSI).

These are DynaTek's first products designed specifically for the
Macintosh, company spokesman Andrew Clarke told Newsbytes.

All the new models combine DynaTek designs and software with
basic assemblies from other manufacturers. The collection
includes five hard drive assemblies using Quantum hard disks,
four removable-media drives with SyQuest cartridges, three
digital audio tape (DAT) drives using Sony technology, three
rewritable optical drives using Fujitsu and Sony components, and
a 600 megabyte (MB) CD-ROM drive based on Toshiba equipment.

All the devices are supplied with ComPass Pro 3.0, software from
DynaTek that provides diagnostics and testing as well as a SCSI
code editor and an audio compact disk control program.

They also support the SCSI Manager 4.3 that comes with Apple's
Power Mac models, making use of its asynchronous transfer mode
to provide access to multiple SCSI buses with mirroring capability.
This capability, not to be confused with the asynchronous
transfer mode (ATM) used in high-speed networking, allows
simultaneous access to more than one SCSI drive, Clarke said.

Prices for the new models range from C$574 or US$429 for a MB
hard drive assembly to C$4,789 or US$3,569 for a 1.3 gigabyte
(GB) rewritable optical system. Hard drive assemblies are
available in capacities up to 1GB, and removable media drives
in capacities from 88MB to 270MB.

(Grant Buckler/19940622/Press Contact: Andrew Clarke,
DynaTek, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00012)

Vancouver-Area BBS Charged With Software Piracy 06/22/94
BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Lee
Thomas Adams, system operator of the Shadow bulletin board
system (BBS), has become the third Canadian sysop to be charged
with software piracy, and the first west of Toronto.

Charges were laid early this month on 16 counts of copyright
infringement involving software from Borland International Inc.,
IBM, Lotus Development Corp., Symantec Corp., and WordPerfect
Corp., according to the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft
(CAAST), a Toronto-based piracy watchdog that helped police
with the case.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Vancouver
investigated the Shadow BBS over several months after receiving
information about pirated software on the board, CAAST
spokesman Allan Reynolds told Newsbytes.

He said court proceedings are still under way against Legion of
Death, a Toronto bulletin board against which similar charges
were laid a few months ago, and 90 North, a board in Montreal
that was the first Canadian BBS charged with software piracy
more than two years ago.

Figures from the Business Software Association, an anti-piracy
group in the United States, say the software industry loses more
than US$12.8 billion due to piracy each year.

(Grant Buckler/19940622/Press Contact: Michael Eisen, Morris
Rose Ledgett for CAAST, tel [phone]; Allan Reynolds,
CAAST, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact:
CAAST, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00013)

Encyclopedia Britannica To Develop Florida Education Sys 06/22/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Encyclopedia
Britannica Educational Corporation (EBEC) has announced an
agreement with the state of Florida to co-develop a cross-platform
file server and software applications for the state's educational
system.

EBEC says the School Year 2000 Learning Support System will provide
students, faculty, administrators and parents with access to a wide
array of information and data.

The project is a joint effort on the part of the Florida Department
of Education, Florida School Districts, Florida Legislature, and the
Center for Educational Technology at Florida State University.

It is intended to implement a "technology-supported system of
schooling" its designers hope will "increase the productivity of
Florida public schools and provide students with skills and
competencies necessary in an increasingly technology-oriented
world."

Wendy Cullar, program director for School Year 2000, told
Newsbytes the system is designed to supplement, not replace
the traditional school setting.

Asked if children would eventually receive all their education
via computers while remaining at home, Cullar said they probably
will not, although a sick student could keep up with their school
work from home.

Added Cullar, "The school performs three roles. In addition to
teaching children, it also has a custodial function," which allows
the parents to go to work, "and a socialization one."

The School Year 2000 will offer children specific drills to perform
on the computer, such as working on math problems to prepare for
the afternoon math class. The students might also prepare reports
on the system, which can be evaluated by the teacher online. The
system will refer the student to various applicable resources for
that report.

The LSS system planners will be exploring the use of an open data
standard that will allow other companies to integrate new or
existing software into the system. LSS will run on IBM-compatible
and Macintosh platforms on school and district-wide local area
networks (LANs).

EBEC gets marketing rights to the system and will work with the
state to develop the 11 sub-systems that will interface with the
overall system. The sub-systems include curriculum, instruction,
assessment, student and family services, mission, quality,
evaluation, management operations, human resource development,
logistics and research and development. EBEC says many of those
will be developed in conjunction with other vendors.

The company says it expects to have a working prototype of the
Learning Support System completed and tested in seven school
districts by the Spring of 1995.

(Jim Mallory/19940621/Press contact: Pam Pesavento, Ogilvy Adams
& Rinehart for EBEC, 312-988-2513; Reader contact: Wendy Cullar,
Florida State University, 904-644-7447 or Phil Stockton,
Encyclopedia Britannica, 312-347-7950)


(NEWS)(IBM)(BOS)(00014)

Sidekick For Windows 1st App In Borland "Slimline" 06/22/94
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- The first
Windows-based version of Sidekick, which started shipping last
week, is also the first of a group of three or four applications
that Borland plans to release by the end of this fall under its new
"Simplicity" brand, Newsbytes has learned.

Also referred to by Borland as the "slimware" line, the Simplicity
products are being produced by Borland's new Consumer Products
Division, for a target market of "workgroups of one," according to
a company spokesperson.

This week, Borland officially unveiled the Consumer Division, as
well as the division's first product. As previously reported in
Newsbytes, though, Sidekick for Windows started to be sold in
retail stores last week. At about the same time, Ambra Computer
began to bundle Sidekick, in addition to Borland Office 2.0, with
all its subnotebooks and two of its notebook models.

Shipping a product first, and then introducing it later, is unusual
practice in the software industry, the spokesperson told Newsbytes.
"Usually, things are the other way around," he pointed out.

In a move just as unusual, Borland waited six months from the
actual establishment of the Consumer Division before announcing the
existence of the department. "We wanted to make sure we had product
in our hands," he explained.

Sidekick for Windows and the new Simplicity family reflect a new
two-pronged approach to software development at Borland, the
spokesperson reported. "Philippe Kahn, Borland's president and
chief executive officer (CEO), has written that there are two basic
design methodologies," he said. "One methodology is to make
software so simple that there are no obvious deficiencies. The
other methodology is to fulfill a huge list of features, making the
software so complex that there are no obvious deficiencies."

Although other departments within Borland will continue to develop
suites and other large and complex products, the new Consumer
Division has "opted for radical simplicity," according to the
spokesperson.

The first commercial release of Sidekick for Windows is actually
only the latest in a series of iterations that has taken place over
several years, he said.

Borland was getting ready to launch a much different version, which
would have shipped on seven floppy disks, when alpha testing in a
new usability lab convinced the company to shift gears. The lab was
established last October, after Borland moved to new headquarters
in Scotts Valley, California, he said.

Alpha testers at the lab told Borland that the seven-disk version
bore little resemblance to their concept of Sidekick, which was
drawn from the original edition for DOS. "Users were saying things
like, `This isn't the Sidekick I know.' Or, `This seems more like
a suite.'"

A full 80 percent of those who tried the seven-disk prototype ended
up using only 20 percent of the features, the spokesperson
continued. "We decided to make it possible for 80 percent of the
features to be used by 80 percent of users."

As a result, the first commercial release for Windows is a "tightly
integrated" one-disk product that is "fast, flexible, and literally,
fun," Newsbytes was told.

Through a "quick menu" function, for instance, Sidekick users can
place an icon on the menu bar of any Windows application, for "one-
click" access to any component within Sidekick. The components
include a calendar, calculator, card file, and contact manager,
plus a freeform "notes" section.

The new Borland division is also making a conscious effort not to
inflict "fascist software demands" on customers, the spokesperson
said. "Our products will be designed to work the way people 'really
work.' We will not be telling people that they must list all names
with a first name, last name, and middle initial, or that they can
only store four addresses. They might want to store 15 or 20."

The organizational structure of the Consumer Products Division is
as "slim" as the new Simplicity line, he noted. Functions such as
research and development and advertising are "outsourced,"
with only the most essential services being performed in-house.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940622/Press Contacts: Knox Richardson,
Borland, 408-431-1000; Pam Erickson or Anne Marie Clark,
Cunningham Communication for Ambra, 617-494-8202; Reader
Contacts: Borland, 408-431-1000; Ambra, 800-25-AMBRA)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00015)

X Terminals From HDS Integrate PC, Mac, Unix 06/22/94
KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Human
Designed Systems (HDS) has announced the ViewStation Ultra Series,
a line of X Window terminals that is positioned primarily against
PCs and Macs, and only secondarily against traditional X terminal
rivals like workstations and character-based terminals.

In a pre-briefing with Newsbytes in Boston, Michael Kantrowitz, VP
of marketing, said that members of the Ultra Series provide the
same kind of ability to run PC, Mac, and Unix applications as
an Apple Power Macintosh, but "operate ten times faster in a Unix
environment," and are less costly to buy and maintain.

Being displayed this week at the Xhibition trade show in San Jose,
California, the six members of the new series range from the 14C,
a 14-inch color X terminal priced at $1,799, to the high-end Ultra
CT, a 19-inch terminal costing $3,599.

Each of the new X terminals is based on an Intel i960CA RISC
(reduced instruction-set computing) processor, performs at 152,000
Xstones, offers 1,280 by 1,024 resolution, and comes standard with
eight megabytes (MB) of RAM, according to the VP.

Each terminal also provides an integrated 3.5-inch disk drive that
allows the user to "take a floppy disk from a PC or Macintosh, plug
it into the Ultra, transfer it to any computer on the network, and
in conjunction with Windows or Macintosh emulation software, run
PC applications right at the X terminal," he told Newsbytes.

The Ultra terminals operate HDSware 3.0, a new version of HDS' X
Server software that permits users to run applications locally on
their X terminals to offload existing computers, Kantrowitz said.
HDSware 3.0 "runs much faster" than X server software for PCs or
Macs, he maintained.

The Ultras also compete against other X terminals, but none of
these rivals offer "the same level of integration to bridge the gap
between the PC, the Mac, and Unix on the desktop," he contended.

The Ultra Series also offers better price/performance than
competing X terminals, he said. For example, the 17-inch Ultra 17C,
priced at $2,399, offers twice as much RAM as the competing NCD
ECX terminal and almost three times the performance, for almost
$200 less. The NCD performs at 52,000 Xstones and comes standard
with 4MB of RAM, according to Kantrowitz.

The new X terminals from HDS ship with full copies of: the OSF
(Open Software Foundation)/Motif and Open Look window managers;
emulation of DEC VT320 and IBM 3270 terminals; clocks;
calculators; a screen saver with a local lock; and a PostScript
display application, he said.

An optional application, HDS Video, allows viewing of 30 frames-per-
second video within a window. The Ultra terminals support several
video compression/decompression standards, including Indeo, Sun's
Cel-B, and MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group), the VP added.

PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
slots are also optionally available, according to Kantrowitz.

The terminals use SoftWindows from Insignia Solutions for Microsoft
Windows emulation and Apple's Macintosh Application Environment
(MAE) for Macintosh emulation.

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based HDS introduced "the industry's
first windowing terminals" way back in 1977, Kantrowitz noted.
"We should have patented the idea," he quipped.

HDS currently produces two additional X terminal lines. Members of
the Viewstation FX line, an entry-level series rolled out two years
ago, perform at 100,000 Xstones, he reported.

Members of the Viewstation Dual Series, which "allow the customer
to have two monitors," fulfill "niche markets" such as "financial
trading, emergency dispatch, and other areas where the user needs
to see more information."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940622/Reader Contact: Human Designed
Systems, 800-SDS-1551; Press Contact: Tom Harkins, HDS,
610-277-8300)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00016)

Ethics Campaign Gets Official Launch, SPA Support 06/22/94
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- The National
Computer Ethics & Responsibilities Campaign (NCERC) was
officially launched with a press conference on Capitol Hill June
21, and the Software Publishers' Association (SPA) added its
name to the list of sponsors.

NCERC was the brainchild of Dr. Peter Tippett, director of
security and enterprise products for Symantec Corp. and
co-chairman of NCERC. Its principal sponsor is The Computer
Ethics Institute, a Washington-based group founded in 1992. A
variety of companies and other organizations are also sponsors.

In adding its name to the list of sponsoring groups, the SPA
emphasized its concerns about software piracy, an issue on which
it has been outspoken in the past, and content ratings for video
games to warn parents of violent or sexually explicit content.

Christopher Hopkins, public relations coordinator for the SPA,
told Newsbytes his organization's involvement in NCERC is likely
to revolve around those issues for the time being.

NCERC's organizers have raised various other computer ethics
issues as well, including individual privacy. NCERC's launch at
the Rayburn House office building included a demonstration of
online searching for supposedly private personal records and of
some information systems used by the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

NCERC officials said they do not plan to take specific positions
on ethical issues, but simply to draw attention to the concerns.
The group plans various activities to do this. For instance, one
sponsor of NCERC is the CompuServe online information service,
which has set up an ethics forum online. Symantec is giving free
copies of its software to electronic bulletin board system
operators who post one of the various computing codes of ethics
on their sign-on screens.

Michael Volpe, a spokesman for NCERC, told Newsbytes that some of
NCERC's sponsors are contributing in kind, as with Symantec's
software giveaway and CompuServe's online ethics forum, while
others make cash contributions of $6,000 to $10,000, depending on
the size of the company, to fund NCERC.

NCERC's sponsors and affiliates include: the Atterbury
Foundation, American University; the Boston Computer Society; the
Business Software Alliance; CompuServe; the Computing Technology
Industry Association; EDUCOM; the IEEE Computer Society; the
Jefferson Circle; Merrill Lynch; Monsanto; the National Computer
Security Association; the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse; Software
Creations BBS; the Software Publishers Association; Symantec; the
Washington Consulting Group; and Ziff-Davis Publishing.

(Grant Buckler/19940622/Press Contact: Michael Volpe, NCERC, tel
703-534-5022; Peter Tippett, NCERC, tel [phone]; Public
Contact: NCERC, tel [phone], fax [phone], Internet
[e-mail])


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

More On Ziff Interchange & Star Tribune 06/22/94
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- News editors
at the Minneapolis Star Tribune were behind that paper's decision
to affiliate with Ziff's Interchange online service, Newsbytes has
learned.

Newsbytes discussed the decision with Robert Schafer, who will
be the "publisher" of the new service. He identified himself, new
Star Tribune Online Editor/Manager Steve Yelvington, and Star
Tribune Senior Vice President Tim McGuire, as the decision
makers.

"We struggled" with the decision, he admitted. "Alternatives had
advantages." But in the end, "We were impressed with Ziff's
technology, and saw things in the technology that would be good
marketing points for our service -- its search capabilities, its
multitasking, doing things in the background, the ability to do
repetitive searches and have material in the in-box. These were
also key marketing assets."

Money also entered into it. "We thought highly of Ziff's
financial model for publishing partners," he said. "It has to do
with recognizing the needs of publishing partners to have
revenue flow that would cover expenses."

Schafer noted, however, that the Star Tribune itself will carry
the marketing burden for the new service. "What we're thinking is
our service will be a local service, and that regardless of what
partner we selected, the primary responsibility would be with us.
Some online services have an installed customer base here, but if
it only attracted those customers, we wouldn't have a success. We
must market our service to the Twin Cities area and bring new
people to online services."

As to other new media operations of the Star Tribune, "We've got
a real small fax service," Schafer said. In terms of voice
services, the paper has a free service that gets about five million
calls per year and has been in operation 2-3 years. "We don't
have N11 -- our public utilities commission tabled that," so
numbers similar to Cox Enterprises' 511, which like the 911
emergency number only work within a local calling area, aren't
available in Minnesota."

Newsbytes asked about whose computers would host the service,
and what they would cost. "Ziff will be hosting everything on its
service with its computers," he said. "There would be a daytime
surcharge" but "we expect costs to be lower than $15 a month,
including five hours of use a month," in line with the costs of
using America OnLine. "One beauty of the Ziff system is that,
because it's easy to download material, you can read it off
line," reducing readers' costs.

The paper will also work to bring its advertisers onto the new
service, Schafer said,. "We want to make an effort to bring in
our advertisers. Some of them will be very interested in a new
medium, and will want to explore the advertising possibilities."
Ziff has demonstrated that capability to Star Tribune editors, he
said.

Newsbytes noted that Cowles owns "Mobile Computing " magazine
as well as Simba Information, a market research firm in the
technology industry, and asked whether those units played a role
in this decision. "We talk much more with other newspapers around
the country" than with other Cowles property, he replied, "to see
their reasons they went in other areas."

He found the "Kansas City Star and San Francisco paper are
working on their own systems. We've talked with papers going with
Prodigy and America OnLine. We spent more time talking with those
people...we did have contacts with a person at Cowles' magazines.
We kept in touch to let other parts of the company know what's
going on, but it was not a situation where we were getting okays
from corporate."

As to the background on Cowles, it is 60 percent owned by the
Cowles family, and while it is mainly considered a private
company, some stock in it is traded through Minneapolis
brokerages.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940622/Press Contact: Stephanie Cadmus,
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 612-673-7672; Lisa Landa, Interchange,
612-252-5211; Star Tribune Online, Robert Schafer: e-mail:
[e-mail])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00018)

Notable Offers Wireless Messaging 06/22/94
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Adapting to
the wireless market "as it is," in the words of a company official,
Notable Technologies Inc. announced AirNote, an all-in-one
wireless messaging offering using paging services.

AirNote will come complete with software, a text pager, a
personal Internet address, the free activation of network and
operator services, and one-call customer support, the company
said. It will retail for $349. Paging services will be provided
through PageNet, the nation's largest paging operator, and
SkyTel, with prices ranging from $19.95 to $124.95 per month,
depending on message volumes and coverage areas.

Using the system, messages can be typed into any modem-equipped
PC using the AirNote software. Electronic-mail messages can be sent
using the AirNote pager's Internet address. Voice messages can
also be sent via telephone, through a toll-free number. In those
cases messages are dictated to operators. LAN (local area network)
mail packages, like Lotus' cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail, can also be
linked to the pager.

Newsbytes discussed this with Barry Dewey, Notable's vice
president-strategic planning. "There's a set of computer users,"
mobile executives, that the company is aiming at, he said. "We
tried to put together specific solutions for each group. For the
Internet user we have a gateway to the pager, stripping out
routing codes and compressing messages. We've also looked at the
needs of e-mail users, developing our AutoNote software so they
can develop a set of routines" incorporating the pager into
corporate-wide e-mail networks.

"We've also looked at heavy voice mail users and provided a
feature for sending messages through a live operator," he added.

Like many other companies that started with pen-based computing,
field computing and mobile computing offerings, Notable has been
struggling to lift-off. Dewey said the company is not abandoning
its other work, but admitted, "We're working with the market as it
is today."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940622/Press Contact: Matt Kresch, Notable
Technologies, 510/208-4424)


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

 ****Pipeline On SprintNet For National Internet Access 06/22/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- The Pipeline, an
Internet service provider noted for its Windows-based interface,
announced it has signed an agreement to link with SprintNet. The
agreement means that the service is now available via a dial-up
to a local phone number from SprintNet nodes in the US and
internationally.

Essentially, the agreement puts access to The Pipeline on a par
with that of consumer services like America OnLine and
Prodigy, which also depend on packet networks to route calls to
their main systems.

The Pipeline was founded by James Gleick, a journalist best-
known as the author of the books "Chaos" and "Genius." He said in
a recent Newsbytes interview that, in his group's excitement
over the Internet's possibilities, they worked quickly to develop
a Windows-based interface, expecting they would be even with
the market or a bit late.

To Gleick's surprise, The Pipeline was the first to market with
the interface, and as a result he is currently working full-time
for his company. The number of Pipeline users has been doubling
every two months, despite having to use a local New York number
for access.

In addition to the SprintNet connection, the Pipeline is
continuing to move ahead on new software. The company told
Newsbytes a Macintosh version of the software is now in beta
test, and Version 2.0 of its main package will be out shortly.
That version will include a Mosaic-style browser for World Wide
Web resources.

Beyond the Pipeline's standard rates of $15 per month, SprintNet
customers will pay a surcharge of $5 per hour during prime-time
hours, $2.50 per hour at other times. That is still much less than
the cost of a long distance call, the company noted.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940622/Press Contact: Pipeline, Susan
deSesa, tel [phone], fax [phone]; electronic-mail:
[e-mail])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Wireless Cable Operators Form Alliance 06/22/94
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Hoping to become
closer competitors with wired cable networks, six wireless cable
companies have announced a new research alliance.

Wireless cable, formerly called Microwave Multipoint Distribution
Systems (MMDS), has been around for some time, but it has not
been a real competitor to cable because it offers few channels
and had no ability to accept data from subscribers for services
like pay-per-view. Among the alliance's members is Zenith
Electronics, which will offer technology in this area.

"This is over the air transmission of TV programming, but using
microwave signals," explained Zenith spokesman John Taylor to
Newsbytes. "To receive it you need a set-top device not unlike a
set-top converter on a wired cable system. There's a lot of
interest all of a sudden -- the industry's been around 20 years
and it's starting to grow.

"We are offering technology in digital set-top decoders it will
take to receive the signals, in transmission technology that will
send bits of programming through the air, and two-way technology,
which we feel will be key," he continued.

"Traditionally wireless cable has been one-way, like broadcast
television, but we've developed a two-way technology that allows
full real-time interaction with the studio for pay-per-view
activities, opinion-polling, gaming, whatever," he said. Data will
go from subscribers to systems at modem speeds, however, not
broadband speeds.

Members of the alliance are: American Telecasting Inc., of
Colorado Springs, Colorado, which is the largest service provider
in the field; Andrew Corp. of Orland Park, Illinois; California
Amplifier of Carmel, California; EMCEE Broadcast Products of
White Haven, Pennsylvania; Microwave Filter Co. of Syracuse, New
York; and Zenith. The alliance may be expanded depending on the
needs of the group. The alliance was announced at the industry's
trade show.

Jon Schumacher, director of engineering and technology for
American Telecasting, said the alliance plans to develop wireless
digital technologies that will enable consumers to receive from
150 to 300 channels, including near video-on-demand pay-per-
view movie offerings.

Efforts will also be directed toward wireless telephone service
and interactive-based services. They will also involve working
with the Federal Communications Commission in the development
of rules for the application of digital equipment and
transmissions using microwave technology.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940622/Press Contact: Jon Schumacher,
American Telecasting, 719-632-5544; John Taylor, Zenith,
708-391-8181)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(DEN)(00021)

Polaroid Scanner Digitizes Slides In 30 Seconds 06/22/94
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Polaroid
Corporation has introduced a new 35 millimeter (mm) slide scanner
that can digitize an image in 30 seconds.

Polaroid says its SprintScan 35 can grab a slide image five- to
15-times faster than other desktop slide scanners currently
available, and do it in a single pass.

The SprintScan 35 captures 10 bits-per-color at 3.0 density range
and outputs the image to a computer at eight bits-per-color with a
resolution of up to 2,700 dots-per-inch (dpi). It can scan color or
black-and-white negative (print) or positive (slide) film, mounted
or unmounted transparencies or film strips.

The scanner sends its images to a Macintosh or Windows-based
personal computer via a standard SCSI-2 (small computer system
interface type 2) interface. SprintScan ships with a software
plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. There is also a TWAIN driver and a
TWAIN-compatible scanning utility for use with Windows-based
systems.

Polaroid says SprintScan is targeted at desktop publishers,
graphics arts professionals and pre-press service bureaus. The
system reportedly automatically corrects color and sharpens the
image during the scanning process.

SprintScan 35 has a suggested retail price of $2,495 and is
scheduled to ship in August.

(Jim Mallory/19940622/Press contact: Michael Spataro, Polaroid
Corp., 617-577-2455; Reader contact: Polaroid, 800-662-8337
ext 971)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00022)

 ****Microsoft Intros "Exchange" E-Mail/Messaging 06/22/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Calling it
"every bit as important as our last really big initiative, which was
bringing out Microsoft Windows," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates
has unveiled the company's "next-generation" electronic mail and
messaging product.

Microsoft's Tom Evslin said the company has been working for more
than three years on Microsoft Exchange Server, a product Microsoft
hopes will challenge Lotus Development Corporation's Notes. Evslin
is general manager in charge of the Exchange program, which
has been developed under the code name "Touchdown."

Gates introduced Exchange during his keynote address at the
Information Exchange Conference (formerly the Microsoft Mail Users
Conference) in Seattle's Washington State Convention and Trade
Center. The presentation was broadcast live to more than 1,000
sites around the country via the Interactive Information Network
to an estimated 60,000 viewers.

Exchange is expected to be the successor to Microsoft Mail and will
allow users connected to a network to share files, databases and
scheduling information, as well as send and receive electronic mail,
faxes and voice messages. Gates called Exchange "The product that's
taking us into the next-generation of computing."

Microsoft spokesperson Kymra Carruthers told Newsbytes that
Exchange will be compatible with current versions of Windows
as well as the DOS operating system and Apple Computer Inc.'s
68000-based Macintosh line of computers. Carruthers said
Microsoft has not decided yet whether it will be compatible
with Apple's recently announced Power Macintosh PCs.

Evslin demonstrated Exchange for about 2,000 people at a
Microsoft gathering using "Chicago," the next generation of
Windows expected to ship late this year or early in 1995, as a
platform. Newsbytes reported earlier this week that Chicago has
entered beta testing, the second phase of product testing prior to
entering production.

Evslin said Exchange will not be available until well after Chicago
is launched. However, Chicago will include at least one Exchange
feature, a universal "in" box that will appear graphically as a file
folder icon. It will collect and sort electronic mail and other
messages including online services.

Microsoft Exchange Server will run on the Windows NT Server
operating system. The company declined to discuss Exchange
price or predict when in 1995 it would come to market.

In Stockholm, Ericsson GE Mobile Communications has announced
that its wireless Mobidem radio modem can be used with Microsoft
Exchange. The modem provides two-way wireless messaging from
remote locations.

More than 60 companies, including Mead Data Central, GE Information
Services,  Hitachi, McCaw Cellular Communications, Motorola,
Sequent Computer Systems, and SkyTel Corporation also announced
support for Exchange.

(Jim Mallory/19940622/Press contact: Microsoft Corporation,
206-882-8080)


(NEWS)(IBM)(SFO)(00023)

Apex Intros Cellular Direct Modem & PCMCIA Audio Card 06/22/94
PLEASANTON, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Wireless
mobile computing has been a hot topic in the past six months, but
many mobile computer users have had to juggle modems and cellular
phones looking for a match for the phone's data interface. They also
have to struggle with line noise and interruption of data
transmission. Now Apex Data, in alliance with Celeritas, has
announced Cellular Direct, a Type II PCMCIA (Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association) cellular modem.

The product features support for 23 different cellular phones, and
a smart cable to the phone's data interface and Celeritas' TX-CEL
technology, which reportedly improves fax and data throughput
regardless of the error correction protocol used.

Interested parties may preview Cellular Direct at PC Expo, June
28-30, in New York, where Apex will also debut Audio Express.

According to Apex, Audio Express, a 16-bit input-output, audio
PCMCIA Type II card, is the first PCMCIA audio card for the OS/2
platform, as well as DOS and Windows.

Ross Forman, vice president of research and development for Apex,
told Newsbytes, "The use of TX-CEL technology within the card
actually cleans the sound and works with error correction. We call it
error avoidance. The advantages it provides to users are a marked
improvement over the level of existing technology."

Available on August 1, 1994, this new modem is priced at $329.
Apex predicts sales to be strong in automated outside sales forces
commonly found in both corporate and small business sales
departments, government, utility companies, and executive
travelers.

Forman said, "The creation of easier communication for mobile
users allows a company to reduce the time its sales force is in
the office and also allows the sales person the freedom of not
using a customers phone line."

Apex claims that Audio Express delivers "true" 16-bit sound, and
gives notebook, laptop and palmtop computer users the ability to
record and play audio files, multimedia extensions and voice-
annotated documents.

Selling for $399, this Type II PCMCIA card is delivered with a
detachable microphone module, miniature speakers, headphone
jack, a diagnostic utility and a text-reading software application.

According to Apex, Audio Express is the first PCMCIA audio card
to gain approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

Speaking to Newsbytes, Glenn Cordero, director of product
development for Apex, said, "We see a wide range of customers
for Audio Express, as well as outside sales forces, we see this
as valuable to presentation professionals, educators and people
in the disabled community."

Cordero continued, "Apex wants to play a very strong role in the
development of multimedia. We are company that focuses on
sophisticated mobile computing products that are compatible
throughout the line and backed by technical support. We have
concentrated on simplicity of installation and easy of use."

(Patrick McKenna/19940621/Press Contact: Wendy Bulawa,
McGrath/Power, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00024)

Germany - PC Manufacturer Vobis Predicts 30% Growth 06/22/94
AACHEN, GERMANY, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Theo Lieven, head of Vobis
Microcomputer, the German PC manufacturer, says he expects
turnover for the company to be up by more than 30 percent this
year, to top the DM2,400 million mark.

The prediction comes in the wake of a similar growth increase
last year, when turnover reached the DM1,850 million mark, although
profits did halve to DM30 million in the year's trading. Lieven said
he is unhappy with this fall in profits and has taken action to
improve the situation during the current year.

Lieven said that the problem last year was that, while PC pricing was
cut, along with profit margins, advertising was not. As a result, the
bottom line profits were eroded.

Part of the problem with the German PC market, as with the rest of
the world, he explained, was that potential buyers of PC hardware
were holding back, waiting to see what will happen with new
technologies such as local bus and Pentium processors.

Interestingly, Lieven views the bloodbath taking place in the no-name
unbranded PC marketplace in Europe as not affecting Vobis, as the
company's Highscreen PC brand name is now sufficiently established
to place the company in the branded sector.

Last year Vobis sold about 330,000 Highscreen PCs in Germany and
445,000 in Europe generally, as well as around 20,000 Compaq PCs as
well. These figures, Newsbytes notes, compare well with Germany's
annual PC sales of around 2.5 million units, giving Vobis around 13
percent of the domestic German PC marketplace.

One interesting trend in the German PC marketplace, Vobis claims, is
that the average price of a PC is actually rising. Despite dramatic
discounting, users are electing to buy much higher specification
machines than they did a few years ago, along with extras such as
extra memory and bundled software. The end result is that the price
per PC paid is growing.

Lieven said that he does not see Vobis as pitching into the discount
market too hard this year. Instead, he sees local customer support as
the way to extra sales and profits. Over the last year, the company
has open more than 30 new stores, meaning that Vobis now has 270
outlets in Europe.

The market for local PC shops is getting saturated, however. On a
recent visit to Germany for the Cebit Computer Faire, Newsbytes
noted that the number of computer stores in cities such as Hamburg
and Hannover had risen dramatically. Lieven seems to agree this
point -- claiming that, in some cities, there are more computer
stores than bakers.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940622/Press & Reader Contact: Vobis,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00025)

Germany's Computer 2000 Acquires Latin American Firms 06/22/94
MUNICH, GERMANY, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Computer 2000, the Pan-
European computer distributor, has announced two new acquisitions
in the Latin American computer marketplace. In Argentina, the
company has acquired Distribucion Nacional de Informatica (DNI)
of Buenos Aires and DNI's subsidiary NewLotus. In Uruguay,
meanwhile, it has acquired Namer of Montevideo.

According to Computer 2000, DNI and Namer are the two premier
software distributors in their respective countries, generating a
turnover of around DM24 million a year between them. This is a
drop in the ocean against Computer 2000's European group turnover
which was DM2,800 million last year, DM1,700 million of it
outside its home German market.

According to Computer 2000, the two Latin America acquisitions
are self-financing, meaning that little or no cash is being drawn
off the European operation to finance the acquisitions.

Financial details of the acquisitions, which involved private
companies, have not yet been revealed, but Newsbytes was told
they are subject to regulatory approval in Latin America.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940622/Press & Reader Contact: Computer
2000, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LON)(00026)

UK - Novell Extends NetWare 4 Promotion 06/22/94
BRACKNELL, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Novell has
has extended its NetWare 4.xx sales promotion to the end of the
year. Under the promotion customers buying copies of the high-end
network operating system (NOS) qualify for free updates for a
further six months.

Chris Solomon, brand marketing specialist with the NetWare
Systems Group, said that the promotion, "Benefits those customers
who will invest in NetWare 4.01 or even 4.02. Because the upgrades
are free, there is a tangible advantage in installing NetWare 4 now
and introducing later versions when appropriate."

In parallel with the free updates promo, Novell has announced it is
migrating to supplying NetWare 4.xx installation and update program
modules on CD-ROM as a standard option. By using CD-ROM instead
of floppy disks, Novell claims it can offer enhanced modules and
utilities, such as extra operating system patches for unusual
system configurations.

(Steve Gold/19940633/Press & Reader Contact: Novell UK,
[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00027)

British Telecom Intros EDI Billing In UK 06/22/94
LONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- British Telecom (BT) has
announced it is supplying bills for its major corporate customers in
electronic data interchange (EDI) format. Initially, the service is
available to customers on BT's OneBill service, a facility by which
all BT bills are aggregated into a single account.

The EDI*Bill service has been introduced, BT officials said, to allow
major companies to directly incorporate the billing information,
including the breakdown of the data, into their financial models,
such as database and spreadsheet applications.

Andrew Cottam, BT's EDI*Bill marketing manager, said that supplying
the bills in EDI format gives customers a clear overview of network
charges, without them having to consolidate or key in large amounts
of data.

"EDI*Bill is a European "first" which should be viewed as a strategic
tool of value not only to the information technology (IT) and
communications team, but also to finance, accounts, bought ledger
and other administrative functions," he said. "When the OneBill is
due, it is sent automatically from BT's computers to the customer's
electronic mailbox."

One of the first customers to sign up for EDI*Bill is IBM, which
helped BT in the trials of the service. According to BT, Big Blue's
bills totalled around 34,000 paper documents a year. Under the
EDI*Bill service, IBM now gets one bill via EDI and allows all the
data on a month's usage by IBM sites around the UK to be fed into
IBM's financial computer system in around 30 seconds.

British Gas is another major customer of BT that is hooked into the
EDI*Bill service. According to David Payne, British Gas' telecoms
manager, switching to EDI for its bills has allowed the company to
"streamline the internal handling of our phone billing. Payment
times are reduced from over a month to between seven and 10 days.
We can undertake electronic audits of regional bills and, as EDI
is required in a OneBill format, we are gaining advantages from the
effects of both new procedures."

Payne is enthusiastic about using EDI for billing. He claims that
using EDI for BT bills has streamlined British Gas' handling of its
bills and allowed the company access to data on a more timely basis.
"EDI is certainly the way forward to paperless billing and payment,"
he said.

(Steve Gold/19940622/Press Contact: Chris Ott, Jenny Bailey
Associates for BT, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LON)(00028)

WordPerfect UK Intros "24-Hour Global Office" Product 06/22/94
ADDLESTONE, SURREY, ENGLAND, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Continuing its
diversification away from its word processing software origins,
WordPerfect has announced the WordPerfect Telephone Access
Server (TAS), a product that it claims is set to revolutionize
the way people work.

According to WordPerfect, the TAS will help UK businesses to
generate significant savings through new telephone-based
technology. The product allows users of Symmetry 4.1 (until
recently known as WordPerfect Office) to be able to access and
manage electronic mail, calendar, scheduler, tasks and notes via
the telephone using touch tone keypad commands to control the
software remotely.

Shipment of TAS is expected worldwide during the third quarter of this
year, Newsbytes was told. WP claims that the product is "set to change
the way people work and in particular their relationship with the
office." Pricing will be announced at the time of shipment.

WordPerfect cites recent research that shows that only 22 percent of
the typical office worker's time is spent productively in the office.

Given the high cost to employers of commuting, congestion, expensive
floorspace and the resulting excessive energy consumption,
WordPerfect argues that TAS has the potential to reduce unproductive
"downtime," save on office occupancy costs and other overheads, as
well as reducing energy consumption and boosting employee
productivity.

Currently, most electronic mail systems only allow those working
away from their offices to gain access to their mailboxes through
a PC or Mac, modem and telephone line. As a result, WP argues that
many people have been denied the functionality and benefits of
electronic mail.

Using TAS, any telephone user will be able to: send, respond-to and
forward electronic-mail messages; accept, decline, and send
meeting or appointment requests; listen to and update their calendar;
accept, decline, or send tasks; and listen to and send notes.

In addition, users can determine if any message they have sent was
delivered, read, accepted, acted upon and/or deleted. A TAS user can
also issue instructions to have any calendar item or message faxed
or electronic mailed to any location in the world.

"TAS is the first stage in a new breed of technology from
WordPerfect that frees people up from being tied to a computer
and desk," explained David Godwin, general manager for sales
and marketing at WordPerfect UK. "TAS not only allows workers
to remain in touch with their desktops but also with anyone or
everyone on their company's computer network, anywhere in the
world, at any time of the day or night. Therefore for those who
work on the move TAS turns any TouchTone telephone -- even a
mobile phone - into their own personal global office."

To access Symmetry through TAS, users call a designated telephone
number, then enter their ID and password to gain access to their
personal mailboxes. According to WordPerfect, from the moment
they dial in, users are given voice commands on how to access
their information or send information to others.

To convert text messages into audio messages that can be heard over
the telephone or computer speakers WordPerfect has licensed the OS/2
version of Smooth Talker from First Byte. This package allows users to
listen to both audio and text messages that have been received through
the electronic mail system.

"Telephone Access Server is set to fundamentally change the way
many people work and in particular change the way they interact
with their offices," Godwin said.

"TAS not only sees the creation for the first time of a 24-hour global
office, but will also provide industry with significant benefits both
in terms of ease of communication and also real cost savings. It's
just one of a range of products designed to further enhance employee
and workgroup efficiency that WordPerfect will be launching over
the next 12 months," he added.

(Steve Gold/19940622/Press & Reader Contact: WordPerfect UK,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00029)

PCSL Opens Office In Scotland 06/22/94
RHYL, CLWYD, WALES, 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- Pinacl PCSL, the
networking and connectivity company, has opened an office in
Livingston, Scotland, an area fast becoming known as "the UK's
Silicon Valley." According to the company, the move is designed
to offer closer contacts with existing and potential new customers.

The new office will bring around 50 new jobs to the region over the
next 12 months and will employ systems engineers, technicians,
sales and support staff. The office was officially opened last
week by Geoff Andrews, PCSL's managing director.

"Since our management buyout of Pilkington Communications
Systems from Pilkington last September, we have concentrated on
a strategic plan of expansion to offer our customers more
immediate access to products and services," he explained.

"Scotland is an important market for us. The emergence of new
technologies and the prospect of integrating video, voice and data
creates a whole host of complex issues. Customers want this closer
liaison with us to help optimize their investments in information
technology," he said.

"The opening of a new office represents our long term commitment to
our Scottish customer base. To us, the Scottish office is more than
just a provincial site, but an important and strategic step towards
achieving closer contact with the market," he added.

(Steve Gold/19940622/Press & Reader Contact: Jane Harrad,
marketing manager with PCSL, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(DAL)(00030)

 ****AT&T, SGI Form New Interactive Digital Solutions Co. 06/22/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- In another deal
for interactive video, Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) has teamed up
with AT&T's Network Systems group to form a joint venture
company -- Interactive Digital Solutions. The new company, equally
owned by both partners, is aimed at providing telephone companies,
cable systems and other network providers movies-on-demand as
well as other interactive entertainment or information services.

SGI's contribution is its reduced instruction-set computing
(RISC) MIPS microprocessor engine in the form of a media server,
as well as providing system software. AT&T's contributions will
include high-speed switches, synchronous transport, broadband
access systems, and network operations systems as well as a
marketing base.

James M. Barton, former vice-president of SGI's media systems
division, will assume the full-time position of president and
general manager of the new Mountain View, California-based joint
venture company. AT&T Switching Systems President Dan Stanzione
will take the chairman spot.

"More and more telephone carriers and cable television companies
are planning to upgrade or enhance their infrastructure to
deliver interactive multimedia services to homes and offices,"
Barton said. "Interactive Digital Solutions will help them
introduce those services, creating the opportunity for a wide
variety of content owners to offer interactive products on a
wide-scale basis."

AT&T made comments about taking advantage of SGI's expertise in
"visual computing." These are references to the fact that SGI's
MIPS-based workstation computers have been used by companies
whose business is assisting film makers in creating special
effects. Probably the most famous SGI workstation user for this
type of work is Industrial Light and Magic, who created the
dinosaurs for the film "Jurassic Park."

SGI has been busy forming alliances for video technology using
its RISC MIPS microprocessor engine. The company announced a deal
with Japanese telephone giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
Corporation (NTT) to provide its 64-bit MIPS microprocessor
architecture, digital media servers, object-oriented network
software, and multimedia engine for NTT's 45 trillion yen ($410
billion) Joint Utilization Test of Multimedia Communications
project in Japan.

SGI also announced an agreement for a private Internet network
for video developers through an agreement with telephone services
provider Sprint. Last summer, SGI said it was working with Time
Warner on an interactive multimedia cable system aimed at home
users, to be prototyped first in Orlando, Florida. The Time
Warner deal includes SGI's MIPS architecture in both the servers
and the set-top boxes.

In another joint venture deal with Nintendo called Project Reality,
SGI's MIPS chip is to be the core of game playing systems aimed
first at arcades, and then at the home market.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940621/Press Contact: Blanchard Hiatt, AT&T
Network Systems, 201-606-3467; Jill Grossman, Silicon Graphics,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 06/22/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 22 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> Creative Intros Video/Conferencing/SOHO Products 06/22/94
Creative Technology has  announced new video and videoconferencing
products, as well as those designed to bring multimedia into the
small office/home  office (SOHO) market. The new products are the
Video Blaster  RT300 video capture card, the Sharevision PC300 and
Sharevision  PC3000 desktop video products for the personal
computer (PC)  platform, and the Sound Blaster Multimedia Office.

2 -> Lotus 2 Qtr Revenues $20M Lower Than Forecast 06/22/94   Lotus
now expects to achieve second quarter revenues of $230 to $240
million, about $20 to $25 million less than Wall Street analyst
estimates, company officials said in a teleconference. They
attributed the  shortfall mainly to shipment delays in upgrades to
SmartSuite, Lotus 1-2-3, Ami Pro, Freelance, and Approach.

3 -> UK - Dataquest Places US Robotics Ahead Of Modem Pack 06/22/94
After a lot of jostling and price repositioning over the last year,
US Robotics' UK operation has reached the number one sales slot,
something that Managing Director Clive Hudson has been pushing over
the last few years since his appointment.

4 -> UK - MPC MIDI-Compatible Home Music Studio Intro'd 06/22/94
Optech has  launched the Cakewalk Home Studio for Windows, a
Multimedia  PC (MPC)-compatible multi-track MIDI (musical
instrument  digital interface) sequencer for Windows that it claims
allows  users to create, record, play back, edit and even print
music,  all on a PC.

5 -> Great Bear Offers Symptoms, Illness & Surgery CD 06/22/94
Based on the  best-selling book of the same name by H. Winter
Griffith MD,  Great Bear Technology has announced the Complete
Guide to  Symptoms, Illness & Surgery on CD.

6 -> India - Price Waterhouse Sets Up Software Consultancy 06/22/94
Price Waterhouse  Associates (PWA) is setting up a software
consultancy center at  Saltlec, the electronic complex near
Calcutta. It is slated to be  operational by December 15.

7 -> Lotus Australia Continues As Top Subsidiary 06/22/94 Lotus
Development's  subsidiary of the year, Lotus Australia, has
announced record  revenue growth for the year so far. This
contrasts with  predictions for no little growth for the
organization  worldwide, for this quarter.

8 -> SPSS Launches Indian Subsidiary 06/22/94 SPSS Inc., the
Chicago- based statistical data analysis and presentation software
developer, has set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India, called
SPSS India Pvt. Ltd. Along with the subsidiary, the company plans
to move its headquarters for South Asia to  India.

9 -> Canon Intros Workstation For Nextstep 06/22/94 Canon's  new
Advanced Technologies Operation (ATO) business unit, in  alliance
with Next Computer, has announced its first product, an  Intel
486DX4/100-based workstation called "object.station 41."

10 -> TI Intros Network Interface For MicroLaser Printers 06/22/94
Texas Instruments has announced a new network interface for its
microLaser Pro 600 printers that simultaneously supports four of
the popular network operating systems using any of three different
interfaces.

11 -> DynaTek Launches Mac Storage Line 06/22/94 Storage
peripherals maker DynaTek Automation Systems Inc. has moved  into
the Apple Macintosh market with a line of disk drives, tape drives,
and optical storage devices, all using the small computer systems
interface (SCSI).

12 -> Vancouver-Area BBS Charged With Software Piracy 06/22/94 Lee
Thomas Adams, system operator of the Shadow bulletin board system
(BBS), has become the third Canadian sysop to be charged  with
software piracy, and the first west of Toronto.

13 -> Encyclopedia Britannica To Develop Florida Education Sys
06/22/94 Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation (EBEC) has
announced an agreement with the state of Florida to co-develop a
cross-platform file server and software applications for the
state's educational system.

14 -> Sidekick For Windows 1st App In Borland "Slimline" 06/22/94
The first Windows-based version of Sidekick, which started shipping
last week, is also the first of a group of three or four
applications that Borland plans to release by the end of this fall
under its new "Simplicity" brand, Newsbytes has learned.

15 -> X Terminals From HDS Integrate PC, Mac, Unix 06/22/94 Human
Designed Systems (HDS) has announced the ViewStation Ultra Series,
a line of X Window terminals that is positioned primarily against
PCs and Macs, and only secondarily against traditional X terminal
rivals like workstations and character-based terminals.

16 -> Ethics Campaign Gets Official Launch, SPA Support 06/22/94
The National Computer Ethics & Responsibilities Campaign (NCERC)
was officially launched with a press conference on Capitol Hill
June 21, and the Software Publishers' Association (SPA) added its
name to the list of sponsors.

17 -> More On Ziff Interchange & Star Tribune 06/22/94 News editors
at the Minneapolis Star Tribune were behind that paper's decision
to affiliate with Ziff's Interchange online service, Newsbytes has
learned.

18 -> Notable Offers Wireless Messaging 06/22/94 Adapting to  the
wireless market "as it is," in the words of a company official,
Notable Technologies Inc. announced AirNote, an all-in-one
wireless messaging offering using paging services.

19 ->  ****Pipeline On SprintNet For National Internet Access
06/22/94 The Pipeline, an  Internet service provider noted for its
Windows-based interface,  announced it has signed an agreement to
link with SprintNet. The  agreement means that the service is now
available via a dial-up  to a local phone number from SprintNet
nodes in the US and  internationally.

20 -> Wireless Cable Operators Form Alliance 06/22/94 Hoping to
become  closer competitors with wired cable networks, six wireless
cable  companies have announced a new research alliance.

21 -> Polaroid Scanner Digitizes Slides In 30 Seconds 06/22/94
Polaroid Corporation has introduced a new 35 millimeter (mm) slide
scanner  that can digitize an image in 30 seconds.

22 ->  ****Microsoft Intros "Exchange" E-Mail/Messaging 06/22/94
Calling it  "every bit as important as our last really big
initiative, which was bringing out Microsoft Windows," Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates has unveiled the company's "next-generation"
electronic mail and messaging product.

23 -> Apex Intros Cellular Direct Modem & PCMCIA Audio Card
06/22/94 Wireless  mobile computing has been a hot topic in the
past six months, but  many mobile computer users have had to juggle
modems and cellular  phones looking for a match for the phone's
data interface. They also  have to struggle with line noise and
interruption of data  transmission. Now Apex Data, in alliance with
Celeritas, has announced Cellular Direct, a Type II PCMCIA
(Personal Computer  Memory Card International Association) cellular
modem.

24 -> Germany - PC Manufacturer Vobis Predicts 30% Growth 06/22/94
Theo Lieven, head of Vobis Microcomputer, the German PC
manufacturer, says he expects turnover for the company to be up by
more than 30 percent this  year, to top the DM2,400 million mark.

25 -> Germany's Computer 2000 Acquires Latin American Firms
06/22/94 Computer 2000, the Pan- European computer distributor, has
announced two new acquisitions  in the Latin American computer
marketplace. In Argentina, the  company has acquired Distribucion
Nacional de Informatica (DNI)  of Buenos Aires and DNI's subsidiary
NewLotus. In Uruguay,  meanwhile, it has acquired Namer of
Montevideo.

26 -> UK - Novell Extends NetWare 4 Promotion 06/22/94 Novell has
has extended its NetWare 4.xx sales promotion to the end of the
year. Under the promotion customers buying copies of the high-end
network operating system (NOS) qualify for free updates for a
further six months.

27 -> British Telecom Intros EDI Billing In UK 06/22/94 British
Telecom (BT) has announced it is supplying bills for its major
corporate customers in electronic data interchange (EDI) format.
Initially, the service is available to customers on BT's OneBill
service, a facility by which all BT bills are aggregated into a
single account.

28 -> WordPerfect UK Intros "24-Hour Global Office" Product
06/22/94 Continuing its diversification away from its word
processing software origins, WordPerfect has announced the
WordPerfect Telephone Access  Server (TAS), a product that it
claims is set to revolutionize  the way people work.

29 -> PCSL Opens Office In Scotland 06/22/94 Pinacl PCSL, the
networking and connectivity company, has opened an office in
Livingston, Scotland, an area fast becoming known as "the UK's
Silicon Valley." According to the company, the move is designed to
offer closer contacts with existing and potential new customers.

30 ->  ****AT&T, SGI Form New Interactive Digital Solutions Co.
06/22/94 In another deal for interactive video, Silicon Graphics
Inc. (SGI) has teamed up with AT&T's Network Systems group to form
a joint venture  company -- Interactive Digital Solutions. The new
company, equally  owned by both partners, is aimed at providing
telephone companies,  cable systems and other network providers
movies-on-demand as  well as other interactive entertainment or
information services.

(Ian Stokell/19940622)