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/nb062394

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

IBM Develops Super Sensitive Disk-Drive Recording Head 06/23/94
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- IBM's Almaden
Research Center claims it has created the world's most
sensitive sensor for detecting data on magnetic hard disks. The
upshot the new sensor will allow for even smaller hard disk
drives with higher storage capacities, as it allows for data on
hard disk drives to be stored 20 times more compactly than
currently.

Called a "spin-valve" head, the new recording head sensor is five
times more sensitive than the company's own best commercially
available disk-drive sensor, IBM maintains. Despite the
competition from flash memory storage devices, market research
Frost & Sullivan claims use of magneto-resistive heads continue to
offer users speed improvements as well as better data-throughput
rates and capacity at decreasing prices that will keep the
magnetic storage medium dominant, especially for online storage.

Recording heads read and write to hard disk platters, spinning
plates coated with a rust-like material that can hold a magnetic
field. Until recently, all recording heads used electrical
induction to record data, meaning an electrical current was sent
through a coil to induce a magnetic field within the head that
was projected into a small gap on the spinning disk. Reading the
data reversed the process, as the magnetic charge was picked up,
causing an electrical charge in the recording head.

To make smaller hard disk drives, the size of the data bit that
holds the magnetic charge shrinks, making the charge weaker
which generates a weaker electrical charge in the recording head
and makes it tougher to read data. In 1991, IBM introduced
magneto-resistive (MR) reading sensors. Over 3,000 times thinner
than a human hair, the MR sensor is placed within or near the gap
of the write element and gives a much stronger signal, allowing
the recording of data in a smaller space.

IBM is the only company today producing disk drives with MR heads
in volume and IBM claims that is why its drives claim the highest
area density of 564 megabits per inch. This means an IBM 2.5-
inch 270 megabyte (MB) hard disk drive requires a single spinning
platter or disk, while competitors need two or more.

Less than six years ago, IBM said it discovered the giant
magneto-resistive effect (GMR) and the "spin-value" head is the
first recording head to take advantage of the GMR discovery.

"This achievement shows that we're on track to producing products
by the year 2000 that will contain 10 billion bits of data per
square inch of disk surface, or nearly 20 times the data
density of today's most advanced disk drives," said Robert
Scranton, manager of Storage Systems and Technology at Almaden.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940622/Press Contact: Michael Ross, IBM
Almaden Research Center, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEL)(00002)

India's Prithvi Missile Takes Off Successfully 06/23/94
NEW DELHI, INDIA, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- The decks were cleared for
the induction of the Prithvi missile into the Indian Army with two
successful trial launches of the missile from a mobile launcher
inside the Interim test range (ITR).

Designed for quick maneuverability and wartime efficiency, Prithvi
will now go in for mass production and will be introduced into the
Army next month.

The launch has put an end to a long controversy over India's
missile program following US pressure. Though the Indian Prime
Minister had announced in Parliament that the program would not be
abandoned, there were reports that it might have been stalled due
to pressure from United States against Prithvi's induction into the
army.

This was the first time that Prithvi was fired by army artillery
personnel. Previously only Defense Research Development
Organization (DRDO) scientists had been involved. However, a DRDO
team, led by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, scientific advisor to the Defense
Minister, was at hand to oversee the arrangement.

Now the missile will be used in simulated battle field conditions
to hit targets in an effort to gauge its accuracy and impact.

Prithvi is considered by Indian defense experts to be a real
answer to any threat posed by the F-16s supplied by the US to
Pakistan. According to DRDO experts, Prithvi is far more accurate
than the Scud missile, made famous in the Gulf War. While the
Scud reportedly follows a purely ballistic trajectory, Prithvi's
flight is controlled throughout by an on-board computer.

(C.T. Mahabharat/19940622)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(MSP)(00003)

AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 06/23/94
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- By John
Hastings. Apple and IBM are getting closer to an agreement on
what will be standard operating system features for all PowerPC
equipped computers. Once this agreement is reached and
implemented, the new Macs should be able to run OS/2 software,
and the new IBM PowerPC computers will be able to run Macintosh
software.

The results of these discussions should reach the marketplace
by next year.

Another option for operating systems may arrive next year
from Novell. The networking company is reportedly working on an
operating system that will compete with the as yet unannounced
Windows 4.0. The new operating system is expected to run all
Windows, DOS and Unix software. The new operating system is
expected to be less proprietary than Windows and very inexpensive.

Compaq's commitment to become the largest computer maker
in the world has become a reality, at least for one quarter. In
terms of computers shipped, Compaq and IBM exchanged places last
quarter. IBM has historically been in first place and Compaq
third. Apple held onto the second place position. This was a
surprisingly strong finish for Apple. Many Apple customers delayed
purchases last quarter while anticipating the arrival of the new
Power Macs.

Apple Computer is reinventing itself this year due to two
major events. The first, the introduction of the Power Macs, is
now behind them. The second lies ahead. The company will license
its operating system and ROMs to allow other computer makers to
manufacture Macintosh clones. Some estimate this move could
double Apple's revenues, quadruple profits, and triple market share
for the Macintosh. While the next version of Windows, due out next
year, will take on more Mac-like qualities, some say this move is
long overdue.

Each component of today's computer seems to provide greater
power at less cost than ever before. CPU's (central processing
units) are faster and cheaper, hard drives are larger and cheaper,
memory costs less than ever. This trend is important due to the
interrelationships between these components. Large, powerful
applications would not be economically feasible if hard drives
and memory had not kept pace with CPU prices. The only component
that has not participated in this "more for less" trend is the floppy
drive. It seems to be stagnant in both price and capacity. Some
large applications are being distributed on twenty to thirty floppy
diskettes. CD-ROM's will solve the software distribution problem,
but most of these drives are read-only. Smaller, cheaper optical
drives will soon emerge as a new standard. These 3.5-inch writeable
CDs will eventually banish the floppy drives to the computer
museums

The following prices are for June 17, 1994.

                                Average Average

                                Buyer's Seller's

 Machine                        Bid     Ask     Close Change

 IBM PS/2 Model 70 60MB         400     700     500     -25

 IBM PS/1 486DX2/50 253MB       1125    1450    1375    -75     **

 IBM PS/2 Model 90 160MB        1350    1800    1500    -100    **

 IBM ThinkPad 350C               1900   2400    2250    -75     **

 IBM ThinkPad 700               1000    1700    1300    +50

 IBM ThinkPad 720               1600    2000    1675    ..

 AST 486SX/25 170MB             900     1250    1100    -75     **

 AST 486DX/66 340MB             1450    2100    1850    -50     **

 Dell 386/33, 100MB             800     1100    975     -75     **

 Dell 486DX/33 240MB            950     1500    1275    -75     **

 Gateway 386/25, 80MB           500     800     600     +50

 Gateway 486/33 120MB           900     1300    950     ..

 Clone Notebook 386SX, 40 MB    500     900     675     -25

 Clone 386/33 80MB, VGA         550     950     700     ..

 Clone 486/25 120MB, VGA        800     1250    975     +25

 Clone 486DX/33 240MB           900     1425    1225    -75     **

 Compaq LTE 286 40MB            300     675     525     ..

 Compaq Contura 320 60MB        500     1000    725     -25

 Compaq Contura 4/25 120MB      1275    1650    1525    -50     **

 Compaq Deskpro 386/20e 100MB   500     800     675     +25

 Compaq Deskpro 486/33 120MB    1300    1750    1400    -75     **

 Mac Classic II 80MB            500     825     625     -50     **

 Mac IIsi 160MB                 700     900     825     -50     **

 Macintosh IIcx 80MB            400     700     525     ..

 Macintosh IIci 80MB            700     1000    775     +50

 Macintosh IIfx 80MB            800     1400    950     ..

 Mac Quadra 700 230MB           1200    1650    1500    -50     **

 Mac Quadra 800 500MB           2450    2950    2850    -75     **

 PowerBook 140 40MB             900     1400    1025    ..

 PowerBook 170 40MB             1200    1700    1275    +50

 PowerBook 180 80MB             1400    1800    1450    +50

 LaserWriterPro 630             1600    1975    1750    -100    **

 Toshiba 1200XE                 300     650     525     ..

 Toshiba 1900 120M              1000    1700    1075    +75

 Toshiba 3200 SXC, 120MB        1850    2950    2500    -100    **

 Toshiba 3300SL 120MB           1050    1600    1400    -75     **

 Toshiba 5200 100MB             850     1250    1125    +25

 HP LaserJet II                 400     850     775     ..

 HP LaserJet IIIP               375     950     525     ..

 HP LaserJet III                750     1100    900     -25

 HP LaserJet IV                 1000    1300    1125    -50

(**denotes new model)

John Hastings is the president of the American Computer Exchange
Corporation. The American Computer Exchange matches buyers and
sellers of used microcomputer equipment. For more information
contact the American Computer Exchange Corporation at (800)
786-0717.

(AMCOEX/19940621)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00004)

Japan - Telecom Equipment Output, US Exports, Drop 06/23/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Fiscal 1993
communications equipment production was down 0.5% to 2.47
trillion yen ($24.03 billion) worth of hardware, according to
the latest survey from the Communication Industries
Association of Japan.

Japan's fiscal 1993 communications equipment production
was down 0.5% over fiscal 1992 to 2.47 trillion yen ($24.03
bil), a decline for the second consecutive year.

Cordless phone output slipped 1.8% to 176.2 billion yen
($1.71 bil); facsimile shipments declined 8.4% to 347.0
billion yen ($3.37 bil); radio communications equipment
production fell 4.0% to 631.7 billion yen ($6.13 bil);
but switch production was up 3.9% to 524.7 billion yen
($5.09 bil); and transmission equipment output increased
4.8% to 496.0 billion yen ($4.82 bil).

Exports declined 6.8% to 837.6 billion yen ($8.13 bil),
while imports soared 42.0% to 142.1 billion yen ($1.38 bil).
Exports to the US dropped 11.2% to 270.6 billion yen
($2.63 bil), but exports to China jumped 68.7% to 82.6
billion yen ($801.9 mil).

Exports to Europe reached 166.6 billion yen ($1.62 bil).
Imports from North America, Europe, and Asia reached
71.6 billion yen ($695.1 mil), 35.4 billion yen ($343.7 mil),
and 34.6 billion yen ($335.9 mil), respectively. Above all,
imports from Sweden, thanks to brisk sales of Ericsson-made
mobile phones, surged 160 times to 32.1 billion yen ($311.7
mil).

Imports from Malaysia, where the Swedish company has a
plant, expanded 265% to 16.3 billion yen ($158.3 mil).

(Terry Silveria/19940621)


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

Japan - Computer News Briefs 06/23/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- In today's roundup of items
making news in Japan, NTT develops new character recognition
technology which can recognize blurred or "designer" characters,
Seiko Instruments wins order for 6,000 portable terminals from
Chicago commodity exchanges, and IBM Japan marketing smallest,
lightest notebook PC with STN color LCD.

NTT OCR Technology

NTT has developed new character recognition technology which
can recognize with nearly 100% accuracy blurred characters or
"designer" text such as that consisting of black-white reversal
characters. The technique employs a mechanism which uses the
difference between the character itself and the background
portion to accurately read characters unrecognizable by
conventional techniques. NTT says the new technique will pave
the way for practical optical character reader applications for
sales slips, facsimile messages, newspaper articles, and other
difficult-to-read text.

Seiko Instruments wins order for 6,000 portable terminals from
Chicago commodity exchanges

Seiko Instruments (SII) has won orders for 6,000 portable
electronic transaction system terminals from the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. SII has
already delivered 200 terminals and is now conducting evaluation
tests. The total value of the order is expected to surpass 1
billion yen ($9.7 mil). The US will make installation of
electronic transaction systems obligatory for all commodities
exchanges by October, 1995. SII says the orders from Chicago, the
world's largest commodity exchange, will help it win business
from other exchanges.

IBM Japan marketing smallest, lightest notebook PC with STN
color LCD

IBM Japan has begun marketing the world's smallest and
lightest notebook PC with a super-twisted nematic (STN) color
LCD (liquid crystal display). The Thinkpad230cs measures 235
by 171 by 42 millimeters and weighs 1.7 kilograms, including
batteries. Its built-in hardware features include a 7.8-inch STN
color LCD with 640 by 480-dot resolution, a 33 megahertz (MHz)
Intel SL Enhanced 486SX microprocessor, which outperforms its
predecessor ThinkPad220 by a factor of more than five, four
megabytes (MB) of main memory expandable to 12MB, and a
130MB hard disk drive. The new notebook PC, which runs two
hours on a single recharge, also has an infrared communications
function to allow data transfer over radio and a PCM (pulse code
modulation) sound source to record and play stereo sounds. The
price is set at 358,000 yen ($3,476). Shipment is slated for July
7. The company is aiming to sell 10,000 units monthly.

(Terry Silveria/19940621)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(TYO)(00006)

NEC, Toshiba Boost 16 Mb DRAM Output 06/23/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Both NEC and Toshiba are
boosting 16 megabit (Mb) DRAM (dynamic random access memory)
production. NEC will boost its 16Mb synchronous DRAM production
to 400,000 units per month by year's end and Toshiba plans
to increase 16Mb DRAM output to three million units per
month by year's end.

NEC, which produces 10,000 units monthly, has decided to
launch volume production since several US workstation makers
are said to be planning to release early next year new
products which will use 16Mb synchronous DRAMs for main
memory and graphic buffer memory. The chips are being made
at NEC's subsidiaries -- NEC Hiroshima and NEC Yamaguchi --
and NEC plans to start production at a new facility under
construction, NEC Kyushu, which will be ready this fall.

Toshiba is to increase 16Mb DRAM output to three million units
per month by year's end. In order to achieve this objective,
the company will move its capital investment schedule for its
Yokkaichi and Oita plants forward to the first half of fiscal
1994. Concluding that the per-bit prices of 4- and 16Mb DRAMs
will become about the same in the July-September period, Toshiba
will speed up its plan to boost 16Mb DRAM production at the two
plants. If demand picks up quickly, the company may aim for
monthly production of two million units as early as September.

(Terry Silveria/19940621)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TYO)(00007)

Japan - Low-Cost Printers From Seiko-Epson, Fujitsu 06/23/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Seiko-Epson has released
a laser printer priced below 100,000 yen ($971). In addition,
Fujitsu plans to market a 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) page printer
that hovers just above the $1,000 mark.

Seiko-Epson's laser printer is priced at 99,800 yen ($969).
The LP-1000 is a 600 dpi A4-size printer loaded with three
outline fonts, and its "save" mode cuts toner consumption by
almost half, according to the company. It can print four A4-size
sheets per minute.

The Lp-9000ps2 features 1,200 dpi resolution and comes standard
with PostScript Level 2 and can print B4-size paper. It also comes
with a 30 megahertz (MHz) Advanced Micro devices AM29030
microprocessor, 11 megabytes (MB) of memory, and two Japanese
outline fonts, and is priced at 498,000 yen ($4,835). The company,
which will also introduce two other types at the same time, is
aiming to expand domestic laser printer sales by 150% to 180,000
units in fiscal 1994.

In related news, Seiko-Epson has decided to produce dot-matrix
printers in Indonesia. The company will establish a subsidiary
to begin printer production there in April 1995. To be
capitalized at $1.0 billion yen ($10.0 mil), Indonesia Epson
Industry will initially employ 550 people.

Seiko-Epson will invest 2.0 billion yen ($19.4 mil) to build a
10,000-square-meter plant on a 7,000-square meter site in the
East Jakarta Industrial Park in an outskirts of Jakarta starting
in July. Epson's sixth overseas printer plant will have an annual
production capacity of 1.2 million units. Upon completion of the
plant, Epson will shift dot-matrix printer production from its
Shenzhen plant in China, which will then start ink-jet printer
production.

Meanwhile, Fujitsu P&S is now marketing a 600 dpi page printer.
The Print Partner 4000J has a resolution of 300 dpi, but
through use of 1-micron-diameter toner, printing resolution can
be doubled to 600 dpi. The printer supports Japanese Windows 3.1,
and comes with ESC/P emulation as standard. PostScript emulation
cards are available as an option allowing it to be used with a
Macintosh. The printer is priced at 118,000 yen ($1,135), and the
company expects to sell 30,000 units in the first year.

(Terry Silveria/19940621)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TYO)(00008)

Japan - Telecom News Briefs 06/23/94
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- In today's roundup of items
making news in Japan, Kansai Electric Power discloses ten-year
plan to install optical fiber cables to four million households,
domestic fax market picks up in fiscal 1993, NHK to begin digital
image broadcast tests this fall.

Kansai Electric Power discloses ten-year plan to install optical
fiber cables to four million households

Kansai Electric Power (KEP) has disclosed a ten-year plan
beginning this year to invest approximately 160 billion yen
($1.54 bil) to install optical fiber cables to four million
households, approximately 40% of all the households it currently
supplies electricity to. The company's intention is to build its
own communications network in preparation for the coming
multimedia age. The effort represents the biggest network
construction project aimed at average households ever undertaken
by an electric power firm in Japan. KEP currently has a 5,300
kilometer optical fiber cable network which connects its
headquarters with branch and sales offices.

Domestic fax market picks up in fiscal 1993

The domestic facsimile market which had experienced declines
of 10% and 8% respectively in sales and units sold in fiscal
1992, saw sales revenue and unit sales increases of 1.5% and
18.4% in fiscal 1993 indicating that the market has come out of
its slump. Actual unit sales increased on the strength of home
fax sales while revenue sales rose on the strength of business
sales of plain paper faxes (PPF). The increase in sales revenues
was the first since fiscal 1989. Although the industry does not
expect market performance in fiscal 1994 to surpass fiscal 1993,
many feel that overall sales should rise by several points. Unit
sales are expected to rise by around 20% in fiscal 1994 due to
sales of inexpensive home faxes.

NHK to begin digital image broadcast tests this fall

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) will begin tests this fall
using digital broadcasting to transmit images. NHK will use the
OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) method, which
MPT is considering using for terrestrial digital broadcasting,
and the six megahertz  band. NHK's broadcasting technology labs
will shortly apply for MPT approval to conduct tests using a
moving vehicle to confirm reception of the images. The tests
will pave the way for digital broadcasting of multimedia
information services.

(Terry Silveria/19940622)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00009)

Autodesk Acquires Mediashare 06/23/94
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- In an effort
to increase its ability to create better object-oriented Windows-
based authoring tools for both its two-dimensional (2D) and three-
dimensional (3D) graphics and animation software tools, Autodesk
has acquired full rights to Mediashare's multimedia, interactive
authoring technology.

Autodesk claims this acquisition provides it with the opportunity
to offer state-of-the-art tools to its more than one million
registered users.

Garth Chouteau, spokesman for company, told Newsbytes, "This
technology allows us to help our users present their data in a
more sophisticated manner in less time to their clients, boss,
another department or potential buyer. This will enlarge our
customer base in the entertainment, publishing, broadcast, and
design automation industries."

The development of customizable, object-oriented tools with
plug-in effects reduces development time and the ease-of-use
allows developers to create applications without the need of
complex programming skills.

According to Autodesk, such a development will allow small
developers the opportunity to create high-end multimedia
applications that up to now required more time and finances
than many small companies could afford.

At the same time, large corporate Autodesk clients will use
these time- and money-saving capabilities, which will allow
for faster production from inception to product delivery, said
the company.

(Patrick McKenna/19940622/Press Contact: Garth Chouteau,
Autodesk, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00010)

Australia - High Speed Modem War 06/23/94
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Australian modem suppliers
are gearing up for big sales and torrid competition as the ponderous
decision-making of international standard bodies clears the way for
a new generation of high-speed modems.

The new international V.34 standard set by the CCITT will allow
modems to zoom along at 28,800 bits-per-second (bps) - three
times faster than the common 9600 bps standard.

Local modem manufacturers such as NetComm have been
supercharging their products to run at these speeds for some months
under a  nominal standard called V.Fast. However, rival camps such
as Mike Boorne Electronics have been pushing a standard developed
by AT&T called V.32terbo which, according to Boorne, exceeds the
nominal standard of 19,200 bps for V.32.

Now, according to Boorne, V.34 has been approved and the way is
clear for the 28,800 bps product which has waiting on the shelf
for official approval. The company challenges NetComm's V.Fast
equipment, saying that the Rockwell chip at its heart will not
meet full V.34 standards in duplex mode. The entrepreneur claims
full V.34 will need an upgrade involving a new chip, which will
cost up to AUS$200 per unit.

However, Nick Verykios of NetComm denies upgrades will be needed.
In practical terms, he said, V.Fast and V.34 are the same and can
talk back and forth freely. However, he added that, "If people want
an upgrade, we will have it available for them."

Speed must be good, however. The high-speed modems have power-
users reaching for their credit cards, both manufacturers claim.
Boorne said he has sold "several thousand" V.32terbos modems,
and Verykios said he has about 1,000 outstanding orders, with the
main problem being chip supply.

(John Stackhouse and Computer Daily News/19940624)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00011)

CES - Digital Technology Creates Copyright Problems 06/23/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB)- A leading US
copyright attorney says that the ability to send digitized,
unauthorized samples of creative works across phone lines
may serve to make present copyright protection obsolete.

"We know that the digital revolution has produced increased
challenges for copyright owners to protect their work. The
digital environment allows for the making of perfect copies.
With the one hundredth copy guaranteed to be every bit as good
as the first, that creates some unique problems," said Arthur
Levine, of Finnegan, Hendeson, Farabow, Garret & Dunner,
speaking at the InfoHighway '94 Services & Developers
Conference.

The conference is being held as part of the summer Consumer
Electronics Show, a 600-exhibitor, 52,000-attendee convention
sponsored by the Electronic Industries Association in Chicago
through June 25.

Levine then went into further detail about the problems
unauthorized distribution of digital data along the information
highway may cause the creators and owners of intellectual
property.

"Digitalization allows for sampling of work. You can take
a note or two from a copyrighted work, and turn that into a
new musical score simply by lifting a few notes," he said. "In
a related way,scanning allows for the conversion of printed
works to a digital form, altering and changing it so it does not
reflect the work of the author."

 New technologies can create thorny, legalistic problems.
"The question is," he asked, "is the existing copyright law now
defunct? Keep in mind that we've gone from the 1960s, where
copyright enforcement went from unauthorized copying of
complete works, to this. Some of the questions now being asked
are distribution rights that have always been associated with
the transfer of copies."

Levine implied that "distribution rights" may undergo a
definitional change in the new, digitized online world.

"Obviously, the downloading of copyrighted material is a
threat to the copyright owner," he pointed out. "But what about
when you reproduce it from a downloaded copy? One of the
difficulties is whether the person who has acquired the rights
to using the material has also acquired electronic rights."

Several public and private organizations are studying the
matter, Levine noted. But he maintained that with the right
amount of "tweaking," existing laws will be more effective at
combating digital piracy than a ground-up new set of statutes
would.

"We are at the beginning of a burst in new issues that will
strain the copyright law, but I think the law is sufficiently
flexible to deal with the new technological challenges,"
Levine concluded.

(Russell Shaw/19940624)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(TOR)(00012)

PenMagic Offers Letter Express For Apple's Newton 06/23/94
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) --
PenMagic Software is now shipping Letter Express for Apple
Computer Inc.'s Newton. The software is a new version of a
letter-writing utility PenMagic originally created for Go Corp.'s
PenPoint operating system in 1992.

Ron McIntyre, vice-president of sales and marketing at PenMagic,
said the new Letter Express follows the same basic concept as the
original, but besides working on a different operating system it
has been substantially rewritten.

A key concept in the new version is "snippets" which can be short
segments of text or formatting commands. For instance, an
address, a salutation, and a paragraph thanking someone for an
order might each be a snippet. Users put together letters by
stringing these snippets together, and they can create their own
custom snippets as needed, McIntyre said.

Letter Express will insert an address directly into a letter when
the user chooses a name from the Newton's Name file, and can also
pick up information such as the writer's name and return address
from the Preferences file. Formatting and page numbering are also
automatic, PenMagic said.

PenMagic originally focused on Go's PenPoint system, but that
failed in the market, and currently the Newton is the only
available platform for which the company is developing software,
McIntyre said. He added that PenMagic is also working on products
for systems that have not yet been announced.

The pen computing market has been growing slowly, McIntyre said,
with most sales today to corporate users and those in specialized
vertical markets.

The suggested retail price of Letter Express is $69.95.

(Grant Buckler/19940623/Press Contact: Ron McIntyre, PenMagic,
tel [phone], fax [phone]; Public Contact: PenMagic,
800-771-6244/EXPRESS940623/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DAL)(00013)

More On AT&T/SGI Interactive Joint Venture 06/23/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- In a press
conference attended by Newsbytes, AT&T and Silicon Graphics
Inc. (SGI) admitted the details of their joint venture company
Interactive Digital Solutions (IDS), have not been worked out.
While there were technology demonstrations, they were
noticeably short and both companies dodged questions as to
what the joint venture means financially to each.

IDS is aimed at offering everything needed to cable and
television operators to implement interactive services, according
to its new President and General Manager Jim Barton. That
includes the media server, system software, and the integration
services such as transmission systems and end-to-end integration
including set-top boxes.

However, IDS executives made it clear its function is to implement
interactive television and those set-top boxes may not
necessarily be from a specific vendor. This is a significant
statement in the light that SGI is manufacturing set-top boxes as
well as a media server for its interactive television experiment
with Time Warner in Orlando, Florida.

Software appears to be a major focus of IDS. AT&T's Switching
Systems President Dan Stanzione, who is taking the chairman slot
at IDS, said AT&T does not usually go outside its own walls for
technology to deliver to customers, so the SGI joint venture
company is a significant departure.

Three demonstrations were offered of a sample system set up for
the conference consisting of an SGI Server with eight processors
running at 100 million instructions-per-second (MIPS), an AT&T
broadband switch, and SGI workstations. The demonstrations were a
playback of a pre-recorded video, a three-way game played by SGI
employees, and a health services demo with a nurse describing an
injury to a doctor. Each demo lasted only seconds and AT&T
officials admitted during the question and answer session that
the health care example was pre-recorded.

Several assertions were made by Stanzione that the joint venture
has a "huge potential for profit," but during the question and
answer company officials declined repeatedly to comment on the
financial commitment each company was making to the project.
While photos of a building with an IDS banner were shown, it
turns out the new company will be housed in the SGI headquarters
in Mountain View, California.

In addition, both SGI and AT&T said the technology agreement to
form the joint venture company is non-exclusive and each company
will continue to pursue its earlier commitments to other partners
on similar interactive projects. AT&T is involved with Viacom and
Sierra Online, while SGI has commitments to Time Warner,
Nintendo, Japanese telephone giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
Corporation (NTT), and Sprint.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940623/Press Contact: Blanchard Hiatt, AT&T
Network Systems, 201-606-3467; Jill Grossman, Silicon Graphics,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(BOS)(00014)

Nanao To Show Monitors & Chicago Technology At PC Expo 06/23/94
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- At PC Expo in
New York starting June 28, Nanao USA plans to demonstrate an
implementation of a proposed "plug-and-play" specification being
developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)
in support of Microsoft's upcoming Chicago. Nanao will also debut
new 17- and 20-inch "green monitors" that feature an on-screen
control panel called ScreenManager.

Known as Data Display Channel (DDC), VESA's new plug-and-play
specification for Chicago describes a communications channel
between a monitor and a graphics card, according to a spokesperson
for Torrance, California-based Nanao.

Nanao's new monitors, named the FlexScan T2-17 and T2-20, will
add wider scanning frequencies and other viewing enhancements
to the company's Trinitron line, along with ScreenManager, a utility
that will be built into the monitor's embedded microprocessor, the
spokesperson said.

VESA's emerging "plug-and-play" specification consists of two
components, Newsbytes was told. The spokesperson defined DDC 1
as "a unidirectional data channel from the display to the host,
continuously transmitting extended display identification (EDID)."
DDC 2, he added, is a "bidirectional data channel, for communications
from display to host, as well as from host to display."

Also in the Nanao booth, attendees will be able to preview the two
new monitors, which are slated for release in late August. Each
monitor will incorporate ScreenManager, a feature that will let
users select and adjust monitor controls from a floating, resizable
menu.

Users will be able to scroll through ScreenManager, make
adjustments, and save the adjustments through quick clicks on the
button below the monitor's "thumb-wheel," the spokesperson said.

Provided in previous Nanao monitors as well, the thumb-wheel
functions somewhat like a TV dial. Users can fine-tune the image
display by spinning the dial with their thumbs.

The controls in the new ScreenManager will include adjustments
for PowerManager and Auto Power On/Off, Nanao's Energy
Star-compliant features. Users will be able to display the control
panel in five different languages: English, German, French,
Spanish, and Italian.

Nanao has built ScreenManager into the monitor's embedded
microprocessor so the utility can work interchangeably with
PCs and Macs, the spokesperson noted. Nanao released its first
Trinitron monitors in 1991, and its first Trinitron monitors with
embedded processors in 1992.

Despite the addition of ScreenManager, the T2-17 and T2-20 will
retain some of the "push-button" hardware controls of previous
models, including buttons for sizing, positioning, and brightness,
he said.

The T2-17, which will be based on the new SE Trinitron tube from
Sony, will integrate SuperErgoCoat, a new type of coating aimed at
reducing glare and reflection while lowering radiation to meet the
TCO standard. The 17-inch Trinitron monitor will also comply
with the requirements of MPR II and International Standard
Organization (ISO) 9241-3, the spokesperson said.

The T2-20, which will use an updated version of Sony's SA Trinitron
tube, will provide similar ergonomics through the use of a panel,
he added. The "T" in the name of the new monitors stands for
"Trinitron," and the "2" for "second generation," Newsbytes was
told.

For both of the new monitors, Nanao has extended the horizontal
scanning frequency to 30 to 85 kilohertz (kHz), and the vertical
scanning frequency to 55 to 160 hertz (Hz), for a top resolution of
1600 by 1200 at 66Hz and a recommended resolution of 1280 by
1024 at 80Hz.

A new "tilt adjustment" feature rotates the picture to compensate
for the effects of strong magnetism field and produce a "level
picture," according to the spokesperson. A new "moire reduction"
capability is aimed at lessening video moire, a visual pattern that
sometimes appears in high-end displays.

The new monitors also add the ability to turn off the "beep" used
in Nanao's products to warn users that the picture size they have
selected is too large or too small, the spokesperson told
Newsbytes.

Pricing for the new monitors has yet to be set, according to the
spokesperson. The new T2-17, however, will probably be priced "in
the $1,300 to $1,400 range," he added. The T660i, the direct
predecessor to the T2-20, is currently $2,143.

Nanao "will not necessarily discontinue" the predecessors to either
the T2-17 or the T-20 when the new monitors ship in August, he
reported. The company has not reached a decision on whether prices
will be lowered on the earlier models.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940623/Reader Contact: Nanao USA,
310-325-5202; Press Contact: Brian Mast, Nanao USA,
310-325-5202 ext 112)


(CORRECTION)(IBM)(BOS)(00015)

Correction - Sidekick For Windows 1st App In "Slimline" 06/23/94
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- In a story
on Sidekick for Windows that ran June 21 in Newsbytes, the name
of Borland's new "slimware" software line was erroneously
identified as "Simplicity." Instead, "Simplify" is the correct
name of the new product family.

Newsbytes regrets the error.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19940623/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)(TRENDS)(SFO)(00016)

 ****CES - Recording Industry Exec Calls Internet "Threat" 06/23/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.,1994 JUN 23 (NB)- The executive
vice-president and general counsel of the largest music industry
trade association calls the Internet a potential threat to the
music business during a panel at the Consumer Electronic Show.

"As far as the Internet is concerned, we are very troubled about
how easy it is to upload sound recordings and other information
without the necessary means to monitor, track, identify and pay
for those materials," said David Leibowitz of the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The RIAA is comprised of nearly all the record companies in
the United States. The group says it is concerned about the
specter of bulletin board system (BBS) owners digitizing a CD,
capturing it in computer memory, and then sending it out over
the BBS to anyone with Internet access who chooses to receive
the material.

Leibowitz stressed that the industry would combine a get-
tough approach along with research to make such unauthorized
transmissions tougher.

"We have been looking at a number of bulletin boards, and
we know that a number of them are, today, either providing
musical samples or full cuts," he said. "We are investigating
them to the extent that these activities are unauthorized and
violate our members' rights."

An anti-piracy task force at RIAA has been handed the ball.
"They (the task force) are actively enforcing that," said
Leibowitz of the anti-piracy efforts. "Anti-piracy has always
dealt with the unauthorized manufacture of records and CDs,
and their  sale in flea markets and stores. Now, we are having
to adapt toward looking what is going on over the wires."

Leibowitz then uttered a comment of frustration. "The Internet
may be a lost cause at this point. It seems uncontrollable," he
said. "Everyone with an Internet address has a mailbox, and there
must be a phone number built into that -- but the possibility of
creating electronic 'Swiss banks' really is troublesome."

Leibowitz's analogy referred to the legendary impenetrability of
the Swiss banking system to the efforts of investigators.

He then implied that encryption or similar technology that
will block digitization by unauthorized info highway pirates is
the best hope for the future.

"Our industry is building in the license plates such as
international standard recording codes. Each track will have a
brief digitally imbedded, alpha numeric code identifying that
track. That's part of the solution," he said.

Russell Shaw/19940623)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SFO)(00017)

CES - Private Sector Should Develop Info Highway 06/23/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- The Electronic
Industries Association recommends that the private sector
assume the lead role in the upgrading of the national information
infrastructure. Subject of a discussion at the Consumer
Electronics Show, the recommendations were released in a
"White Paper" presented at a Washington DC news conference.

"We believe it is the goal of both industry and government
to create an information environment that enables people and
their information devices to connect and communicate with each
other, anytime, anywhere, both reliably and cost effectively,"
said EIA President Peter McCloskey.

"The United States today enjoys the world's most advanced
and reliable information infrastructure, thanks to a national
policy based on private ownership and competition. This
environment encourages and rewards timely development and
deployment of innovative and competitively priced products
and services which best anticipate and meet the diverse needs
of others," he said.

The EIA White Paper was released in partnership with the
Telecommunications Industry Association, an EIA affiliate group
representing the industry after which it is named.

"I want to reemphasize the importance of fair and vigorous
competition, private investment in new and emerging technologies,
and enhanced innovation as essential components to achieving our
nation's National Information Infrastructure vision for the future."

The White Paper contains six recommendations for NII development:
the private sector must play the lead role; enlightened
telecommunications regulation is essential; the role of global
standards is critical; universal service and access must support
competitive, market-driven solutions; security and privacy are
essential requirements; and intellectual property rights must
support new technologies.

"We stand ready to assist in the exploration of major issues which
will protect and encourage the private sector," McCloskey said.
"We are also prepared to contribute to the development of national
and international standards which will be necessary for achieving
access to networks on a broad, consumer-friendly basis, as well
as for protecting individual privacy, security and intellectual
property rights."

He concluded: "Guided by the six principles outlined, we believe
an exciting and a successful NII will result."

Russell Shaw/19940623/Press Contact: Mark V.Rosenker, EIA,
202-457-4980)


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

 ****Microsoft Offers "Chicago" Information Online 06/23/94
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has formally announced the availability of its WinNews
forum to make available online information about its next-generation
Windows operating system.

Users can get detailed information about "Chicago," the code name
for what is expected to be formally known as Windows 4.0, on the
online subscription services America Online, GEnie, CompuServe,
Prodigy, and the Internet.

Microsoft calls WinNews "the largest collection of Windows
"Chicago"-related information anywhere," containing more than five
megabytes (MB) of text and graphics in over 30 different documents.
Background material, technical documents and question-and-answer
files are available. Microsoft says the forum will be updated as
more Chicago information becomes available.

Available files include a reviewers guide, the text of speeches by
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to the Electronic Mail Association
and other industry groups, the networking features of Chicago,
articles about writing games for Windows, object linking and
embedding, and plug-and-play architecture.

On America Online, you can access the forum with the key word
WINNEWS. On CompuServe, type GO WINNEWS. GEnie users will find
the information in File Area 24 of the Windows Roundtable. On the
Internet select ftp.microsoft.com in the /Peropsys/Win--News
directory. On Prodigy choose the jump word WINNEWS.

Microsoft says Chicago is expected to ship by the end of 1994,
although some industry watchers expect it to be early 1995 before
the new software comes to market.

Chicago will reportedly include a revised graphical user interface
that will be closer to the Macintosh look and will include at least
one feature, an electronic in-box, of Microsoft's recently announced
Microsoft Exchange electronic mail product and the successor to
Microsoft Mail. Exchange is expected to ship in 1995.

(Jim Mallory/19940623/Press contact: Kathy Gill or Colleen
Lacter, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, 503-245-0905)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00019)

Wordperfect Joins Speech Recognition API Effort 06/23/94
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A. 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Wordperfect Corporation
says it has joined other developers to define a common speech
recognition application programming interface (API) for Windows
that could go some way to making the mouse obsolete.

Wordperfect joins Dragon Systems Inc., IBM, Kolvox Communications
Inc., Kurzweil Applied Intelligence Inc., Lernout & Hauspie Speech
Products, Philips Dictation Systems, and Novell Inc. on the Speech
Recognition API committee.

The development of an open standard API will allow developers to
integrate their own speech recognition into their Windows
applications and have them work with speech recognizer engines
from different companies. It is analogous to all appliances being
capable of plugging into any electric outlet no matter who made
the appliance nor what company supplies the electricity.

"When vendors truly commit to writing to open industry standards,
the issues of compatibility and interoperability will disappear
for end users," according to Mark Calkins, VP of product and
strategic marketing at Wordperfect.

Wordperfect says the API will support both continuous and discrete
command and control capabilities as well as continuous and
discrete dictation capabilities for inputting text and data.

Discrete command and control allows the user to give separate
individual voice commands such as "File Print." Continuous command
and control allows a person to use natural language input such as
"Print five copies of this document."  Discrete dictation requires
the user to pause briefly between each word. Continuous dictation
does not require pauses between words.

Speech recognition technology, if widely accepted by consumers,
could go some way to replacing the mouse as the link between the
user and the PC. Some developers already offer limited voice control
over the PC. Digital Soup Inc., in Brattleboro, Vermont, for example,
markets a program called Rover for Windows. It acts like a macro
automator, allowing the user to define commands and teach Rover
what actions those commands perform.

Future voice recognition will be even more sophisticated. Instead of
clicking on a series of menus and icons to accomplish a task you
could say "Print the file," "Make five copies," or "OK."

Computers could also become sophisticated dictating machines
that eliminate the transcription step as users dictate directly
into the PC, with the software formatting the document and
automatically correcting grammatical and spelling errors.

Wordperfect executives believe a standard that integrates speech
recognition directly into application software is the key to user
acceptance of the technology.

Wordperfect says it will add a speech recognition API to its
PerfectFit software developers kit in the fourth quarter. The
company says its in-house developed Windows software will be
speech-enabled by early 1995.

(Jim Mallory/19940623/Press contact: Deborah Hendrickson,
Wordperfect Corporation, 801-228-5022, or Mike Henkle, Digital
Soup, 802-254-7356; Reader contact: Wordperfect Corporation,
tel [phone] or 800-451-5151, fax [phone]; or
Digital Soup, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(DEN)(00020)

Apple Imaging Exec May Return To Eastman Kodak 06/23/94
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Eastman Kodak
Company is reportedly trying to lure Apple Computer Inc.'s vice
president of imaging and publishing back to the company.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Don Strickland has been
discussing the possible move since the beginning of the year.
There are also unconfirmed reports that former Apple Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Sculley is providing
marketing advice to Kodak.

Eastman Kodak spokesperson Paul Allen declined to comment on
the reports when contacted by Newsbytes. "It's a speculative
piece and we just don't comment on speculation," said Allen.

Allen said Strickland previously served as general manager and
VP of Kodak's Electronic Imaging Platform Center.

Kodak announced in March it was forming a new business unit to be
called Digital and Applied Imaging. "It would include things like
CD imaging and a number of other digital imaging initiatives,"
Allen told Newsbytes.

The March announcement also said that Kodak would be going
outside the company to find someone to lead the unit. It is
apparently that job that Strickland may be in the running for.

Allen declined comment on the status of the search and whether
any candidates were on a "short list."

(Jim Mallory/19940623/Press contact: Paul Allen, Eastman Kodak,
716-724-3057)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00021)

IBM Adds Color Subnotebook To ThinkPad Line 06/23/94
SOMERS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- IBM has added the
ThinkPad 510Cs -- a four-pound subnotebook with a supertwist
passive-matrix color display -- to its ThinkPad line of portable
computers. The company also added a new docking station that
works with its notebook models.

The new model uses IBM's 486BL2 processor, which runs at 50
megahertz (MHz) through clock-doubling technology. The machine
will run three to six hours on battery power, company spokesman
Jonathan Gandal told Newsbytes.

The 510Cs has a maximum memory capacity of 20 megabytes (MB)
and comes with a 200MB hard disk drive and one Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) Type I or Type II
slot. Like other ThinkPad models, it uses the TrackPoint II, a
pointing stick in the middle of the keyboard that substitutes for
a mouse.

The subnotebook comes with a new utility called PC Card Director,
which IBM said gives the user visible and audible confirmation
that a PCMCIA card has been inserted or removed, and
automatically configures cards and launches applications.

It also has PC-DOS 6.3, Microsoft Windows 3.1, access software
for the America Online and Prodigy services, Lotus cc:Mail,
electronic mail for IBM and Sears' Advantis network, Lotus
Organizer, Lotus ScreenCam, the Official Airline Guide
FlightDisk, SofNet's FaxWorks 3.0, and Triton Technologies
Co-Session Host software pre-loaded, IBM said.

The 510Cs will come with Online Housecall service, which lets
company technicians diagnose and sometimes repair problems via
wired or wireless modem. All ThinkPad systems come with an
international traveller's warranty repair service, IBM said, and
in the United States the vendor will pay shipping costs for depot
service. The computer has a one-year warranty.

IBM also unveiled the ThinkPad Dock II, a docking station for its
ThinkPad notebooks. The new docking station works with the
ThinkPad 360, 750, and 755 models, Gandal said. It does not work
with the subnotebook models, including the new 510Cs. The Dock II
has two expansion slots and two bays for storage devices, versus
one of each in the existing ThinkPad Dock I.

IBM PC Direct catalog pricing for the new subnotebook begins at
$2,399 with 4MB and a 200MB hard drive, and the machine is
due to be available June 30.  The ThinkPad Dock II is priced at
$719 and is available now, IBM said.

(Grant Buckler/19940623/Press Contact: Jonathan Gandal, IBM,
tel [phone]; Public Contact: IBM, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(MSP)(00022)

 ****CES - Video Industry & 20's Hollywood Compared 06/23/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Howard Lincoln,
chairman of Nintendo of America, called upon the video game
industry to learn from Hollywood in the twenties, a time when
standards were needed and technology was evolving. Lincoln
addressed attendees of the 50th Consumer Electronics Show,
taking place in Chicago.

"The video game industry now faces many challenges. In less than
two decades, the video game business has rapidly grown to become
one of the most significant entertainment mediums on earth," he
said. Most challenging, however, is that "we stand on the threshold
of new technology that may forever change the nature of what we
produce."

Comparing today to Hollywood in the 1920s,  Lincoln said we
are entering the golden age of video games. "Right now our
industry faces intense scrutiny from Congress and public interest
groups, all over this issue of video game content. Hollywood's
answer was to create a rating system and we at Nintendo fully
support the adoption of a video game rating system that is
independent and honest" and applies to all platforms, said the
Nintendo chairman. The Interactive Digital Software Association,
of which Nintendo is a member, is creating those standards right
now, he said.

Lincoln explained that the most striking similarity to the
Hollywood of the twenties is the technological revolution that
faces the industry. "Hollywood (in the twenties) saw the
introduction of sound and color, and these innovations changed
movies forever, but did not change them overnight. He said it
took many more years before color found a market, with Gone
With The Wind. CD-ROMs and other technologies will take time to
replace 16-bit video game technology, he contended.

Lincoln also pointed to "content" as an issue for the future.
"Hollywood learned that people don't go to movies for screen size.
They like great stories - in the entertainment business, which
includes video games, content drives technology, it's not the other
way around." High technology is still not as difficult as finding
the right combination of elements to make up a good story, he said.

Trip Hawkins, chief of 3DO, last year stood on the same stage at
CES, he said, and claimed that the need for new titles when
introducing a new technology is a myth. "Some myth," said Lincoln.

Lincoln showed on screen an image of Donkey Kong, as the character
appeared on a computer screen in 1981 -- the image was a crude pixel
representation of the game gorilla. Today the gorilla in Nintendo's
new Donkey Kong Country is a vivid, finely rendered creature
evading cliffs, leaping through realistic-looking forests, caves,
and other obstacles. This product runs on the Nintendo 16-bit game
console.

Added Lincoln, "No matter how great this game may look and sound,
it will ultimately succeed because the content is right. Great
story, unique characters, hours of exciting entertainment, that
is what is important in hit video games."

Sega's Genesis is a solid competitor to Nintendo, he said,
not because of technology but because of hit games like Sonic
the Hedgehog. He added that he expects Nintendo to be in the
lead again in 1994, however, with a new lineup of games,
and "Super Gameboy has just been launched in North America.
350 unique titles now exist for this $60 device."

He is optimistic, he says, because Nintendo is "a tougher
competitor than ever before, with stronger marketing, stronger
advertising."

Competition, however, is fierce. Sony, Panasonic, Silicon Graphics,
Time Warner,  AT&T, GTE, Disney, and Steven Speilberg are in the
business. "Their presence is a testimony to a trend which Nintendo
and Sega are both well aware of. The demographics of the video
game business includes more and more adults."

With video games now rivalling Hollywood box office revenues,
Nintendo is a testimony to the tremendous profits of the business.
Lincoln said Nintendo had one billion dollars in pretax profits
for fiscal year ending March 1994 and yet has only 3,000 employees.
"1994 results were good enough to rank Nintendo 6th in pretax
profits, according to a June 1 survey of a leading Japanese
newspaper." About the company, which Lincoln said carries no debt,
"All of us feel very bullish about the video game business and
Nintendo's role in that business."

Within the next few months, Sony and Sega will unveil 32-bit
game systems. Nintendo's 64-bit system, formerly code-named
Project Reality, is "right on schedule," said Lincoln, who also
announced that the first two games for the unit are called Killer
Instinct, and Cruising USA. Both will debut in arcades in the next
few months.

Project Reality, a proprietary 64-bit, three-dimensional (3-D)
home video game system is now officially named the Nintendo
Ultra 64. This coproduction of Nintendo and Silicon Graphics, of
Mountain View, California, software developers Rare Ltd and
DMA Design, both of the United Kingdom, and Alias Research of
Toronto, will be operated by a 64-bit MIPS RISC (reduced
instruction-set computing) chip. Nintendo promises a system
that will deliver new levels of speed, realism, optimized
audio, video, and graphic capabilities.

The machine is expected to be priced at $250 or lower when
it is released in the fall of 1995.

(Wendy Woods/19940623)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DAL)(00023)

Davidson Demos Multimedia Workshop CD-ROM 06/23/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Educational
software developer Davidson & Associates has announced a Windows
CD-ROM version of The Multimedia Workshop product aimed at
allowing 10 year-olds to adults to create multimedia presentations
and published documents. Torrance, California headquartered
Davidson is demonstrating the product this week at the Summer
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago.

The company says The Multimedia Workshop can be used to create
anything from a magazine or illustrated daily journal to a video
yearbook or multimedia presentation. The product is divided into
three sections for different tasks: The Video Workshop; The
Writing Workshop; and The Paint Workshop.

The Video Workstop is to be used for making presentations using
photos, video clips, sound, music, and narration. A Scene Maker
module allows the selection of background and the insertion of
multimedia elements such as video clips and pictures. The
Sequencer lets users lay out scenes and transitions on a
storyboard grid, where sound-effects, music, and narration
can be added to complete the presentation.

The Writing Workshop portion is for desktop publishing, such as
the creation of newsletters, flyers, greeting cards, illustrated
reports, or magazines. Thirty-two built-in templates are
available or users can create their own desktop publishing
layouts, Davidson said. Clip art is available on the CD-ROM and
the section offers text-to-speech capabilities so the text can
be spoken aloud for easy proofreading.

For those who are creative, the Paint Workshop offers a complete
paint program to make new images or customize existing images.
Tools, such as a spray can, paint brushes, pencils, and an eraser
are available for use. The images can be used for import into the
desktop publishing portion or used in video scenes, Davidson
added.

Libraries of images and sounds are also available on the CD-ROM
divided by categories such as history, the family, holidays,
food, animals, around the world, and sports. Six hundred clip art
images, 300 photographs, 100 video clips, 200 sound effects, and
40 short music clips are available for unlimited use.

The Multimedia Workshop is planned for availability later this
year at a retail price of around $50.

(Linda Rohrbough/19940623/Press Contact: Linda Duttenhaver,
Davidson & Associates, tel [phone] ext 230, fax 310-793-
0601/WORKSHOP940623/PHOTO)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00024)

Focus Enhancements Acquires Inline Software 06/23/94
WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Focus
Enhancements Inc., a maker of add-on products for Apple
Computer Inc.'s Macintosh, said it has bought the name, software
titles, and other operating assets of Inline Software Inc., of
Lakeville, Conn.

Inline will move from Lakeville to Focus' headquarters in Woburn,
and will be run as a division of Focus, officials said. Terms of
the purchase were not announced. A spokesman for Focus told
Newsbytes that senior management of Inline will remain, but
some other staff members may lose their jobs.

Founded in 1989, Inline Software publishes software for the
Macintosh, Windows, and DOS, including utilities such as
PopupFolder and INITPicker and entertainment software such as
SwampGas, Tesserae, and Deliverance.

Focus officials said the purchase was meant to help their company
diversify, and the software market was attractive because of high
profit margins and the possibility of bundling Inline's software
with Focus' hardware products for the Macintosh. They reported
that Inline Software has a gross profit margin of about 65
percent on revenues of $2.3 million in 1993.

(Grant Buckler/19940623/Press Contact: Deborah Harper, Focus
Enhancements, tel [phone], fax [phone]; Geoffrey
Eiten, OTC Communications for Focus, tel [phone],
fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

Telescan Offers Customization System 06/23/94
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Telescan has announced
a system it will seek patents on, code-named Sunflower, which will
enable businesses and tradegroups to quickly customize its
services and create their own networks using Telescan's databases.
The announcement was made at the company's annual meeting.

The company's vice chairman, Dr. Richard Carlin, said that using
the technology, its users will be able to design and build their
own networks within a few hours, including forums, roundtables,
electronic-mail, newsletters, stands, shopping, software,
announcements, billing information, and other services.

They will also be able to select content from Telescan for use
on their systems, such as business news and stock market
information. Telescan will maintain the hardware, software
communication lines, and billing functions. The company will
begin marketing the Sunflower product line later this year.

Telescan is classed by "Investors Business Daily" as a software
company, but its main product is a financial database sold
through third parties like Fidelity and Schwab, and featuring
graphics for the creation of charts.

The hallmark of the service is its ability to provide fast responses
to complicated queries, and deliver them in a graphical format,
minimizing expensive online time. The access software is
proprietary, however, running under MS-DOS with a Windows-like
interface of pull-down menus and lists of functions.

With the new software, Telescan will be attempting to make
greater inroads in a market it already participates in to a
limited extent.

It runs AIAOnline for the American Institute of Architects,
Billboard Online for Billboard Magazine, Editor & Publisher Online
for the Editor & Publisher Magazine, Entrepreneurs Online, Public
Information Online, and most recently, Knowledge Express Online
for the Licensing Executives Society and universities, federal
laboratories and small technology based companies working in the
technology transfer industry.

Carlin told Newsbytes, "It covers what you find in bulletin board
system (BBS) packages, but it goes beyond that in a number of areas.
The most obvious is you're not getting hardware. There's also
communications. The third area is in billing, because we'll have
billing options and we'll generate all the billing by credit cards.

"You can set up your own network with this, separate from anyone
else. We also have content on this, the ability to add our
existing services to your service. Theoretically you could build
our whole service out of this. So there's broad content. We also
have a number of searchable databases that use very sophisticated
technology, boolean or relevant searching, available. They can pop
that into their online searching."

Newsbytes asked about the opportunity the new announcement is
addressing. "This is going to be a major opportunity, although
it's not as fast-growing" as the consumer online market as a whole.

"This may change the way people look at the online industry," he
added. "It will allow them to think about how they can use the
online industry to aid them. They can create an online service,
similar to America OnLine, develop a toll-free support line, or
use it for interactions between groups."

About Telescan, he said, "Although our biggest business is
financial, we're broadening. We have the government database, we
see a big market in associations, and we've already announced a
database for Editor and Publisher, serving the newspaper
industry. We have been talking with other people in that industry,
and it is an area we've been looking at strongly."

All of which means that, in addition to America OnLine, Prodigy,
Delphi and Ziff's Interchange, Telescan could seek to run online
services for newspapers.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940623/Press Contact: Telescan,
Richard Ames, 713/952-1060)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Southern Bell Files Price Cap Plan In Georgia 06/23/94
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Southern Bell
has filed a price cap plan for Georgia, under which it would cap
basic rates for five years, then increase them only by the rate of
inflation. In exchange, the company would win complete freedom
to set prices on enhanced services, and to compete with such
companies as MCI and MFS, which are entering the local services
market.

The plan, dubbed "Georgians FIRST," was filed with the state's
Public Service Commission. In a press statement Carl Swearingen,
president of Southern Bell operations in Georgia, said: "Our
industry is clearly moving towards full competition, and we need
to change the way we do business."

Southern Bell tried and failed to get the state legislature to
address the question of its rates earlier this year. A bill it
supported, S. 566, failed to win passage after opposition
surfaced from, among others, the Georgia Cable TV Association
and the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" newspapers.

The PSC's chairman, Republican Bobby Baker, also testified on
behalf of his colleagues against the bill, noting that the
inflation-adjustments were automatic and it would remove
from PSC jurisdiction key questions over how fast Southern
Bell depreciates its equipment.

Southern Bell spokesman Lynn Bress offered the company's side
of the story. "We're capping rates for five years. That doesn't mean
they can't come down. Once competition comes to an area, the
market will determine the price. What we're saying is we want to
make our customers comfortable that if we get pricing flexibility
for optional services we won't raise rates in any areas. We're
targeting basic service, and will cap those rates five years, then
won't raise them any higher than the rate of inflation."

Newsbytes repeated Baker's assertions made to the legislature,
that Southern Bell's service costs are declining, so a rate cap
would merely create higher profits it could use to subsidize its
market battle for business customers. "There are specific rules
where there's no cross-subsidy allowed. We will absolutely not take
money from regulated to fund unregulated. We're prohibited from
doing that," said Bress.

As in the press statement, Bress raised the spectre of
competition. "MCI's announced they're spending $2 billion, and
Atlanta was their first announced location. We have MFS here.
There's lots of competition." And these competitors are "cherry
picking," she charged, going after only the best customers. "The
business customer subsidizes the residence customer. They're not
going to serve those who don't give them revenue. Rate of return
regulation in this environment doesn't make sense."

All states are now dealing with "price cap" proposals and similar
attempts to win phone companies the regulatory flexibility they
say they need to build fast-data "information highway" services
on a local level. Southern Bell has filed proposals of this type
in Kentucky and Louisiana. The Wisconsin legislature is working on
a bill similar to S. 566. Modified price cap plans have also been
approved in California, Oregon, New Jersey, West Virginia, and
Rhode Island.

Newsbytes attempted to get responses to this from Southern Bell's
competitors and potential competitors. Most said they had not read
the filing, and could not comment until then. But given the
opposition which developed to S.566, they are probably unlikely
to support the plan without substantial modification.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940623/Press Contact: Lynn Bress,
Southern Bell, 404-391-2484)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00027)

SprintLink Goes International 06/23/94
WASHINGTON D.C., U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Hoping to meet the
needs of both new commercial Internet customers and the NSFnet,
for which it provides backbone data transfers under the Internet
Protocol, Sprint has announced Global SprintLink, which will let
foreign networks link to the Internet backbone at speeds of up to
2.048 million bits-per-second (bps), known as E1.

The service will bring significant cost savings to those networks
and enable intra-Asian and intra-European Internet traffic to be
exchanged at competitive cost, Sprint said in a press statement.

Cities in Europe and in the Asia Pacific region will be able to
obtain international and intra-regional connectivity by purchasing
either leased lines to access centers in London, Paris, Stockholm
and Tokyo, or by purchasing access ports from Sprint as the
network is expanded in the fourth quarter of this year and
through 1995. That E1 speed limit will also be increased, the
company said.

Farooq Hussain, Sprint's product manager for Internet Services,
discussed the announcement with Newsbytes. "The capacity
requirements for NSFnet are huge, and the growth has been
substantial," he said.

"The other point is that the research networks have a very
significant demand moving away from the way the Internet is
currently connected, through leased lines. The architecture of
the NSFnet is now in transition to a new architecture" using
public networks available on-demand. "In order to meet these
requirements we've both expanded the ability to provide high
capacity connections and meet the local access port
requirements that are so important," he said.

"Because it's high capacity ports this is aimed first at
connecting service providers," he added. "We can reach 35 cities,
but the initial deployment is a high capacity backbone. We
anticipate this will grow as it's done historically, and we're
provisioning it in two megabit chunks. The backbone will be
upgraded to meet requirements as we go along."

As to the network itself, "At the moment we have five E-1s from
Europe connecting to NSFnet and four E1s coming in from Asia-
PAcific, mostly Japan. The E1 is obviously more appealing to the
Europeans, but we're not having any problem with" differences
between that speed and the 1.544 million bps, or T-1 speed, used
on US networks.

"The responses I've had from the attaching networks is the
architecture of this backbone allows more flexibility in inter-
European routing," Hussain continued. "It's sometimes more
simple to go to Aberdeen from London through New York" for fast-
data calls, and this will change with the new network. "It's then
up to network service providers to decide how they'll handle file
transfer issues within their hosts," reducing multiple file
requests by storing commonly asked-for files locally.

"There's a phenomenal pressure on our people overseas to provide
service the way we do through SprintLink," Hussain concluded.
"The drive of these research networks, the appearance of Mosaic,
the fact there were 2,000 commercial registrations in May. We're
responding to that as well as NSF."

Hussain also noted the differences between SprintLink, an
Internet Protocol network, and the SprintNet packet network under
X.25. "We're not a packet network for moving IP (Internet Protocol).
Sprint International has a substantial global infrastructure. If we
have people in Africa who need IP and the easiest transport is
X.25, they're no longer looking at that nearest node" under IP
"being in the US" thanks to this announcement.

"Our relation with France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will let
us reach a much larger segment of the Internet community" once
it is finalized, he added. "It may be premature to say X.25 will fade
away. It continues to be heavily utilized. It's just unlikely that the
capacity requirements we've seen in the developed world will be
met by an underlying packet service."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19940623/Press Contact: Janis Langley, Sprint,
202-828-7427)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00028)

France - Groupe Bull Readies For Privatization 06/23/94
PARIS, FRANCE, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Groupe Bull, the troubled French
computer manufacturer, is now in the final stages of preparation for
privatization, having cleared the hurdles of the European Commission,
as well as getting the official thumbs up from the French government
for the sell off.

With a workforce of 31,700 and a 1993 loss of FF5,070 million on a
turnover of FF28,250 million, the company does not look like a
buyer's dream, but company officials claim that things have improved
markedly during the first six months of this year.

After five consecutive years of mounting losses, the company claims
that turnover in the first quarter of this year has risen by more than
20 percent to FF6,200. Losses during the first quarter were an almost
respectable FF942 million.

The main reason for the turnaround in fortunes for the company,
according to Groupe Bull's Jean-Marie Descarpentries, is that Zenith
Data Systems, its PC-producing subsidiary, has started to hit the
black, which has allowed Groupe Bull's financial division to revise
its projected annual loss for 1994 down to FF500 million.

According to Descarpentries, the company is on course to return to
profitability some time next year and, if the company is sold off, its
previous year's losses are almost certain to be written off by the
French government, giving the newly privatized company a clean
bill of health.

Descarpentries says he is looking forward to privatization, especially
since the EC only allowed through the latest set of subsidies from the
French government on the understanding that the company was
privatized within a relatively short timeframe.

Preliminary plans for Groupe Bull suggest that a group of core
shareholders will take a 30 percent stake in the company, with staff
holdings increased from the current 10 to 20 percent. It has also been
suggested that IBM and NEC, both minor shareholders in the company,
will increase their stake, while France Telecom, which has 17 percent
stake in the company, may be persuaded to sign up further investment.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940623/Press & Reader Contact: Groupe Bull,
[phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00029)

Germany - Deutsche Bundespost Looks At Israeli Firm 06/23/94
BONN, GERMANY, 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- Deutsche Bundespost Telekom
(DBT) has revealed it is looking at investing in Bezeq Telecom, a
Jerusalem-based telecoms company. According to DBT, senior
officials of both companies have been in discussions in Israel for
some time.

The announcement follows on from reports in the Israeli press earlier
this month that DBT was interested in taking a 25 percent share in
Bezeq Telecom. Officials with DBT have not said how much of a stake
they may take in the Israeli company, but stressed that any offer will
be subject to final approval by the German and Israeli governments.

Bezeq Telecom is a hardware telecoms supplier to the Middle East, a
field that DBT has traditionally been weak in. In Germany. DBT has
relied on third-party companies such as Siemens and Nokia to supply
its exchange hardware. Tying in with Bezeq is a logical step for the
company since it increases its source of supply of technology
equipment, as well as introducing the possibility of being able to
sell its products and services to the Middle East.

Because of the military conflicts constantly going on in the Middle
East, Israeli technology companies are regarded as some of the best
in the world, having evolved technology "solutions" to meet the
hostile conditions. Increasingly, now that Israel is settling its
political feuds with its neighbors, companies in the country are
turning to foreign markets to market their technology, Newsbytes
notes.

(Sylvia Dennis/19940623/Press & Reader Contact: DBT,
tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MSP)(00030)

 ****PCC Show - Wireless Vision Of The Future 06/23/94
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- The next wave
of productivity will not come from higher capacity hard disks,
full-motion video and sound coming through a computer, but will
come when people have tools to be productive wherever business
takes them, according to Randall Battat, Motorola, formerly of
Apple Computer, who addressed the PCC (Personal Communications
and Computing Show), going on simultaneously with the Consumer
Electronics Show at McCormick Hall in Chicago.

Battat, vice president of Motorola's Wireless Data Group,
showed one of the jewels in Motorola's crown -- a personal
communications device called the Envoy, which will be
shipped in late summer. Envoy, based on the General Magic's
Magic Cap software and Telescript, was part of a demonstration
for the keynote address.

Envoy allows the user to send a fax, send wireless messages
to an administrator's Macintosh, or to receive a wireless
message via the Internet from a PC.

Envoy presents the user with an opening screen display that
looks like the surface of a desk -- there is a fax machine,
a calendar, a notepad, a telephone. If one taps with a stylus
on various devices, functions pop up. For instance, a touch to
the calendar brings up the calendar function. A touch to a
full in-basket shows a series of messages waiting, which can
then be received through wireless transmission with a host
computer. When a pen is touched to each message, the full text
is displayed.

"A lot of people will enjoy Envoys, but this is the first step in
a long term project. We're where pagers were 10 years ago. But
today, a lot of the pieces are there to do some incredible things
right now," said Battat. "At Motorola we're extremely excited
about what all these new things can do for people."

Envoy, composed of Motorola's own "Dragon" chipset and featuring
a 68349 processor and special-purpose ASIC (application specific
integrated circuit), will enable the user to send two-way wireless,
wireline, and infrared signals to other computers.

Applications coming with the unit, which is expected to retail for
$1,500, will be a datebook, address book, notebook, filing system,
calculator tools, plus a host of other third-party applications.

Cheryl Beck Ruff, product marketer for the Envoy from Motorola's
Wireless Data Group, told Newsbytes that RadioMail and AT&T
Personalink Services will work with Motorola's ARDIS network to
offer additional functionality to the Envoy.

The AT&T service, she added, will be especially useful since its
ability to understand the Telescript language means that a "richer
content" can be transmitted -- i.e., handwriting can be transmitted,
as well as text.

(Wendy Woods/19940623)


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

Newsbytes Daily Summary 06/23/94
PENN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.,1994 JUN 23 (NB) -- These are
capsules of all today's news stories:

1 -> IBM Develops Super Sensitive Disk-Drive Recording Head 06/23/94
IBM's Almaden Research Center claims it has created the world's most
sensitive sensor for detecting data on magnetic hard disks. The
upshot the new sensor will allow for even smaller hard disk drives
with higher storage capacities, as it allows for data on hard disk
drives to be stored 20 times more compactly than currently.

2 -> India's Prithvi Missile Takes Off Successfully 06/23/94 The
decks were cleared for  the induction of the Prithvi missile into the
Indian Army with two  successful trial launches of the missile from a
mobile launcher  inside the Interim test range (ITR).

3 -> AmCoEx Index Of Used Computer Prices 06/23/94 By John  Hastings.
Apple and IBM are getting closer to an agreement on  what will be
standard operating system features for all PowerPC equipped
computers. Once this agreement is reached and implemented, the new
Macs should be able to run OS/2 software,  and the new IBM PowerPC
computers will be able to run Macintosh software.

4 -> Japan - Telecom Equipment Output, US Exports, Drop 06/23/94
Fiscal 1993  communications equipment production was down 0.5% to
2.47  trillion yen ($24.03 billion) worth of hardware, according to
the latest survey from the Communication Industries  Association of
Japan.

5 -> Japan - Computer News Briefs 06/23/94 In today's roundup of
items making news in Japan, NTT develops new character recognition
technology which can recognize blurred or "designer" characters,
Seiko Instruments wins order for 6,000 portable terminals from
Chicago commodity exchanges, and IBM Japan marketing smallest,
lightest notebook PC with STN color LCD.

6 -> NEC, Toshiba Boost 16 Mb DRAM Output 06/23/94 Both NEC and
Toshiba are boosting 16 megabit (Mb) DRAM (dynamic random access
memory)  production. NEC will boost its 16Mb synchronous DRAM
production  to 400,000 units per month by year's end and Toshiba
plans to increase 16Mb DRAM output to three million units per month
by year's end.

7 -> Japan - Low-Cost Printers From Seiko-Epson, Fujitsu 06/23/94
Seiko-Epson has released  a laser printer priced below 100,000 yen
($971). In addition, Fujitsu plans to market a 600 dots-per-inch
(dpi) page printer  that hovers just above the $1,000 mark.

8 -> Japan - Telecom News Briefs 06/23/94 In today's roundup of items
making news in Japan, Kansai Electric Power discloses ten-year  plan
to install optical fiber cables to four million households, domestic
fax market picks up in fiscal 1993, NHK to begin digital  image
broadcast tests this fall.

9 -> Autodesk Acquires Mediashare 06/23/94 In an effort  to increase
its ability to create better object-oriented Windows- based authoring
tools for both its two-dimensional (2D) and three- dimensional (3D)
graphics and animation software tools, Autodesk  has acquired full
rights to Mediashare's multimedia, interactive  authoring technology.

10 -> Australia - High Speed Modem War 06/23/94 Australian modem
suppliers  are gearing up for big sales and torrid competition as the
ponderous  decision-making of international standard bodies clears
the way for  a new generation of high-speed modems.

11 -> CES - Digital Technology Creates Copyright Problems 06/23/94
 leading US  copyright attorney says that the ability to send
digitized,  unauthorized samples of creative works across phone lines
may serve to make present copyright protection obsolete.

12 -> PenMagic Offers Letter Express For Apple's Newton 06/23/94
PenMagic Software is now shipping Letter Express for Apple Computer
Inc.'s Newton. The software is a new version of a letter-writing
utility PenMagic originally created for Go Corp.'s PenPoint operating
system in 1992.

13 -> More On AT&T/SGI Interactive Joint Venture 06/23/94 In a press
conference attended by Newsbytes, AT&T and Silicon Graphics  Inc.
(SGI) admitted the details of their joint venture company
Interactive Digital Solutions (IDS), have not been worked out.  While
there were technology demonstrations, they were noticeably short and
both companies dodged questions as to  what the joint venture means
financially to each.

14 -> Nanao To Show Monitors & Chicago Technology At PC Expo 06/23/94
At PC Expo in  New York starting June 28, Nanao USA plans to
demonstrate an  implementation of a proposed "plug-and-play"
specification being  developed by the Video Electronics Standards
Association (VESA)  in support of Microsoft's upcoming Chicago. Nanao
will also debut  new 17- and 20-inch "green monitors" that feature an
on-screen  control panel called ScreenManager.

15 -> Correction - Sidekick For Windows 1st App In "Slimline"
06/23/94 In a story on Sidekick for Windows that ran June 21 in
Newsbytes, the name of Borland's new "slimware" software line was
erroneously  identified as "Simplicity." Instead, "Simplify" is the
correct  name of the new product family.

16 ->  ****CES - Recording Industry Exec Calls Internet "Threat"
06/23/94 he executive  vice-president and general counsel of the
largest music industry  trade association calls the Internet a
potential threat to the  music business during a panel at the
Consumer Electronic Show.

17 -> CES - Private Sector Should Develop Info Highway 06/23/94 The
Electronic  Industries Association recommends that the private sector
assume the lead role in the upgrading of the national information
infrastructure. Subject of a discussion at the Consumer  Electronics
Show, the recommendations were released in a "White Paper" presented
at a Washington DC news conference.

18 ->  ****Microsoft Offers "Chicago" Information Online 06/23/94
Microsoft Corporation has formally announced the availability of its
WinNews forum to make available online information about its
next-generation Windows operating system.

19 -> Wordperfect Joins Speech Recognition API Effort 06/23/94
Wordperfect Corporation  says it has joined other developers to
define a common speech recognition application programming interface
(API) for Windows  that could go some way to making the mouse
obsolete.

20 -> Apple Imaging Exec May Return To Eastman Kodak 06/23/94 Eastman
Kodak Company is reportedly trying to lure Apple Computer Inc.'s vice
president of imaging and publishing back to the company.

21 -> IBM Adds Color Subnotebook To ThinkPad Line 06/23/94 IBM has
added the ThinkPad 510Cs -- a four-pound subnotebook with a
supertwist passive-matrix color display -- to its ThinkPad line of
portable computers. The company also added a new docking station that
works with its notebook models.

22 ->  ****CES - Video Industry & 20's Hollywood Compared 06/23/94
Howard Lincoln,  chairman of Nintendo of America, called upon the
video game  industry to learn from Hollywood in the twenties, a time
when  standards were needed and technology was evolving. Lincoln
addressed attendees of the 50th Consumer Electronics Show,  taking
place in Chicago.

23 -> Davidson Demos Multimedia Workshop CD-ROM 06/23/94 Educational
software developer Davidson & Associates has announced a Windows
CD-ROM version of The Multimedia Workshop product aimed at  allowing
10 year-olds to adults to create multimedia presentations  and
published documents. Torrance, California headquartered  Davidson is
demonstrating the product this week at the Summer  Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago.

24 -> Focus Enhancements Acquires Inline Software 06/23/94 Focus
Enhancements Inc., a maker of add-on products for Apple Computer
Inc.'s Macintosh, said it has bought the name, software titles, and
other operating assets of Inline Software Inc., of Lakeville, Conn.

25 -> Telescan Offers Customization System 06/23/94 Telescan has
announced  a system it will seek patents on, code-named Sunflower,
which will  enable businesses and tradegroups to quickly customize
its  services and create their own networks using Telescan's
databases.  The announcement was made at the company's annual
meeting.

26 -> Southern Bell Files Price Cap Plan In Georgia 06/23/94 Southern
Bell  has filed a price cap plan for Georgia, under which it would
cap  basic rates for five years, then increase them only by the rate
of  inflation. In exchange, the company would win complete freedom
to set prices on enhanced services, and to compete with such
companies as MCI and MFS, which are entering the local services
market.

27 -> SprintLink Goes International 06/23/94 Hoping to meet the
needs of both new commercial Internet customers and the NSFnet,  for
which it provides backbone data transfers under the Internet
Protocol, Sprint has announced Global SprintLink, which will let
foreign networks link to the Internet backbone at speeds of up to
2.048 million bits-per-second (bps), known as E1.

28 -> France - Groupe Bull Readies For Privatization 06/23/94 Groupe
Bull, the troubled French computer manufacturer, is now in the final
stages of preparation for privatization, having cleared the hurdles
of the European Commission, as well as getting the official thumbs up
from the French government for the sell off.

29 -> Germany - Deutsche Bundespost Looks At Israeli Firm 06/23/94
Deutsche Bundespost Telekom  (DBT) has revealed it is looking at
investing in Bezeq Telecom, a  Jerusalem-based telecoms company.
According to DBT, senior  officials of both companies have been in
discussions in Israel for  some time.

30 ->  ****PCC Show - Wireless Vision Of The Future 06/23/94 The next
wave of productivity will not come from higher capacity hard disks,
full-motion video and sound coming through a computer, but will  come
when people have tools to be productive wherever business  takes
them, according to Randall Battat, Motorola, formerly of  Apple
Computer, who addressed the PCC (Personal Communications  and
Computing Show), going on simultaneously with the Consumer
Electronics Show at McCormick Hall in Chicago.

(Ian Stokell/19940623)