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/1992/nb920525

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(NEWS)(IBM)(LAX)(00001)

AST Reduces Prices On Fastboard Upgrades 05/25/92
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- AST is
reducing prices on its Fastboards used to upgrade Premium and Power
Premium model computers. The reductions are as high as 17 percent,
the company said.

AST says the design architecture of the Premium II and Power Premium
systems, called Cupid-32, allows for more than just the upgrade of
the microprocessor (CPU) as the Fastboard also contains the first
complement of system memory, cache memory, and co-processor support
on a single board.

The company says it has also introduced a 486DX Fastboard that can
perform at 50 megahertz (MHz). The Fastboards are designed for use in
the AST Premium II and new extended industry standard architecture
(EISA)-based Power Premium brand computers.

AST says the Premium II and Power Premium series are also capable of
being upgraded with Intel's chip-level upgrades also known as the
overdrive chips. These new Intel microprocessor chips boast clock
speeds that are twice as fast and can replace their slower
counterparts. For example, a 486/25 could be replaced with a 486/50.

In addition, the company says users with Premium IIs can upgrade
their machines to the EISA standard with a new upgrade kit for that
purpose.

AST says it introduced upgradeable systems in 1986, the Premium II
line in 1990, and the Power Premium on May 4 of this year. The
company says the Power Premium line is geared specifically toward
providing performance in the graphically based Microsoft Windows
environment.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920522/Press Contact: Gerry Baker, AST, tel 714-
727-7959, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(DEN)(00002)

Control Data's RISC-based Archival System 05/25/92
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Control Data
Corporation's products group has announced ControlServ, a data
storage and retrieval system for use in distributed, heterogeneous
computing networks.

CDC said ControlServ is a RISC-based system which provides
automated backup, archiving, and retrieval for files throughout a
network, whether stored on the a server or on a Unix-based
workstation.

The company said it expects to release a version of ControlServ for
PCs and Macs later this year. The system uses magnetic media as the
primary storage device, with optical disk storage as the second
device.

ControlServ uses a CDC 4000 Infoserver equipped with one to two
gigabytes (GB) of magnetic disk capacity, and a 20 to 60 GB optical
disk library to store data. The company said the base price for a
ControlServ system is $69,500, with the top of the line system
priced at $112,600.

According to Necito Dela Cruz, product marketing manager for CDC,
its less expensive to buy a ControlServ system package, rather than
buying individual components to assemble a storage system. "The cost
of an integrated ControlServ solution is typically 30 to 40 percent
less than the cost of the individual components combined," he said.

Dela Cruz said users backup and retrieve files using a graphical
user interface based on X-Windows and Motif. Graphical user
interfaces allow users to select pictures representing the desired
action rather than typing complicated commands. Selection is
usually done by pointing with a mouse or other pointing device and
clicking on the picture, or icon.

According to CDC, ControlServ keeps the cost of archiving data lower
by saving less frequently needed files on the cost-effective optical
disk library, using the magnetic media for files more frequently
needed.

ControlServ works with CDC's 4000 Infoserver series, Cyber 910/920
workstations and servers, Sun 3 and 4, Hewlett-Packard HP-UX, DEC's
Ultrix, IBM's RS/6000 and systems from Silicon Graphics and MIPS
Computer.

(Jim Mallory/19920522/Press contact: Charlotte Fransen, CDC,
612-482-4857; Reader contact: CDC, 800-257-6736)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00003)

AST Aids Asian Dev't Bank's Annual Meeting 05/25/92
CENTRAL, HONGKONG, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- AST supported the Hong Kong
Government at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by providing 40 AST computers to
help facilitate document processing during the meeting held between
May 4 and 6, 1992.

AST's dealer System Pro also provided installation and technical
support services for the event.

The meeting was attended by delegations headed by the finance ministers
or heads of the central bank from 50 member countries or territories and
senior representatives from the world's banks and financial
institutions.

Installed at the registration desks, the press center, the Government
and ADB Secretariats, and the ADB Management and Board of Director's
Offices, the AST computers were utilized to help perform word
processing, registration, and such document production tasks as
preparation of Governor's statement.

AST Asia Pacific Managing Director Philip Wong said: "As one of the
leading PC suppliers to the Government and the banking sector, AST is
honored to be able to contribute to the success of the event which
serves as a good opportunity for promoting Hong Kong's image as a
thriving international financial and trading center."

(Brett Cameron/NBHK9205.24/Press Contact: Cania Wong, Media Dynamics
Limited, Tel [phone]; Hong Kong Time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(UNIX)(LON)(00004)

UK: ACT Sigmex Intros 9000 Series PCs 05/25/92
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- ACT Sigmex has announced
a modular series of PCs called the 9000 series. The machines are
based around Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) and are being aimed
at Unix users, although DOS and OS/2 can easily be run on the
systems.

Prices start at UKP 7,000 for the machines. This fairly hefty
entry-level price tag is justified by Andy Durham, the company's
sales and marketing manager, who said that the machines have been
designed to meet the specialist graphics requirements of
telemetric applications, such as energy management control room
systems, as well as real-time graphical information display
systems.

"The computer graphics industry has undergone significant growth
in the last ten years and now accounts for approximately 15
percent of all computing applications. Large organizations, such
as public utilities, are realizing the importance of advanced
graphical applications for both operational and administrative
uses which, in many instances, need to run within the same
corporate infrastructure," he said.

According to Durham. The 9000's flexible modular design allows
the most cost-effective system to be built for the user,
regardless of his/her graphics requirements.

ACT claims that the 9000 is the first graphics system that
provides integrated GKS and X-Windows functionality in a single
user interface. This feature allows X applications to run under
one Window, while GKS runs in another.

(Steve Gold/19920521/Press & Public Contact: ACT Sigmex - Tel:
0403-50445)


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00005)

New For PC: Magic Database Upgrade 05/25/92
WEMBLEY, MIDDLESEX, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Magic Software
Enterprises (MSE) has announced Magic 5, a new version of its
code-free, object-oriented application development system. The
package now runs under Windows, but still allows users to develop
database applications without the need for programming knowledge,
the company claims.

Other enhancements to the package over earlier versions include
full mouse support for text-based applications and improved
client/server facilities. The package's data dictionary has been
expanded to allow more features to be integrated into the final
application.

"The overwhelming popularity of Windows has shown just how
susceptible the computer industry is to rapid change," explained
Alex Hill, the company's managing director.

"Changing the computing platform is a major step, and risky for
MIS (management information systems) managers. As investments
must be protected, no one can afford to pick the wrong
technology. Magic's interoperability and database independence
have been designed to eliminate this dilemma, with programming
functionality to take developers and end users well beyond the
4GL era," he said.

Pricing on Magic 5 depends on site licensing requirements. To
date, more than 120,000 licences have been sold on over 25
countries, the company claims. Users include British Telecom,
Hewlett-Packard, and the General Electric Company.

One interesting feature of Magic 5 is that the package has a new
editing and automatic program generation (APG) facility. This
allows prototype programs to be developed fairly quickly.
Professional programmers can then, if need be, work on the
prototype application to produce a final stand-alone program.

(Steve Gold/19920522/Press & Public Contact: Magic Software
Enterprises - Tel: [phone])


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

 ****Japan: Speedy Color LCD Breakthrough 05/25/92
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Toshiba claims to have made
a color liquid crystal display (LCD) that is as fast as
a Braun tube-type display used in desktop type computers.

Toshiba calls its original technology the "Level Adjusted
Operation" method and reports it is based on TFT (thin film transistor)
technology. Toshiba reports the speed of change from one screen image
to another takes only 17 milliseconds. Existing color LCDs takes
around 40 to 60 milliseconds. This means Toshiba's latest LAO color
LCD is two to three times faster than conventional color LCDs.

Toshiba says its color LCD it can support software that requires
a responsive screen, and does so with images that are extra crisp
and clear.

Toshiba's LAO color LCD is still prototype but the firm expects to
apply it eventually to high definition color TVs as well as color
LCD computers within three years. It is also expected to apply the
technology to multimedia computers.

(Masayuki Miyazawa/19920525/Press Contact: Toshiba, +81-3-3457-
2100)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(MOW)(00007)

Russia: 2 Computer Expos Coming 05/25/92
ST PETERSBOURG, RUSSIA, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Restek company, with
support from the city mayor and the UNESCO informatics committee, will
sponsor two computer exhibitions in St Petersbourg later this year.

The Municipal Information Systems Show will be held July 14-18,
while the more general Informatics and Computer Technics exhibition is
scheduled November 25 - December 1.

Both events, held in the Gavan (Harbor) exhibition center, have
"international participation," the managers said. Inexpensive
accommodation packages are available from Restek.

Concerning the scope of the exhibition, Roman Okunev, exhibition
spokesman, said that coverage will be broad enough to attract more
visitors, as usually happens with the medium-sized computer events in
Russia.

(Kirill Tchashchin/199204/Press Contact: Restek, Roman Okunev, phone +7
812 356-3555; phone/ fax [phone]; e-mail [e-mail])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00008)

Olivetti Takes Stake In Italian Rail Modernization Project 05/25/82
IVREA, ITALY, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Olivetti has announced it is
taking a 20 percent stake in Datasint, a joint venture company
that the Italian state railway company is launching to modernize
the communications of its network.

While the idea behind Datasint is to computerize the Italian
railway network, the railway company is undoubtedly preparing the
way for the impending liberalization of Italy's telecom network,
in line with European Commission policies.

The Italian railway company will hold 60 percent of the shares in
Datasint, with Finisiel holding the other 20 percent. Financial
details of the company have not been released.

The deal gives Olivetti a slice of business that it has
complained that it has not had access to in the past. The deal is
good news for Olivetti which has been losing business in Italy as
the country opens up its telecom markets to outside companies,
in line with EC rules.

The Italian rail network is currently undergoing a period of
great change. As air routes in Europe reach saturation point,
travellers are turning to the railways to provide rapid transport
between major cities. Italy's network is currently changing to
introduce high-speed trains which can speed travellers between
capital cities at speeds of up to 300 kilometres (200 miles) per
hour.

(Steve Gold/19920525)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00009)

West German PTT Bows To EC: Shuffles Line Leasing Costs 05/25/92
BONN, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- In what appears to a
move to satisfy the European Commission (EC), Deutsches
Bundespost Telekom (DBT) has announced plans to cut long
distance leased line rates by as much as a third. Local leased
line rates, however, look set to rise as a result.

Although EC officials have been pressing for the state-controlled
telecom company to cut its leased line rates, the decision to
hike local line rates will come in for criticism. Newsbytes
notes, however, that many companies will probably switch to the
new generation of "virtual" local private lines being offered by
West German companies, or, alternative, integrated services
digital network (ISDN) circuits, which are also offered by DBT.

EC officials have been lobbying hard for a change in West
Germany's telecom rules. Currently, DBT holds a near-monopoly
position in the German telecom market, whereas the EC wants as
near to a free market situation -- as currently operates in the
U.S. -- as possible.

(Steve Gold/19920525)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SYD)(00010)

Australia: Computerland Division Becomes Superstores 05/25/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Melbourne-based high-end PC
dealer group HiSoft has announced it will launch a series of superstores
by the end of the year. HiSoft's Computerland franchise stores will
open in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

They will feature software laboratories where users can test-drive
applications on appropriate hardware.

The first three sites will be operated by a company headed by former
HiSoft executives Braham Schneider and Paul Chirny. The sales plan
calls for AUS$20M sales in the first year. Computerland currently has
13 franchised stores in Australia. HiSoft MD Howard Merry has
pledged to build to 25 over the next two or three years. He said
the superstores would be "half as big as a K-Mart." He sees their
role not only as supplying PCs to users and small and medium
business, but also as a commodity and peripherals supplier for
corporate and government credit card purchasers.

Merry forecasts that HiSoft will boost revenue from AUS$146M to AUS$215M
in the year ending June 30. He predicts AUS$300M for the following year.
"The microcomputer business is really about owning the distribution
channel, and HiSoft has a substantial segment of the channel now,"
he said.

(Paul Zucker/19920525)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00011)

 ****Apple's Sculley Demos Newton; Forms Apple PIE 05/25/92
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- After
months of speculation in the press, Apple's John Sculley has
demonstrated the innovative one-pound Newton personal
organizer. At the same time he announced the formation of a
new division -- Apple PIE (Personal Interactive Electronics) -- to
concentrate on new technologies and products in the fields of
computers, telecommunications, entertainment, and consumer
electronics.

Newton, small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, is designed to
act as a database and to utilize built-in intelligence. It will get
its first public showing at the Consumer Electronics Show in
Chicago this week.

Sculley, chairman and chief executive officer for Apple, in
demonstrating the device, heralded it as the computer giant's
opening salvo aimed at the booming hand-held electronics
marketplace, according to a UPI report.

According to Sculley, the device is the first in a range of
products that will fuse together different technologies. "It'll be a
wonderful collision," he said. "This is a tremendously exciting
moment. It's the birth of a megaindustry that could shape the
1990s."

Newton was designed with the help of Japan's Sharp, who also
collaborated with Apple in the manufacture of one of the
company's new PowerBook notebook computers.

The PIE division already has 200 employees and has a research
facility in Cambridge, Mass., according to Sculley. PIE is also
working on a new programming language called Dylan,
designed for use with portable electronic devices and software.

(Ian Stokell/19920525)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(TOR)(00012)

Cellular Phone Company NovAtel Sold In Two Parts 05/25/92
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- The government of the
province of Alberta has sold NovAtel, the maker of cellular
telephone sets and switching technology, in two parts. Northern
Telecom will buy NovAtel's cellular systems technology, while a
Hong Kong company, Telexel Holding, will acquire the NovAtel name
along with its cellular phone manufacturing business and some other
products.

The province will get a total of $66.8 million for the company, for
which it paid nearly $160 million less than 18 months ago.

Telexel will pay the Alberta government C$3 million right away,
hand over accounts receivable worth C$5.8 million, and pay the
government at least C$20 million more over the next five years.
Northern Telecom will pay $38 million for its share, NovAtel
spokeswoman LaDawn Bly told Newsbytes.

The company expects about 300 of its 950 employees in Alberta will
lose their jobs, Bly said.

Bly said systems manufacturing at NovAtel's plant in Lethbridge,
Alberta, will be moved to a Northern Telecom plant in Calgary.
However, Telexel will continue making other products at the
Lethbridge facility, and also plans to re-open a plant in Calgary
that was closed in a reorganization last spring, she said.

The provincial government has been sole owner of NovAtel since the
beginning of 1991, when it bought the company from Telus, the
holding company for the provincial telephone carrier AGT. AGT,
formerly Alberta Government Telephones, was one of two original
partners in NovAtel. When the former Crown corporation was sold to
the public, the government guaranteed it would buy NovAtel back if
no other buyer could be found for the company.

Alberta paid Telus C$159.4 million for NovAtel. The province had
also put money into NovAtel earlier, through Alberta Government
Telephones.

In addition to NovAtel's cellular phone business, Telexel gets its
SCS-Libra microcellular technology, radio-frequency data units, and
global positional system products.

Northern acquires the 800CM cellular systems technology. Northern
was already NovAtel's exclusive supplier of 800-megahertz base
stations. The companies also announced that Northern Telecom will
provide service for existing 800 CM systems in the United States
and internationally.

NovAtel hopes to make the impact of the transition on its systems
customers "as minimal as possible," Bly said. For cellular
subscribers who buy its handsets and other products, she said, the
company expects the impact to be positive.

(Grant Buckler/19920525/Press Contact: LaDawn Bly, NovAtel,
403-295-4548, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00013)

 ****Memorial Day Holiday: Smaller Newsbytes Edition 05/15/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Due to the
Memorial Day holiday in the US, today's edition of Newsbytes is
smaller than usual compared to the average 30-40 news stories.

Most of the reports are generated overseas from our non-US bureaus
where it is not a holiday.

Newsbytes normal volume resumes tomorrow.

(Wendy Woods/19920525)


(EDITORIAL)(UNIX)(SFO)(00014)

Editorial: Open Systems -- I Just Don't Get It! 05/25/92
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 MAY 25 (NB) -- Okay, so
now I'm confused.

They say Unix is actually "open systems" but each vendor adds
a few bells and whistles to their own version to make it more
appealing than the next, and consequently, applications written
for one strain will not run on another.

Then they say DOS and IBM PCs and compatibles are "proprietary"
and yet you can buy a compatible PC from a thousand different
hardware vendors that will run tens of thousands of different software
packages from all over the globe usually without any tinkering and
tweaking.

Now, as a user, I don't really give a monkey's armpit about the
technicalities of the situation. As far as I'm concerned an "open
system" is one where the hardware is not controlled by a single
vendor, a la Apple's Macintosh. You can go out there and shop
around from an almost infinite number of vendors, from "big name"
brands to "no-name" clones, taking your chance with low-cost,
high-powered, no-support back street firms, or high-profile,
guaranteed support, but at a higher cost, from the big boys.

As a user I want to be able to buy any one of a zillion different
software packages on the market, from desktop publishing to
games to office automation to nifty utilities, and know that I can
go home, break open the packet and plug it in without any
problems.

I just don't understand all this Unix snobbery. What the heck
is the point of all this "open systems" talk if nothing will
work with anything else!

With an IBM PC or compatible, you can go out there and spend
as much, or as little as you want, knowing that most of the
programs out there will run on it. The others will need a few
hardware upgrades, but you have hundreds of competing vendors
that are offering peripheral upgrades that you know will work
with your system, e.g. extra RAM and expansion boards.

And if you do want to migrate to a more powerful machine,
you know your old versions of particular software will work
with just about any PC from whatever manufacturer you
choose, unlike some platforms I could mention (System 7.0
anybody?)

Want to network fifty PCs? Or two PCs? Well there's plenty of
networking software to choose from that will always work with
any vendor's machines. Want to add a CD-ROM drive? Pick up
a copy of PC Magazine, there's only about a billion products
advertised. And all of them will work with your machine. Sometimes
hardware will need a little tweaking, but at least it'll work.

Am I overstating my point? Look, much of the computer industry
suffers from both a disturbing snobbery that dictates complete
distain for compatibility, and a total disregard for what the
majority of users actually want -- an uncomplicated computer,
not controlled by a single vendor, that offers trillions of good,
easy-to-use software packages at a reasonable cost. Until that
platform comes along, an IBM compatible PC is the only serious
platform available.

(Ian Stokell/19920522)