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/nb920624

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(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00001)

PC Expo: Mitsubishi Intros First 17-Inch Monitor, Printer 06/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- At PC Expo,
Mitsubishi  has introduced a 17-inch CRT (cathode ray tube)
monitor for PCs, Macs and Unix, along with Windows 3.1 and
PostScript compatibility for its midrange wax thermal and
high-end dye sublimation printers.

Craig H. Sloss, product marketing manager for Display Products,
told Newsbytes that the new monitor, the Diamond Pro 17, is not
only the company's first 17-inch display, but also the first
Mitsubishi product to use a new technology called aperture grille
cathode-ray tube.  Unlike earlier flat square and precision
in-line faceplate CRTs, the new technology lets users control
convergence, according to Sloss.  Brightness and contrast are
also superior, he stressed.

Further, he said, aperture-grille CRT technology is lowering
monitor prices while at the same time increasing product
availability.  "This is being accomplished by improving the yield
rates, or percentages of products that survive the manufacturing
process without having to be discarded due to error," he
commented.

The Diamond Pro 17 will appeal to Windows, Open Look, and
Macintosh users who want the best desktop monitors available
for their systems, as well as to users who require high-
performance CAD/CAM/CAE (computer-aide design/manufacturing/
engineering) displays but don't want to spend the extra $1,000
needed for a 20-inch product, he remarked.

Outside of the benefits supplied by the new CRT technology, said
Sloss, the monitor is noteworthy because it features the Diamond
Match Color Calibration System, a microprocessor-based method of
adjusting the on-screen colors to match hardcopy, Pantone, or other
color samples.  Professional designers and printers will appreciate
these capabilities, he noted.

The Diamond Pro 17 is compatible with all medium- to high-
resolution graphics standards from 640 by 480 through 1280 by
1024 at 60 MHz noninterlaced.  Priced at $1,599, the product is
shipping.

The color printers that have been upgraded with Windows 3.1 and
PostScript compatibility are the 300 and S300 dye sublimation
printers and the G650 wax thermal printer.  "We like to say that
the 300 and S300 provide photographic quality, while the G650
provides pleasing quality," Stan Perkins, manager of Imaging
Product Marketing, told Newsbytes.

But the popularity of the midrange wax thermal color printer is
rising with the ascendance of Windows, he emphasized.  "End users
see these beautiful color programs on their screens, and it gets
them thinking about outputting in color," he commented.

In addition to being enhanced with Windows 3.1 and PostScript
compatibility, the G650 has been supplied with a larger paper bin,
capable of printing on to 12- by 18-inch paper, instead of the
11- by 17-inch stock that was the top limit in the past.

Each of the printers had previously been enhanced with Windows
3.0 compatibility.  The Print 300 is priced at $14,995, the S340
at $10,995, and the G650 at $6,995.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19920623/Press Contact:  Charles J. Marchand,
Miller Communications for Mitsubishi, tel [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00002)

New For PC: Fastback Plus 3.1 Data Backup Program 06/24/92
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Fifth
Generation Systems (FGS) says it is now shipping Fastback Plus
3.1 for DOS, the latest version of its data backup program.

FGS says version 3.1 supports the most popular QIC tape hardware,
including Irwin Archive and Colorado. Fastback Plus will backup
hard drive data and programs to either tape or floppy disks, and the
process can be automated. The company also publishes versions of
Fastback for Windows, Netware, and Macintosh systems.

Barry Bellue, president of FGS, said the company has returned the
command line option based on customer request. Fastback's earlier
versions could run from the command line, or from the program's
menu structure. Bellue said tape support has also been added to
automatically operate unattended at scheduled intervals.

Fastback Plus 3.1 runs on IBM PCs and compatibles that have 640
kilobytes of random access memory (RAM) and a hard drive. The
program supports the use of a Logitech and Microsoft compatible
mouse, and has a suggested retail price of $189.

(Jim Mallory/19920623/Press contact: Jorge Vallery, FGS,
504-291-7221)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00003)

New For PC: US Version Of Tman POS Software Launched 06/24/92
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Bold
Point Software has begun shipping a version of its Tman point-of-
sale and inventory control software for the United States market.
Bold Point has also signed a distribution agreement with
DistribuPro of San Jose, California.

The United States version of Tman differs from the Canadian
version, which has been on the market for some time, mainly in
tax handling, said Kerry Johnston, president of Bold Point. It
replaced the Canadian provincial sales taxes and Goods and
Services Tax with state tax and federal excise tax.

Tman has always been able to handle inventory on either a
first-in, first-out, or a last-in, first-out basis, Johnston said,
noting that the latter approach is more popular in the United
States.

Johnston said the potential market for Tman in the United States
is at least 10 times that in Canada. He added that he expects the
product's availability in the US will actually help Canadian
sales as well, observing that Canadian customers are often
suspicious of Canadian software and regard sales outside the
country as proof the product is a good one.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Kerry Johnston, Bold
Point Software, 604-687-2000, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00004)

New For Unix: Image Program Update Slated For SIGGRAPH 06/24/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- At the SIGGRAPH
show and conference in July, Discreet Logic plans to introduce a
new version of Eddie, its interactive special effects and
compositing program for Silicon Graphics workstations.

Eddie offers an assortment of software tools for enhancing and
combining images from video, film, and computer graphics. Its
capabilities include "morphing," the ability to convert one image
smoothly into another through computer processing rather than
tedious hand-animation.

New capabilities in the upcoming release will include a feature
called "3D from 2D," which will use a computer algorithm to add
shading to two-dimensional drawings, giving the appearance of
depth, a spokeswoman for the company said.

The morphing tool will get a number of new features designed to
make it easier to use, the spokeswoman said. Finally, a built-in
paint program will be added to the software.

The spokeswoman said Eddie is complementary to three-
dimensional animation software.

(Grant Buckler/19920623/Press Contact: Pat Hunter, Artemis
Hunter Public Relations for Discreet Logic, 416-487-4488, fax
416-487-7335; Discreet Logic, 514-272-0525, fax 514-272-
0585)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00005)

Compatible Systems Ships DECnet Support For Router 06/24/92
BOULDER, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Compatible
Systems Corp. (CSC) has introduced a new software module that
will become a part of their EtherRoute/TCP product. The
EtherRoute/TCP is a router that supports LocalTalk and TCP/IP
installations. The new module allows the AppleTalk side to talk
with DECnet networks, a capability which previously was not
available.

Matt McConnell, president of Compatible Systems said: "There are
several popular software packages available for Macintosh to DEC
communications which depend on DECnet support being available in
a router, including Digital's Pathworks and Thursby Software's
TSSNet. We have found that DECnet is a requirement in some sites
with DEC machines installed, although TCP/IP is commonly used
for this purpose. And we see more and more DEC installations
wanting to connect their Macs to the corporate network."

This DECnet phase IV support module is shipping now with all new
purchases of EtherRoute/TCP. There is no additional cost for the
software module. Existing users who wish to add this capability
to their router should contact the company to arrange for a free
upgrade. It is CSC's policy to add more and more software
functionality to their routers without charging their customers
for these capabilities. CSC routers retail for $1,895 with TCP/IP
support.

(Naor Wallach/19920623/Press Contact: Sally Smith, SSSMith
and Associates, 513-897-0654)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00006)

New Direction For NIKE With Sun Microsystems And Oracle 06/24/92
TSIMSHATSUI, HONG KONG, JUN 24 1992 -- The US sports footwear
and apparel giant, NIKE Inc., has installed a Sun Microsystems server
and Oracle Financials software as part of a plan to establish its
own distribution, marketing, and retail sales operation in Hong Kong.

Running on a powerful dual-processor SPARCsystem 670MP server
from Sun Microsystems, Oracle Financials will enable NIKE to
monitor and control every aspect of its retail business.

"Though NIKE has had a presence in Hong Kong for more than 10 years,
we used to rely on independent distributors to market our shoes and
sportswear," said LAN Administrator Helen K.P. Tang. "We have been
using a Banyan Vines PC network, but its previous configuration was
not capable of supporting the kind of business that NIKE is moving
towards."

NIKE previously used a range of different software packages in each
of its Asian offices. As this software disparity made it difficult to
consolidate and analyze vital financial information, the company
decided to standardize on Oracle Financials. "Now we can establish
common reporting procedures, achieve better and faster management
information and consolidate support throughout the region," said
Tang.

Nike's US headquarters spent over a year examining and evaluating
more than 30 packages, before choosing Oracle. Power,
flexibility, an international presence, and support were major
factors in Oracle's favor.

"We needed a powerful solution that could deal with a large number
of variables," said Tang. "For example, with the case of footwear,
we have to do inventory by a great many different criteria like size,
width, color, and style. Some of our product codes are 28
characters long."

In addition, NIKE needed a computing system with a wide range of
binary-compatible products. While some of its offices could utilize
the low-cost SPARCstation2, in Hong Kong, with business expanding
rapidly, NIKE System Analyst Michael Y. W. Liu selected the powerful
dual-processor SPARCsystem 670MP, in order to have the capacity
to handle future needs.

"Oracle Financials software is compatible with Unix," Liu said. "We
tested it on the SPARCsystem 670MP and were very comfortable
with it's performance."

Service was also a critical consideration. According to Liu, the
fact that Sun Microsystems and its Open Systems Support Partners
were capable of providing support at all NIKE's sites throughout
the Asia-Pacific region had a definite impact on the selection
criteria.

With the new system up and running, NIKE is able to analyze exactly
how its marketing activities are progressing and develop better
management information. Data on size preferences in Hong Kong or
this season's most popular colors, can be extracted and used to
streamline sales efforts.

However, according to Tang, knowing what has been selling well is
only half the battle. She is looking towards the day when NIKE's
Hong Kong sales office will be able to see into the future.

"Our US headquarters is using Oracle development tools to create
applications that will help us project future trends.  Such
applications would enable orders to be placed well in advance. They
would also help factories schedule their production runs with more
precision, allow better control of raw materials and, in the end,
make prices more competitive in the stores," said Tang.

The new sales office, which officially opened at the beginning of
June, will house accounting, sales, marketing, MIS, retail and order
entry. It is envisaged that demand on computer resources will
increase.

"That was one of the reasons we chose a client/server solution,"
said Liu "It gives us the flexibility to meet our existing needs
without compromising our ability to cope with the demands of
the future."

According to Liu, the choice of the Sun Microsystems SPARCsystem
670MP server was result of stringent hardware evaluation by NIKE's
headquarters. "When the head office tried SPARCstation, it provided
good performance, supported a large number of users and was in the
right price range. It has been recommended to our other distribution
offices," said Liu.

The region-wide implementation will enable NIKE to link all of its
regional offices into a wide area network over leased lines.

(Brett Cameron/19920622/Press contact: Brian Paterson, Euan
Barty Associates, Tel: [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00007)

Marvin Kalb Moderates "Great Technology Debate" Panel 06/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 24 (NB) -- At a June
22nd panel discussion in New York City's Lincoln Center sponsored by
Computerworld and Computer Associates, former CBS-TV newsman
Marvin Kalb asked a distinguished group industry figures: "Whether
the United States needs a national technology policy and, if so, who
should run it?"

The panel to which the question was addressed was composed of
Gordon Bell, designer of much of Digital Equipment's early systems
and 1991 recipient of the National Medal of Technology; Senator Jeff
Bingaman (D-NM), chair of the Senate Defense and Technology
Subcommittee; Lewis Branscomb, Harvard professor and former chief
scientist, IBM;  Doug Michels, co-founder of The Santa Cruz Operation
(SCO); Stephen S. Roach, principal and senior economist, Morgan
Stanley & Company; and Roger J. Sippl, founder and chairman of
Informix Software, Inc.

Sippl, speaking first, said that we do need a policy but that it
should be limited to financial incentives for development -- tax
credits for research and development, and lower capital gains tax --
and, other than that, "the government should get out of the way of
the entrepreneurs."

Roach said, that while he agrees with those that say there is a
crisis, it is our use of technology is the heart of the problem. He
said "It is not that there are problems with our technology; it is
rather that our information society has not reaped the benefits of
its enormous investment in the technology. There has been very
little growth in clerical productivity due to the technology. We
have just gone through our first white-collar recession and there
would not have been the great loss in white collar jobs if these
positions had been productive."

Roach added that it is in the area of productively using our
technology that should be addressed by any policy group.

Gordon Bell said that there should be a policy which would get the
government out of control of technology and standards but would
put such things in the hands of industry self-organized groups with
government partners. He also called for getting the control of
government policy away from the military and advocated the
privatization of government research labs.

Bell also said that he favor subsidization of technology
manufacturing, saying: "We subsidize farming, why not
manufacturing? We should be rewarding IBM for doing its own
manufacturing instead of simply watching Apple get out of
domestic manufacturing."

Bingaman called for government investment in high risk
development areas as a way to stimulate innovation. He called for
the broadening of DARPA's (Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency) role to encompass non-military related development as
well as projects of military significance.

Michels said that it is ironic that it has been government policy
that, to date, has been responsible for the trend toward open
systems. He said: "DARPA and NIST (National Institute of Standards
and Technology) have been prime players in this development. so
we really have had some national policy."

Michels then addressed the question -- "How can government help
without getting in the way?" and said: "Just find what is broken
and fix it. Our educational system is broken - fix it! We have a short
term mindset and do not plan for long term development. Our legal
system is totally ambiguous when it comes to patent and copyright
law. We must invest in education, structure a tax system that
rewards long term investment and rewrite the intellectual property
laws. That's how government can help."

Branscomb said: "We have some fundamental competitive problems.
Japan invests more and trains more. It was embarrassing for us to
lose dominance in the machine tool and robotics industries -- these
were invented at MIT. We spend more on R&D than Japan, Germany,
and France combined yet do not show a proper return on the
investment. That is because it is a top-down approach that gives
us such products as SDI -- I call it a socialist policy."

Branscomb continued: "The government should work with industry
to identify those breakthrough areas where government investment
is called for."

At the close of the panelist statements, Kalb opened the floor to
questions and then, in closing asked each speaker to identify the
presidential candidate who he feels will be the best one to advance
technology. He  also asked for recommendations that the panelist
would make to this new president-elect. The panelist's choices
follow: Lewis Branscomb -- Clinton; Doug Michels -- "I'm not sure
it makes a difference;" Senator Bingaman -- Clinton; Gordon Bell --
Perot; Stephen Roach -- Perot; Roger Sippl -- Bush.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen//19920624/Press
Contacts: Lloyd D. Benson, Cudaback Strategic Communications,
617-661-6330; Bob Gordon, Computer Associates, 516-342-2391)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00008)

Artisoft Bundles StationWare With Central Station 06/24/92
TUCSON, ARIZONA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Starting early in June,
Artisoft has begun bundling all three of its Stationware products
to purchasers of its Central Station connectivity processor. Central
Station is a hardware device that contains a PC connection port,
one parallel port, two serial ports, an optional SCSI (Small Computer
Systems Interface) port, and an Ethernet connection. It could be
used for any number of things and Artisoft is marketing three
software packages that tailor it for these purposes.

When you buy a Central Station you always got the laptop
connectivity Stationware product with it. This allowed you to dock
your laptop to the unit and use the Central Station as the laptop's
network interface card. Artisoft has developed two other programs
that fall into the Stationware line. Printer Server Stationware is
used to turn the Central Station into a printer server by the use
of the parallel or serial ports. Dial-Up Connection Stationware used
the Central Station as a modem connection to the network. Both
applications sold separately for $99 each.

There are two versions of each of these applications and of Central
Station itself. One of the versions supports LANtastic networks
while the other supported Novell Netware based networks. Artisoft
has been developing Stationware applications for each of these two
platforms. However, the Netware version of the Dial Up Connection
Stationware is not released at this time. Purchasers of the Novell
version of Central Station will receive the Printer Server
Stationware that is appropriate for their use as well as a coupon
that lets them add the Dial Up Connection Stationware for free
when it becomes available later in the summer.

This promotion is billed as a limited time offer. However, the
company has not set a date at which time the promotion will have
ended. In addition, people who have purchased Central Station after
May 1 or those who have purchased Stationware products after that
date should contact Artisoft customer support for details on how
they can either get the products for free or receive a
reimbursement of their purchase price.

(Naor Wallach/19920623, Press Contact: Joe Stunkard, Artisoft,
602-690-3231)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(SFO)(00009)

Claris Ships MacDraw Pro 1.5 06/24/92
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- As reported
by Newsbytes recently, Claris has prepared a significant upgrade to
their drawing program MacDraw Pro.

The new version is called MacDraw Pro 1.5 and it offers significant
speed enhancements over the previous versions. Claris is claiming
25 to 75 percent faster performance in most areas where speed is
measured including text entry, image displays, and printing.

In addition to the speed enhancements, Claris is saying this new
version is full "System 7 savvy," which means that is supports all
of the operating system's features including QuickTime, publish &
subscribe, Apple events, add Balloon Help.

MacDraw Pro 1.5 is shipping now. It is available for purchase for
a retail price of $399. Current users of MacDraw II or any of the
competing drawing packages like Corel Draw or Canvas can upgrade
to MacDraw Pro 1.5 for $99. Those who are currently using MacDraw
Pro1.0 can upgrade for $15.

(Naor Wallach/19920623/Press Contact: Kevin Mallon, Claris,
408-987-7227)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00010)

Cabletron And Crescendo Agree On Single FDDI Spec 06/24/92
ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Cabletron
and Crescendo have come to an agreement on the way to encode
digital data in an FDDI (fiber data distribution interface) network
that is using unshielded twisted pair wiring. This agreement paves
the way for this method to become the standard that will be
adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Up until now, Cabletron and Crescendo represented the two different
proposals that were in front of ANSI and were backed by other
companies like AT&T, British Telecom, Fibronics, Hewlett-Packard,
Ungermann-Bass, and National Semiconductor. The two proposals
were either Crescendo's Multi-Level Transmission - 3 (MLT-3) or
Cabletron's digitally equalized Non Return to Zero Inverted (NRZI).

Under this agreement, Cabletron and Crescendo will be proposing a
single modified MLT-3 proposal to the ANSI committee that is
meeting this week. Both companies expect that their agreement will
smooth the path for this standard and that the actual standard may
get released as early as January 1993. The companies engineers have
been working together on the modifications to the original proposal
and expect to continue to work together to firm up several areas
that are still relatively undefined or technically ambiguous.

Sources within Cabletron told Newsbytes that although none of the
other companies involved in the standardization effort have stood
up to support this new proposal, that they are just "straddling
the fence and waiting to see what will happen."

Should this proposal be adopted as the standard, one would expect
to see implementations in silicon of this technology soon after the
standard is published. This means that by this time next year there
may be some products out that allow for the use of the FDDI
specifications and data rates to operate across unshielded twisted
pair wiring. This will have to be Type 5 cabling so most offices
will still need to worry about pulling new wire through their walls
should they decide to adopt FDDI.

(Naor Wallach/19920623, Press Contact: Darren Orzechowski,
Cabletron, 603-332-9400 extension 1282)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00011)

Chipcom Signs Reseller Agreement With Ascom Timeplex 06/24/92
SOUTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- To
date, Chipcom has been overly reliant on sales that come in from
Digital Equipment Corporation. That is the message that many
financial analysts have given to Chipcom over the past few months.
Consequently, Chipcom decided to do something about it and they
are on a push to increase their market share and distribution
arrangements.

At this time, Chipcom is announcing a worldwide reseller agreement
with Ascom Timeplex. This agreement is very similar to the one that
Chipcom currently has in place with DEC. It is also going to be the
model that will be used with other such agreements that Chipcom is
expected to make public within the next few weeks.

Basically, Ascom Timeplex gets the rights to sell Chipcom
equipment anywhere in the world they choose to do so. To help
Ascom Timeplex in their task, Chipcom has trained all of the
appropriate people within Ascom Timeplex and plans to continue
to offer such training as new products are developed and introduced.
Ascom Timeplex for its part, will sell, install, service, and
maintain the whole of the Chipcom line wherever it is sold by them.

James Babcock, vice president of marketing for Ascom Timeplex
has stated that: "Ascom Timeplex customers expect high quality,
redundancy, resiliency, and fault tolerance in the products we
offer. Chipcom, an acknowledged technological leader in the
switching hub market, has raised the standards of excellence for
these qualities and has integrated them into their intelligent hub."

According to David Fowler, Chipcom's vice president of marketing:
"Our distribution strategy continues to be focused on working with
superior resellers and systems integrators. This relationship with
Ascom Timeplex greatly expands our third-party channel, and gives
users a worldwide source for a broad range of product solutions."

(Naor Wallach/19920623/Press Contact: Christine LeCompte,
Beaupre & Co. for Chipcom, 603-436-6690)



(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

French War For Mobile Datacoms Hots Up 06/24/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- In parallel with the battle
for supremacy in the mobile voice telecoms arena, the French
government is preparing the ground for a similar war on the
mobile data front.

Unlike the mobile voice telecoms battle, however, the Ministry of
Posts and Telecommunications in France wants to control the
competition. The government agency says that it is allowing just
four companies -- Bouygues, the French manufacturing concern;
Cofira, the mobile telecoms division of Generale des Eaux; France
Telecom, the state telecoms company, and Hutchinson, the UK
mobile telecoms company -- to bid for a license.

All four companies are keeping their plans for a network quiet
until licenses are awarded by the French government at the end of
this year, just as the so-called "free European market" opens for
business, and customs plus trading barriers between European
Community (EC) countries come down. Sources in the industry
suggest, however, that two mobile data licenses will be awarded.

All four companies are "dark horses" when it comes to the
technology they plan to use in France for their respective mobile
data networks. Logic suggests that they will use a derivative of
the VHF/FM packet radio networks as seen in the UK. This will
enable the successful licensees to use existing technology to get
the French mobile data networks operational as quickly as
possible.

(Steve Gold/19920624)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00013)

Deutsche Bundespost Would Welcome Open Telecoms Market 06/24/92
BONN, WESTERN GERMANY, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) - Deutsche Bundespost
Telekom (DBT) and the German government would welcome a totally
open telecoms market in Germany, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, the
country's postal minister, has said.

Speaking at the international postal and telecoms conference in
Bonn this week, Schwarz-Schilling, said that the only proviso the
government had for a totally free market would be that DBT be
transformed into a private company. This, he said, would allow
DBT to compete on equal terms with any new company as they
entered the German telecoms marketplace.

Schwarz-Schilling added that no major company with a proven
track record, as well as experience in the field of telecoms,
should be denied a place in the German telecoms marketplace.

The minister's comments come as a something of a surprise, even
in the light of the recent acceleration in liberalization of the
German telecoms marketplace, since DBT and the German
government were renowned for their liking for the near-
monopoly that DBT enjoys in the German telecoms market.

(Steve Gold/19920624)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00014)

Ericsson Secures Major UK Mobile Telecoms Contract 06/24/92
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Vodafone has awarded
Ericsson, the Swedish telecoms company, with a UKP 30 million
contract for electronic mobile exchange (EMX) hardware. The
equipment will be used in Vodafone's next-generation digital
mobile telephone network, known as Groupe Speciale Mobline
(GSM).

What's interesting about the deal is that Ericsson has made the
announcement about the contract rather than Vodafone. To date,
after a surge of activity a few years ago, culminating in the
opening of a pilot GSM network in the London area last year,
Vodafone's activity on the GSM front has been noticeably quiet.

The reason for this has been widely interpreted as due to a
slackening of demand for mobile telephony in the UK, as the
existing analog networks -- operated by Cellnet and Vodafone -
have reached saturation levels in terms of market penetration.
The GSM technology, Newsbytes notes, was designed before the
current recession hit Europe.

Although Vodafone has yet to confirm the contract, Ericsson
officials have said that the contract calls for them to supply
Vodafone with switching equipment and associated telecoms
hardware for use on the GSM network. Ericsson has confirmed
that some of its technology will also be supplied for use on the
micro-cellular networks, a city-based mobile phone technology
that Vodafone has yet to reveal its plans for.

(Steve Gold/19920624)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(LON)(00015)

Bull, Olivetti & Siemens Form Joint Venture Company 06/24/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Bull of France, Olivetti of
Italy, and Siemens of Germany have announced plans to form a
new company -- Trans European Information Systems (TIES) -- a
joint venture company involved in the field of wide area networks
within Europe.

Plans call for TIES to be based in Brussels, although offices
may be located throughout Europe, company officials said.
Specifically, the new company will supply distributed network
technology for companies and governments wanting to link
different computer systems around Europe.

Andre Chuffart, a senior manager with Bull, will become the
managing director of TEIS, when it becomes operational at the
end of this year. Plans call for the three companies, each of
which will have an equal stake in TEIS, to pool their existing
contracts for the provision of European networking. According
to Bull, TEIS will aim to secure 50 percent of the European data
and voice networking market within a short space of time.

Newsbytes notes that all three companies are at the planning
stages only with TEIS, so precise financial arrangements have
yet to be agreed. Full company details will be announced later
this year, officials with Bull told Newsbytes.

(Steve Gold/19920624)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00016)

Russia: On-line Service Launched In St Petersbourg 06/24/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Another information
system is available for business users in St Petersbourg, Russia.

The commercial information service has "on sale" and "wanted"
classified ads, business offers, a fully searchable database,
a local and national press digest, and local trade news.

The database is being offered on-line by the PIRS company. The
company said the service gives real opportunity in the market
because there are so few on-line services available. The service
has a "very reasonable" pricing structure. It carries nothing
related to leisure activities.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920623/Press contact: PIRS, Andrey
Swetashow, phone [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(MOW)(00017)

Russia: Overview Of Local Financial Telecom Projects 06/24/92
MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Several companies have
formed the local Data Security Business Network (KABIT) and have
released the research on local developments in the financial
telecommunications market.

Igor Pasynkov, one of KABIT strong supporters, said that the
major problems of having a locally-developed electronic banking
system, a highly secure electronic signature, data  communication
systems, and an electronics securities market, are all being
actively addressed by the number of local companies.

ExNet and SET Blits, which comprise of a number of exchanges and
trading houses have already had their own electronic trading
systems up and running for months.

Business information is now available via newly-born information
services. It is also planned for some, not yet developed, media
such as teletext and satellite TV back channel data  transmission.

Rinako (a Russian Investment Shareholders Company) is fighting
to build the communications and organizational infrastructure
for the primary and secondary securities market, and has already
established the "electronic shares depositarium" -- a distributed
computer-based register of shareholders.

The Russian telecommunications market has already solved the
problem of having electronic mail gates with telex, fax, and
paper mail, which does not require complicated tech systems.

The Russian Central Bank is organizing, without any official
statements, an international tender to build a financial
communications network in the country. Up to eight companies
and consortiums are competing for the big business to be offered
by the bank. According to Newsbytes sources, the bank is close
to a final selection.

(Kirill Tchashchin/19920623/Press Contact: Kabit, Igor
Pasynkov, e-mail [e-mail]; phone [phone])



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

 ****Saudi Arabian Group Wins UPI 06/24/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Middle East
Broadcasting Centre Ltd., a London-based group owned by
Saudi Arabian investors, is the new owner of United Press
International. The group submitted a bid of $3.95 million cash
for the wire service, edging out New York lawyer Leon Charney's
$3.75 million bid, plus 10 percent of the new company's equity.
The Saudis are expected to put another $10-12 million into the
company in an attempt to return it to profitability.

Charney had won a supposed stand-still agreement from UPI
creditors to examine the company's books, and spent about
$360,000 on payroll costs while doing so. He worked with a
charity backed by Dutch lottery proceeds, and a number of
investment bankers, in preparing his bid. He said after the
hearing UPI had violated that agreement, but the court disagreed.
Charney also wondered aloud whether Saudis would retain UPI's
reputation for fairness. Representatives of the group said they
would, and insisted they're not affiliated with the government
there.

Bankruptcy court judge Francis Conrad, whose open auction for
the service last month in Rutland, Vermont, was won by Pat
Robertson, conducted the tense negotiations leading to MEB's
win in his New York courtroom. The deal is due to close June 27.
The company has already put up $200,000, and on that date will
add another $3.93 million in the form of a letter of credit. Since
UPI creditors were owed about $60 million in unpaid bills,
however, and the company listed total assets of $22 million in
its bankruptcy filing,. the creditors are expected to get just
pennies on the dollar.

Sandra Reimer, an attorney for Middle East Broadcasting, said
representatives of the company would soon fly to the United
States from London to meet with UPI management. Both Executive
Editor Steve Geimann and Wire Service Guild President Kevin Keane
said they accepted the result. Conrad expressed his sympathy for
the employees, who have taken a series of pay cuts over the last
17 months to keep the company operating, saying: "They must be
living in Dante's hell,"

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624)


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

Consolidation Continues In US Phone Service Business 06/24/92
TAMPA, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Consolidation
continues to be the rule in the US phone services business.

The alternative operator business, which emerged in the mid-
1980s as firms took control of pay phones and re-sold services
through them, is a classic example.

Once there were hundreds of such companies. Many were accused
of doubling or tripling rates paid at pay phones or in hotels, hiding
the charges in victims' charge card bills. Today, you must be given
access to the long-distance service of your choice, major phone
companies like AT&T have educated the public on their options, and
the pickings are slimmer. Hence, rapid consolidation.

The latest move in that area comes from Southnet, a Tampa
company best known for its international calling card. After
some skirmish with its own board, the company closed on Telecom
America, more than doubling its business in one move. Now it has
bought the assets of Fone America, another alternative operator
service or AOS company, out of bankruptcy. The transaction was
valued at $7.5 million, and Fone America had sales of $15 million
per year. Southnet now estimates it does business in 33 states
and projects annual revenues of $24-26 million.

Also, LDDS Communications of Jackson, Mississippi, which has a
pending merger with Advanced Telecommunications of Atlanta
which will create the country's new fourth largest long-distance
company, said it has bought TFN Group Communications, a long
distance reseller, as well as Telemarketing Investments, a long
distance provider, for an undisclosed amount of cash.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: Robert J. Zradicka,
Southnet, 813-287-2880)


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

Bert Roberts Takes Over MCI 06/24/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- As expected, Bert
Roberts was named chairman of the board of MCI Communications,
replacing the late William McGowan.

Roberts was already chief executive officer. Daniel F. Akerson,
chief operating officer, was named to the additional post of
president, formerly held by Roberts.  The board also named
Akerson and Richard T. Liebhaber, chief strategy and technology
officer, to serve on the company's board of directors.

Roberts, 49, joined MCI in 1972. He is a native of Kansas City,
Missouri, and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore. Akerson, 43, has been with MCI since 1983. Liebhaber,
56, joined MCI in 1985, after holding various executive positions
with IBM Corporation.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: MCI Corporate News
Bureau, or 202-887-3000)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

 ****AT&T Licenses Key PCMCIA Technology 06/24/92
APTOS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- AT&T has licensed
some key Personal Computer Memory Card International Association,
or PCMCIA, technology from Dr. Neuhaus, a leading European
manufacturer of advanced semiconductor technologies based in
Hamburg, Germany. Specifically, AT&T will use Dr. Neuhaus'
PCMCIA-compliant bus interface chip design in its newest chipset
for PCMCIA-compatible V.32bis modems.

The DNE 5001 design is an application-specific integrated
circuit, or ASIC, and is fully compliant with the PCMCIA
standard release 2.0, which allows for input and output. PCMCIA
represents over 200 major manufacturers and OEMs (original
equipment manufacturers) worldwide.

According to Intel, virtually all new mobile computers released
in 1993 will have at least one PCMCIA slot. These IC (integrated
circuit) slots will accept function cards like modems which are
just 5 millimeters thick, and the size of a credit card.

Because the DNE 5001 complies with PCMCIA release 2.0, it allows
the operation system and application software resident on a smart
card to execute in place from the ROM or "flash memory" on the
card, rather than first having to be loaded into the host
computer's random access memory. This reduces the need for large
amounts of RAM on palm-tops and handheld computers, giving OEM
manufacturers the opportunity to minimize overall system size and
cost.

Dr. Gottfried Newhaus, president and founder of the firm. said
in a press statement that: "When a company like AT&T
standardizes on a specific PCMCIA interface solution, it gives
other manufacturers the confidence they need to produce many
more products for this brand-new technology. Ultimately, that
means more affordable products for consumers."

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: Dr. Neuhaus,
408/685-0928)


(CORRECTION)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

Correction: Tandy Mobile Phones 06/24/92
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- In a recent
story on an agreement between Nokia and Tandy to produce
mobile phones in the US, Newsbytes indicated that Tandy would
make phones for Nokia. In fact, the new joint venture, called TNC,
will produce the phones, to be distributed under the Tandy, Nokia,
and Technophone brand names -- the latter is wholly-owned by
Nokia.

Also, Newsbytes called Nokia "a money losing maker of cellular
phones." The statement may be considered misleading. In fact,
Nokia is the second-leading provider of cellular phones worldwide,
behind only Motorola, and makes money in its cellular phone
business. Based on an interim financial statement from the
company dated June 18, Nokia mobile phone sales are up 18
percent over the same period a year ago, making the operation
the "star" of the Nokia Group. The group as a whole, which is
engaged in other businesses, has lost money in recent years,
however.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920624/Press Contact: Paul McKeon, for
Newsbytes, 404-698-8650)

(NEWS)(UNIX)(TOR)(00023)

 ****Open Software Foundation Updates OSF/1 06/24/92
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) --
Compatibility and compactness are highlights of OSF/1 Release 1.1,
the latest version of the Open Software Foundation's Unix operating
system. Due to begin shipping June 26, OSF/1 Release 1.1 updates
one of the two major Unix versions, introduced in October, 1990.

Scalability enhancements in the new version enable OSF/1 Release
1.1 to run on systems with as little as four megabytes (MB) of
memory. Joe Maloney, technology manager for OSF/1, told Newsbytes
the new release uses dynamic configuration capabilities to load and
unload major subsystems, such as networking components or a
System V file system, as needed. The previous release of OSF/1
needed about eight MB of memory, Maloney said.

OSF/1's ability to run in less memory comes close on the heels of
the announcement that Unix System V Release 4.2, the chief rival
to OSF/1, has also been slimmed down to fit in about four MB of
memory. Unix System Laboratories made that announcement only
days before OSF's unveiling.

OSF/1 Release 1.1 also offers compatibility with the System V
Interface Definition, SVID 3. Maloney said this means applications
written for System V Release 4 will run on OSF/1 with a simple
recompile, and vice versa. Release 1.1 provides SVID 3
compatibility for base and kernel extensions, including a SVID 3
compatible STREAMS implementation.

OSF/1 is also fully compliant with POSIX 1003.1-1990, ANSI C, XPG3,
and other international standards. Maloney said OSF/1 1.1 also
complies to POSIX draft standards wherever they are "stable enough
to implement to."

The new release also has Extended Unix Codes (EUC) to support
international languages, including idiographic languages such as
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. This means application developers
will not have to rewrite their application code to support
different languages, OSF officials said. The new release also
conforms to the X/Open XPG4 draft specification for wide-character
interfaces.

The new release includes performance enhancements, especially in
the areas of virtual memory, Network File System, and the loader,
the OSF said.

Parallel development continues in the OSF Research Institute on
the OSF/1 Microkernel technology, now available in snapshot form
to OSF/1 licensees.

The Release 1.1 tape includes reference implementations for three
architectures: Intel 302 (based on the 80386 processor); Digital
DECstation 3100 (based on MIPS Computer chips); and the Encore
Multimax (based on National Semiconductor processors).

OSF/1 Release 1.1 costs $85,000 for a source license with full
distribution rights, or $60,000 for a source license only.
Existing source licensees may upgrade from Release 1.0 for
$25,000. Licensees who full support contracts will receive the
upgrade without charge as part of their support services.
University site licenses cost $5,000.

Binary royalty fees remain at $65 per copy, with volume discounts
available. The price to upgrade non-distribution source licenses to
full redistribution rights remains $35,000.

Several computer vendors are already committed to implement the
new release on their hardware, Maloney said. They include: Intel,
which will put OSF/1 on its Paragon parallel supercomputer; Digital
Equipment, which will implement it on its Alpha systems and its
MIPS-based workstations; Apple, which will use OSF/1 in its A/UX
4.0 Unix variant; IBM, with its AIX/ESA mainframe Unix and its AIX
3.2 for RS/6000 workstations; Hewlett-Packard with its OSF/1
Technology Release; Hitachi; workstation manufacturer Intergraph;
Convex with its MPP system; and Kendall Square Research with its
KSR-1 implementation.

(Grant Buckler/19920624/Press Contact: Diane Rezendes, OSF,
617-621-8772)


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

Phoenix To Go Retail With Communications Software 06/24/92
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Phoenix
Technologies has announced modem and facsimile communications
software which the company will sell not only to other
manufacturers but through retail channels, a break with Phoenix's
history.

The company that developed the first basic input-output system
(BIOS) compatible with that of the IBM personal computer, making
it possible for other companies to build IBM-compatible PCs, has
built its products on that BIOS and other software for PC
manufacturers. It has never sold its products directly to PC users.

The latest products, PhoenixFax facsimile software and
PhoenixData modem communications software, are available now
to PC manufacturers and makers of fax cards and modems. This
fall, Phoenix plans to begin selling PhoenixFax through retail
channels.

PhoenixFax incorporates PhoenixData, company spokesman Michael
Deutsche said. PhoenixData is available as a separate product to PC
and modem makers, but may or may not be offered as a retail
product.

Phoenix sees retailers as another way of reaching PC users,
Deutsche said. If a corporate microcomputer manager buys a PC,
modem, or fax cards that comes bundled with Phoenix software, he
or she may want the same software for other machines in the
organization. Making the software available through retailers will
make that possible, Deutsche said.

To bring the products to the retail market, Phoenix plans to draw
on the retail distribution channels of Quadtel, the Costa Mesa,
California company that it acquired in March. In addition to
manufacturing BIOS software as Phoenix does, Quadtel has a line
of memory management products sold through retail channels.
However, the Phoenix products will be sold under the Phoenix
name, not Quadtel's, Deutsche said.

The company plans further communications software
announcements in the next few months, officials said.

PhoenixFax is available for DOS and for Microsoft Windows.
PhoenixFax for Windows makes it possible to send a fax from any
Windows application program by capturing printer output, and
installs directly into Window's Print Manager. PhoenixFAX for DOS
is a memory-resident program, which also offers application
print capture and can fax files directly off the hard disk.

PhoenixData uses the Hayes AT command set, and handles the
Xmodem, Ymodem, and Zmodem protocols. PhoenixData can emulate
ANSI, TTY, VT100, and other standard terminal protocols, the
manufacturer said.

Phoenix also announced an alliance with Calera Recognition
Systems, a maker of optical character recognition software.
Phoenix will offer Calera's FaxGrabber software, which
converts incoming faxes into editable text, with PhoenixFax
for Windows. FaxGrabber for Phoenix will be available July 15,
the company said.

(Grant Buckler/19920624/Press Contact: Michael Deutsche,
Phoenix,617/551-4184; Eric Enge, Phoenix, 617-551-4287)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00025)

Easel Announces Technology Partnerships 06/24/92
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Easel,
maker of application development tools for client/server
computing, has announced a string of alliances with systems
integrators and other software developers.

Easel has joined the cooperative marketing programs of two
leading vendors of client/server database systems. The company
joined Oracle's Independent Software Vendor Program and Sybase's
Synergy Partners Program. These are in addition to a similar
relationship with Microsoft, under its SQL Solutions Partners
Program, that dates back to November, 1990. Easel also has a
cooperative relationship with IBM.

Agreements with development tool vendors Bachman Information
Systems and Pioneer Software are aimed at ensuring that products
from Easel and the two other companies continue to work together,
said Douglas Clauson, an Easel spokesman.

Easel is working with database connectivity vendors Information
Builders, Micro Desisionware, TechGnosis, and TechSmith, to
provide product links that allow Easel customers to build
applications that draw on data from across an organization. Easel
has also signed a cooperative marketing agreement with Micro
Decisionware.

A new EDA/SQL Option for Easel Workbench, Easel's flagship
development system, will work with Information Builders' EDA/SQL
Link to provide transparent access to data on almost any hardware
platform, the company said.

Two systems integrators, SHL Systemhouse and Price Waterhouse,
will market Easel's products and use them internally, Clauson said.

(Grant Buckler/19920624/Press Contact: Douglas Clauson, Easel,
617-221-3088)


(NEWS)(IBM)(DEN)(00026)

 ****Microsoft Intros Pen-Based Windows For Desktops 06/24/92
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Microsoft
Corporation has unveiled a pen-based version of the Windows
operating system which will allow desktop personal computers
to use pens and tablets.

Microsoft said the new edition of Windows for Pen Computing,
which it unveiled at the PC Expo show running in New York City
this week, can be used in a regular IBM-compatible computer
equipped with a peripheral device called a tablet. The user writes
or draws on the tablet with a special stylus, or pen. Most pen-based
computers already introduced do not have a keyboard, and the user
writes or draws directly on the display screen. The portable
pen-based systems are primarily for use in applications such as
inventory control and tasks such as filling out forms.

Thirteen manufacturers of desktop peripheral devices say they will
offer the Windows operating system for pen computing with their
tablets, including SMART Technologies, ACECAD, Calcomp, Summa
Graphics, Wacom, and Arthur Dent Associates.

Microsoft spokesperson Kim Wolfkill told Newsbytes that the
tablets use an extension to Windows 3.1. He said that the technology
gives the desktop user the opportunity to experiment with Windows
for Pen Computing without having to buy a computer make
specifically for pen use.

Wolfkill said pens for some of the digitizer tablets are cordless,
while other connect via a cable. Prices, according to Wolfkill run
a wide gamut, from $130 to about $2,000.

In response to a question from Newsbytes, Wolfkill said products
from competitors such as Wordperfect will be able to take advantage
of Pen for Windows on a desktop, since the pen becomes a substitute
for the mouse in most cases.

One of the most interesting devices he described was a digitizer
tablet from Arthur Dent Associates that clips over the existing
display of a notebook or laptop screen, on which the user writes or
draws with the pen. The $595 device includes the digitizer, the
"tethered" pen, and a controller card, and the software extension to
Windows. Called WriteAway, the digitizer allows the user to turn
the computer 90 degrees to write in the portrait mode.

Arthur Dent Associates Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Huntington
told Newsbytes that the company is exhibiting the Zeos 386+
version of WriteAway at PC Expo. Asked about response from
showgoers, Huntington said "Unbelievable! The phone has been
ringing off the hook."

Huntington said the Zeos 386+ version is expected to ship by the
end of the month, as soon as FCC certification is received. So far,
Huntington told Newsbytes that the company said plans Compaq
LTE Lite and Toshiba versions next, and is working with other
companies to offer OEM (original equipment manufacturer)
versions.
.
The company told Newsbytes that they plan to offer a PCMCIA
model next year, but said that each digitizer will still have to
be customized for the manufacturer's screen.

Also unveiled by Microsoft at PC Expo was an enhanced edition of
its word processor Word for Windows with Microsoft's CD-ROM
Bookshelf Reference Library integrated into the program.

Bookshelf includes an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus,
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations,the Concise Columbia dictionary of
Quotations, the Hammond World Atlas, and several other desktop
reference publications. Microsoft spokesperson Russ Dorr told
Newsbytes that registered owners of Word for Windows 2.0 can
upgrade to the enhanced version for $99.  Owners of earlier
versions can get the Bookshelf version for $199.

To use the Bookshelf, you need Windows 3.1, a 386-based machine
or  better, a CD ROM drive, a hard disk, at least 2 megabytes of
memory,  and a VGA display. Microsoft recommends a pointing
device, such as a mouse.

Dorr told Newsbytes that shipment depends on the CD ROM
production  schedule, but is expected to start shipping in
early July.

In other Microsoft news, executive vice president Mike Maples
confirmed that Windows NT, the "new technology" 32-bit version
of the Windows operating system, is on schedule. Maples said the
product would go to beta test sites in July and would be released
by the end of the year.

(Jim Mallory/19920623/Press contact: Kim Wolfkill, Waggener
Edstrom for Microsoft, 206-637-9097, Reader contact: Microsoft,
800-426-9400)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(DEN)(00027)

 ****HP Buy TI's Unix-based Computer Business, Jobs Lost 06/24/92
DALLAS, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Texas Instruments has
announced that it has signed a letter of intent which will allow
Hewlett-Packard to buy TI's worldwide computer systems and
services business.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, however TI said the
transaction is not expected to have a material financial impact
on either company.

TI's Terri West told Newsbytes that the sale and support of the
Unix-based multiuser computers employs about 1,600. West said
about 450 of those would go to HP, with the fate of the remainder
uncertain. West said that some would be offered jobs in other TI
divisions, and some might be offered positions with HP.

Asked about the existing network of TI value-added resellers. West
told Newsbytes that HP hopes they will remain within the system.
"That's (the VAR network) one of the reasons HP was interested,"
said West.

West said one plant would close in Houston, where about 500
employees work. A second plant in Houston will remain open. West
said that most affected employees are in the Houston and Austin,
Texas area, as well as Europe, so job cuts for employees who do not
find other positions within TI or with HP will be felt hardest in
those area.

The sale does not take TI out of the computer business. West
pointed out that the company will continue to market notebook
computers, printers and other peripherals, software,
telecommunications systems, and process automation systems.
TI VP John White said the company will concentrate on software
productivity tools, as well as on hardware, "where we have a
sustainable competitive advantage."

According to HP Executive VP Lewis Platt, the purchase, "is the
latest step in our strategy to aggressively expand our position in
the commercial Unix market." Platt said the acquisition will
accelerate HPs momentum in the Unix arena by providing access
to new markets through TI's VAR network.

(Jim Mallory/19920624/Press contact: Terri West, TI, 214-995-
3481; Andrew Ould, HP, 415-857-2367)


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00028)

 ****Digital World: Radius Announces Videovision 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Radius has
announced a product at the Digital World show in Beverly Hills that
company officials say could revolutionize the video production
industry. The product is a hardware and software combination for
the Macintosh called Videovision.

Videovision is designed to be used with Quicktime, announced at
Digital World last year by Apple, and allows flicker free 24-bit
"printing" to a blank video tape via connection with a video cassette
recorder (VCR) of a multimedia presentation that includes computer
graphics, text, analog video, digital video, and sound. Radius
President Barry James Folsom said the product could create a
cottage industry video tape production industry the way the laser
printer created a desktop publishing boom.

John Scully was on hand for the announcement of Videovision and
likened the introduction of the product to the crucial strides in the
desktop publishing market that made it take off. Scully said in 1985
they (Apple) couldn't get anyone interested in desktop publishing,
but after they introduced the laser printer, by 1986 they couldn't
make the hardware fast enough.

The Videovision card comes with a "Breakout Box" as Folsom describes
it, that looks much like a power strip for electrical appliances. The
Breakout Box has a row of connections for video and audio input,
video and audio output, an external port that can support peripherals
like video editing decks. Video input and output can be in the form
of NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. The card has an R-bus connector for linking
to other Nubus cards and allows for the attachment of third party
add-on boards through H-bus connections.

The company claims that, while other cards perform some of the
functions of the Videovision card, no one competitor's card is
capable of the flicker free "printing" to video tape, including the
Video Spigot, the Nuvista card from Truevision.

Folsom said Radius is expecting the market for video production to
grow from the 1990 figure of $625 million to a $5 billion market by
1995. However, observers in the audience wondered when the company
would offer the card for under $1,000, which is the price point for
the Video Spigot and the accepted reason why the Video Spigot has
penetrated the market. Folsom assured attendees the product's price
will go down from its initial retail price of $2,399 in the six month
period following its anticipated release in July of this year.

However, the card also comes with Macromedia's new Action! 1.0,
and Videoshop and The Image Bank CD from Diva. Action! is a tool
for creation of multimedia presentations using templates to create
animated presentations and is retail priced at $495. Videoshop is a
software recording and editing tool for Quicktime movies retail
priced at $595. The Image Bank CD Collection Volume 1 is a compact
disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) with more than 300 professionally
produced Quicktime movie clips, and over 100 music and sound
effect files.

Videovision fits into any Nubus slot of any Macintosh II, IIX, IIcx,
IIci, or Quadra and can double as a 24-bit color frame buffer that
can display photorealistic images from any application. The display
capability eliminates the need for a separate display interface card.
The display card supports any Macintosh compatible monitor in 640 x
480 display including the 13-inch Applecolor RGB, the Radius Color
Pivot/LE, and the Radius Precisioncolor Display/20, the company
added.

When asked when Radius would create such a card for the IBM and
compatible personal computer platform, company officials said
Microsoft hasn't taken care of synchronization issues with dynamic
media and until some standard emerges on the PC platform that
does, Radius will wait.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624/Press Contact: James Strohecker,
Radius, tel [phone], fax [phone])


(NEWS)(APPLE)(LAX)(00029)

 ****Digital World: Sweet Pea, Apple's Alliance With Toshiba 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Apple has
announced an alliance with Toshiba to create a multimedia player
along the same lines as the personal digital assistants (PDA)
announced last fall, but called Apple's Personal Interactive
Electronics (PIE) and code named internally as "Sweet Pea." The
announcement was made by Apple President John Scully at Digital
World '92 in Beverly Hills, California.

Scully said the development of the PIE "family" of products and a new
operating system to go with them is the task of Kaleida, one of the
newly formed joint ventures between IBM and Apple. Scully
emphasized the new operating system will connect the PIEs to other
computer platforms and act as a kernel on top of existing operating
systems on multi-platforms to bring connectivity to multimedia.
Four main products to be connected to the server were outlined by
Scully as the Powerbook, the Newton, the multimedia player, and a
planned electronic book form Apple is developing with Random House.

The operating system, which was also referred to as Kaleida, will be
the answer to the incompatibility problems between platforms in
multimedia formats, Scully said. Scully talked about a server that
would act as a connecting point between PDAs, computers, and PIEs.

The server appears to be the foundation of this new interconnectivity
and when asked by moderator Jonathan Seybold if Apple was planning
to be both provider of the information hardware and a conduit for the
information itself, Scully said Seybold was very perceptive. Scully
said Kaleida is working on tools so current multimedia applications
will play on anything. The tools Scully listed were: Script-X, a the
single authoring language; a universal file format; runtime
environment extensions; and its own consumer operating system that
will support both Motorola 68000 family-based and Intel x86-based
computers.

Scully made many references to business and the corporate market
and said the technology is aimed at the corporate and educational
markets.

Warner New Media, a division of Time Warner, in conjunction with
the Apple announcement, announced plans to develop a variety of
multimedia content titles for the new PIE multimedia player. Apple
listed other companies at work on titles for the PIEs as Paramount
and Claris.

Scully responded to criticism leveled at the Apple/IBM ventures
that nothing is happening by saying the projects the two companies
are working on are at or ahead of schedule.

In conjunction with the announcement of the PIEs, Apple and IBM
announced the two companies have appointed Nathaniel Goldhaber
as chief executive officer and announced a board of directors for
Kaleida. Goldhaber, 44, is a principle in the venture capital firm
of Cole Bilburne Goldhaber & Ariyoshi Management of Berkeley,
California. Goldhaber sits on the boards of Shiva Corporation and On
Technology, founded a University in his early 20s, and as part of the
staff of the governor of the state of Pennsylvania was the first
public official to be informed of the 3-Mile Island crisis of the
1970s.

Equal numbers of Apple and IBM representatives form Kaleida's board
of directors. The newly appointed members were announced as: Robert
L. Carberry assistant general manager of Technology of IBM Personal
Systems; Albert A. Eisenstat, secretary and executive vice president
at Apple; Nubuo Mii vice president and general manager of Entry
Systems Technology at IBM; and David C. Nagel senior vice president
of the Advanced Technology Group at Apple. The Goldhaber will also
be a member of the new board, Apple said.

While Scully said no other board members are planned, additional
announcements about executive positions are expected in the next
30 days. Cupertino is to be the initial location for Kaleida until
permanent facilities in the San Francisco Bay area are found. About
35 people will form the initial employed group at Kaleida, Apple
added.

IBM also has a number of semiconductor projects going with Toshiba,
according to Scully and hopes are the three companies will make a
productive triangle. Both Apple and Toshiba have said each will
release its own PIE multimedia player, much like Apple's deal with
Sharp on the PDAs, and target delivery of the PIEs is projected for
mid-1993, Apple said. Each company's version will only be sold in
the US initially, Apple added.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624/Press Contact: Brooke Cohan, Apple,
408-974-3019; Ted Kadoya, Toshiba, 212-308-2040; Jennifer
Rogers, Warner New Media, 818-955-9999)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(LAX)(00030)

Digital World: Emphasis On Convergence, Information Network 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- From Andy
Grove of Intel to John Scully of Apple, everyone at the Seybold
Digital World Conference in Beverly Hills, California is talking
about convergence. Convergence is defined at the conference as
the intersection of various technologies and services that until
recently seemed unrelated.

Andy Grove of Intel and the first speaker at the traditionally
Macintosh gathering said convergence is the "next big thing." Grove
is president and chief executive officer of the company that
supplies the microprocessor chips for the IBM and compatible
personal computers (PCs). While each speaker tended to divide the
technologies that are converging a little differently, basically the
convergence includes the intersection of telecommunications,
analog communications (like video), consumer electronics, and
the computer industry.

The driving force behind the convergence is "pure greed," with each
company forming alliances to get into the other guy's piece of the
pie, Grove said.

Grove asserted the IBM compatible PC is the infrastructure for the
convergence and called the PC the "universal erector set." While the
majority of the conference attendees were Macintosh users, 70 to 80
percent by Jonathan Seybold's estimation of the raised hands in the
audience, Grove was undaunted and jokingly called the Apple users
"his majesty's loyal opposition," saying "...they have a place."

As part of the convergence, the discussion of the need for a National
Information Network was emphasized by Scully of Apple; Lucie
Fjeldstad vice president and general manager of multimedia at IBM;
and Richard Green president and chief executive officer of Cable TV
Laboratories. Green said the cable companies already have a
"tributary" in place for use in a National Information Network with
the advent of the replacement of coxial cable with optical fiber. The
fiber systems, which are replacing the coxial cable at an increasing
rate, are capable of two-way communication and of targeting
individual customers, Green emphasized.

IBM's Fjeldstad talked about using the cable network already in place
with a "set-top" box or a box that sits on top of the television that
would be capable of gigabyte speeds for data transfer. Green alluded
to the fact that the cable companies would expect such a box to do
decompression of the data signals as well. Fjeldstad said IBM
already has the architecture to produce such as set-top box and
plans to license the technology of the box to others as well.

Sony President Ron Sommer stepped away from the convergence
issue to talk about the need for standardization. However, a member
of the audience questioned Sony's sincerity and asked why the
company's day-to-day activities, such as starting analog high-
definition television and offering other new systems that are
interoperable with existing composite systems, appeared as
though the company were trying to slow down standardization.

The final speaker, Allee Willis described as a renaissance artist by
Jonathan Seybold, took the convergence from a different angle and
said the technology has progressed enough for artists to move in
and really do something different and exciting with it. Willis is an
award winning song writer, artist, writer, and set designer. Willis
has won numerous awards, including a Grammy in 1986 for Best
Soundtrack for "Beverly Hills Cop," the American Film Institute's
Directing Women's Award in 1991, and in 1990 an Ace Award for
Art Direction for her work in designing the set for Shelley Duval's
Disney Channel production of "Mother Goose Rock and Rhyme."

Willis said the current multimedia she has seen at the show is
boring. Artists are what is needed to make it warm, human, and
funny to draw people into the experience the way people are
drawn into the experiences in other media, such as film, she said.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(LAX)(00031)

 ****Apple, IBM Info Providers On A National Cable Network? 06/24/92
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 24 (NB) -- Apple, IBM,
and the cable television industry may be embarking on a new line of
information services, if the visions of their leaders expressed at
the Seybold Digital World Conference in Beverly Hills are accurate.
Richard Green, president and chief executive officer of Cable TV
Laboratories, likened the proposed National Information Network
to the system of inter-state highways built by the US government
after World War II.

It appears IBM and Apple see themselves as companies that can
move in and become the basis for a National Information Network.
IBM's Vice President of Multimedia Lucie Fjeldstad, said she sees
IBM as a service provider, not a hardware provider. Fjeldstad said
IBM has already developed the architecture for a unit that would rest
on top of a television set, a "set-top" box capable of gigabit speeds
for data transfer that could be connected to the fiber optic cable
network. Fjeldstad placed emphasis on the company's interest in
licensing the set-top box technology.

Apple's President John Scully said Apple plans to provide information
"Servers" by mid-1993 that will talk to the Powerbook, the Newton,
the newly announced multimedia player personal information system
(PIE), and planned electronic books. Scully admitted Apple sees
itself as a hardware provider and as a key player in the information
technology network.

Richard Green, president and chief executive officer of Cable TV
Laboratories, emphasized the cable television network as an existing
structure for the National Information Network. Fjeldstad said
information could be delivered in a variety of ways or "flavors" just
as shipping can be done in a variety of ways depending on the type of
object shipped, the needs of the shipper, and the needs of the
recipient.

Andy Grove, president of Intel placed emphasis on just-in-time
delivery of information to business. Grove said speed is of the
essence in the information delivery process, and Scully, Fjeldstad,
and Green placed emphasis on real-time delivery of multimedia
information.

The National Information Network as provided by Apple and IBM
sounded very much like it could make the companies public utilities,
like the electric or water companies. Both companies have placed
emphasis on the fact they have the technology and are willing to
license it to others, but maintaining control of the technology for
themselves.

However, other information networks are already in place, i.e. the
telephone lines, for information exchange. A session entitled "The
Telephone Company: Public Network or Information Provider?"
explored the topic with speakers Ken Thompson and Robert Pepper
of the FCC, Steve Case from American Online, Brewster Kahle of
WAIS, and David Knight of Isocor.

Recent announcements of products and services make
the use of the existing telephone lines for an information network
more plausible. AT&T has announced its video telephone, which
allows sound and video to be transmitted to another like-unit over
regular telephone lines, which be available for sale to consumers
this summer. Many businesses are installing ISDN lines for transfer
of data and voice over the same special telephone lines. Also
graphical information services for computer users with modems,
such as America Online and Prodigy are enjoying wide spread
acceptance and use.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920624)