newsbytes@clarinet.com (01/18/90)
SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 17 (NB) -- The Mid-week
edition stories are as follows:
=====
apple
=====
APPLE NAMES RASTEROPS IN SECURITY BREACH
Apple's Jean-Louis Gassee has widely circulated a letter explaining
a security breach that took place at RasterOps recently.
TOUGH TIMES HIT APPLE COMPUTER
Apple Computer has launched a series of measures to cut costs--
including layoffs--in light of tougher times.
SILICON BEACH TO BE BOUGHT BY ALDUS
Aldus is about to acquire Silicon Beach Software, the company
in San Diego, CA that makes SuperPaint, SuperCard, Digital Darkroom,
and other popular Macintosh titles.
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business
========
SIEMENS TAKES MAJOR STAKE IN NIXDORF
Siemens, the West German electronics giant, has agreed in principle
to take a majority stake in Nixdorf, another West German company
specializing in computers, one which has recently hit troubled
times. Financial details of the deal have not been released.
TANDEM & NIXDORF JOIN FORCES IN THE PHILIPPINES
Tandem and Nixdorf Computer Philippines (NCP) have signed an
agreement that allows Nixdorf to sell Tandem systems to the banking
and financial sectors and act as Tandem's systems integrator
in the Philippines.
COMMUNICATIONS WORLD REPORTS FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS
Communications World International has reported increased net
income of 455,660 (less than one cent per share) on revenue of
$634,126 for the first quarter ended October 31, 1989. This compares
favorably with the $45,925 (less than one cent per share) on
revenue of $1,000,641 for the same quarter a year ago.
NEW ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE SCORES
Leading Hongkong trading group Li & Fung Trading Company has
opted for a new accounting software package called the Coda Integrated
Accounting System from Australasia Computing Services (HK) Ltd.
NCR AND ORIGIN TECHNOLOGIES ENTER JOINT MARKETING AGREEMENT
An agreement for Miami, Florida-based Origin Technologies to
install and develop applications software for NCR Corp.'s NCR
5682 self-service retail store terminals is estimated to be worth
$50 million over the next several years.
SOFTWARE SERVICES SUFFERS SECOND QUARTER LOSS
Software Services of America, Inc. (SS) announced a net loss
of $621,145 for its second quarter, ending November 30, 1989,
compared with a $94,068 net profit for the same period in 1988.
FRAME INFORMATIQUE DISTRIBUTES LEGEND IN FRANCE
Frame Informatique, the French software house, has secured the
French distribution rights to NBI's Legend MS-DOS word processing
software.
BUSINESSLAND ACQUIRES WEST GERMAN PC DISTRIBUTOR
Businessland has acquired Bowe Systemvertrieb, the PC business
systems division of Bowe, the West German computer company. Terms
of the deal have not been announced.
EUROPEAN STOCKS CLOSE DOWN AFTER BLEAK FRIDAY IN THE US
Stock prices fell in London following the lead of the New York
Stock exchange on Friday.
COMPANY REPORTS - MONDAY, 15 JAN 1990
Company reports for Monday, Jan. 15 included:
NEW YORK STOCKS CHANGE DIRECTION, CLOSING UP ON TUESDAY
On Tuesday of this week, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) seemed
to change its mind and ended higher than on Monday - up 22.18
points, recouping some of the downslide that hit the market on
Friday, January 12.
COMPANY REPORTS - TUESDAY 16 JAN 1990
Company reports for Tuesday, January 16 included:
LONDON DOESN'T SHARE WALL STREET EUPHORIA ON TUESDAY
London's stock market failed to share Wall Street's enthusiasm,
closing the day sharply down on Tuesday. The FT 100 all share
index closed down 17.1 points to finish the day at 2,349.1. Traded
volume amounted to 480 million shares, compared to 399 million
the previous day.
BIGGEST GAINERS AND LOSERS IN WALL STREET - W/E 12 JANUARY
Very few technology stocks made money on Wall Street during
the first full week of 1990.
TOKYO FOLLOWS MONDAY WALL STREET - FALLS ON TUESDAY 16 JAN 1990
The Tokyo market woke up to a huge loss on Tuesday, the first
working day after Monday's holiday. The Nikkei Dow average fell
653.36 points to close at 36,850 points, a fall of 3.4 per cent.
Small investors selling, together with general profit taking,
is thought to have caused the fall.
NEW LEADING EDGE CEO TO DEBUT
The new president and chief executive officer of Leading Edge
will be announced and introduced to the press on Thursday morning,
Jan. 18th.
LOTUS NAMES NEW GM FOR OS/2 DATABASE PROJECT
Lotus Development Corp. has today announced that, effective February
5, Eric Kim will take over as general manager in charge of Lotus's
OS/2 database development project.
AT&T BUILDS WORKGROUP SYSTEMS IN LITTLE ROCK
AT&T has announced that the demand for its WorkGroup Systems
computers has been so great that the company will start building
them at its Little Rock, Arkansas, factory in addition to the
Intel Systems Division. (John McCormick/1990117/Press Contact:
Mary Ward, AT&T, 201-898-3771)
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general
=======
COMMODORE AMIGA A500 CD-ROM GAMES CONSOLE RUMORED
Computer Trade Weekly (CTW) took the UK computer trade by storm
this week with a lead story about Commodore's forthcoming Amiga-based
CD-ROM games console machine. The machine, which was reportedly
shown privately at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las
Vegas last week, is expected to retail for between UKP 400 and
UKP 500 ($600 - $750).
IBM FINGERED AS BIGGEST POLLUTER
IBM's San Jose, CA plant put out the largest ozone-depleting
quantity of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in 1987, the most recent
year such detailed figures are available, according to the National
Resources Defense Council.
WEST GERMANY GETS ITS WEATHER FORECASTS FROM A CRAY
The Deutscher Wetter Dienst (DWD), the West German weather service,
has ordered a Cray Y-MP 4/432 supercomputer from Cray Research
in the US. According to Dr Reiner Lamp, DWD's director of computer
operations, the Cray system is already used by other European
weather administrations, hence the West German institute's decision
to purchase a machine.
DAYNA COMMUNICATIONS EXPANDS DAYNANET LINE
Dayna Communications announced new product offerings in its
DaynaNET line of local area network operating systems for Macintosh
and PC users. Priced from $795 to $3,995 retail, the new DaynaNET
models are available immedidately.
SOLITON OF JAPAN TO SELL CODENOLL ETHERNET AND FDDI NETWORKS
Codenoll Technology announced that Soliton Systems, of Japan
will sell its Ethernet-compatible fiber-optic local area network
(LAN) systems in Japan. The value of the contract is estimated
at $3 to $5-million over the next four years. Soliton is one
of the leading network suppliers in Japan, which is a strong
network market.
GM CANADA SUPPORTS AI, ROBOTICS RESEARCH
General Motors of Canada, of Oshawa, Ontario, has donated C$500,000
to finance research in artificial intelligence and robotics at
Montreal's McGill University. GM also announced a donation of
C$200,000 and equipment to the university's Faculty of Mechanical
Engineering.
GANDALF LICENSES DEC'S LAT PROTOCOL
Gandalf Data has licensed Digital Equipment's LAT network protocol
for use with its Starmaster network processor. As a result, DEC
users will be able to connect through a Starmaster to other network
environments.
EPSON INTROS ANOTHER 24-PIN LETTER-QUALITY DOT MATRIX PRINTER
Epson America has introduced the LQ-1010, a new letter-quality,
24-pin, dot- matrix printer targeted at the entry-level 136-column
format printer user.
ACC TO SHIP NEW BRIDGE/ROUTER SOFTWARE
Advanced Computer Communications (ACC) has announced it will
begin this month to ship its new interlinking bridge/router software
that supports true bridging and routing simultaneously for local
area networking (LAN) connections.
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govt
====
CANADA TESTING TAX FILING BY COMPUTER
By the mid-1990s, most Canadians may be able to file their income
tax returns entirely by computer. Revenue Canada, the federal
agency responsible for income tax, is testing a system that allows
tax returns prepared on a personal computer to be sent directly
into its own computer systems over telephone lines.
SUITS AND COUNTERSUITS IN TEXAS SEMICONDUCTOR BUSINESS
SGS-Thomson Microelectronics has filed suit in US District Court
against Dallas Semiconductor for patent infringement while Dallas
Semiconductor has sued SGS-Thomson in Texas State Court where
SGS-Thomson has countersued.
PROSECUTION WITNESSES CONTINUE TESTIMONY AT MORRIS TRIAL
In the Morris worm (virus) trial, various prosecution witnesses
have continued to build a strong case against Robert Morris,
the former Cornell graduate student who is accused of causing
millions of dollars worth of damages due to lost user time when
he allegedly released a computer worm into a vast U.S. civilian
and military computer network last year. One recent witness,
Liudvikas Bukys, computer lab manager at the University of Rochester,
reportedly said outside the courtroom that he hoped Morris would
go to jail.
FALCON NAMED EXCLUSIVE GOVT SALES AGENT BY APPLE
Apple Computer has signed a three year exclusive contract with
Falcon Microsystems to sell its Schedule C catalog of computer
equipment to the government.
RIX SOFTWORKS WINS MAJOR GOVT CONTACT
RIX SoftWorks has been awarded a major contract let by the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) as major contributor to the Office
Automation Technology and Services (OATS) contract awarded to
AT&T in December.
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ibm
===
MICROSOFT MOVE HOLDING UP NEW ALL COMPUTERS PRODUCT
Microsoft's decision to offer its own DOS-extender specification
has set back introduction of new memory management software from
All Computers here.
NEC CANADA, WESTERN DIGITAL OFFER MONITOR-ADAPTER PACKAGE
NEC Canada and Western Digital Canada are offering a monitor,
a display adapter and software as a package for a limited time.
SYGNOS TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCES NEW FLAT SCREENS, COMPACT KEYBOARD
Hongkong firm Sygnos Technologies has announced a VGA flat screen
in addition to its existing CGA and EGA models, plus a new space-saving
keyboard.
EXPERTECH'S NO-PEEK! PREVENTS SNOOPING
ExperTech Corporation today has announced its release of NO-PEEK!,
a new software security program for IBM compatible MS-DOS computers.
COMMODORE LAUNCHES 25MHZ 80386-BASED PC60-III SERIES
Commodore has launched the PC60-III, a floor-standing 25MHz 80386-based
PC. The machine, which is manufactured by Commodore's Braunschweig
facility in West Germany, features Super VGA graphics, nine expansion
slots and 2MB of RAM for a UKP 4,070 ($6,150) price tag.
DELL LAUNCHES 386SX PORTABLE: 486 SYSTEM ON THE HORIZON
With the promise of an 80486-based machine "soon," Dell Computer
Corporation this week gave European markets a look at its 14
pound 80386SX-based laptop, which begins shipping next month.
The machine features a 16MHz microprocessor, 1MB of RAM (expandable
to 8MB internally) and has a 20MB hard disk plus single high-density
3.5 inch floppy drive.
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Telecom
=======
INSIDE STORY OF THE GREAT AT&T OUTAGE
During a teleconference carried nationwide over a free 900 number,
AT&T Chairman Robert Allen blamed the great phone brown-out
of Jan. 15 on software designed to make the system even more
redundant. American Telephone & Telegraph Co.'s long-distance
service was disrupted Monday. Service was crippled about 2:50
p.m. EST, when callers began receiving recorded messages saying
the company's network, the largest in the nation, was overloaded.
The company announced around 11:45 PM that a software "bandage"
had returned the network to full service.
GTE INTRODUCES PREPAID TELEPHONE CARDS FOR JAPANESE VISITORS
Americans like to call with credit cards and pay later. Japanese
prefer pre-paid phone cards used in special phones. With increasing
numbers of Japanese coming to Hawaii, GTE Hawaiian Tel will
now do it their way, with the islands' first prepaid telephone-card
service.
US SPRINT OFFERS BILLING TO OTHER PHONE OUTFITS
US Sprint, which lets the major Bell companies and other large
independents take care of its billing will now offer the same
option to more than 1,300 independent telephone companies, through
two industry groups, Independent NECA Services, and National
Independent Billing Limited Partnership. The agreements mean
US Sprint customers will be able to have their long-distance
charges appear as part of the monthly bill from their local
phone company.
SOUTHERN BELL FILES CALLER ID TARIFF IN GEORGIA
Southern Bell, which is having trouble over its rates with the
Georgia Public Service Commission, wants to change the subject
and introduce Caller ID.
MERCURY MOVES TO CLOSE DOWN "DIAL-A-PORN" SERVICES
Following the lead taken by several North American PTTs, Mercury
Communications has announced it the closure of a "dial-a-porn"
service carried on its premium rate service. The 0839 services
carried by Mercury have a tariff charges of 25 pence (38 cents)
off-peak, 38 pence (50 cents) peak rate per minute.
MEXICO ORDERS CELLULAR PHONE SYSTEM
Mexico, a country working hard to upgrade its phone system with
foreign help, has signed a $32 million contract with Ericsson
of Sweden to create a cellular telephone system for Mexico City
and expand the existing Ericsson system in Tijuana, Mexico.
NYNEX CREATES NEW SUBSIDIARY, BUYS A COMPANY
NYNEX Enterprises has created a new third-party logistics group
designed to strengthen the company's external business focus
and develop new markets beyond the NYNEX family of companies.
CALL INTERACTIVE ROLLS OUT INTERACTIVE SCRABBLE ON 900 NUMBER
Call Interactive, a joint-venture between AT&T and American
Express, has announced Telephone Scrabble, the first interactive
telephone game to be played in conjuction with a television
game show. The game itself is from Reg Grundy Productions, which
created the NBC show.
PICTURETEL SAYS IT LEADS THE PICTURE PHONE MARKET
PictureTel said that in 1989 it shipped more picture phone products
to customers worldwide than any other company in the videoconferencing
industry. A total of 570 PictureTel C-3000 codes were shipped
in 1989, compared to 102 in 1988. The company dominates the
low bandwidth videoconferencing industry with more than 66 percent
of the U.S. market.
DATAPAK ADDS DIAL-OUT AND X.25 DIAL-IN SERVICES
Hongkong Telecom's Datacom Services division has added dial-out
and X.25 dial-in options to Datapak, the public packet switch.
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trends
======
NO THANKS FOR THE U.S. MEMORIES
U.S. Memories, the project aimed at rebuilding the competitiveness
of American semiconductors, has gone down in flames after failing
to garner enough industry support.
AEA CEO IVERSON IS APPALLED AT LOSS OF U.S. MEMORIES
The American Electronics Association (AEA) has expressed its
alarm over the abolishment of U.S. Memories, the electronics
industry's attempt to augment U.S. production of dynamic random
access memories (DRAM).
SILICON TONG FORECAST FOR HONGKONG
The director of Hongkong's new City Polytechnic predicts that
the institution will become this British colony's "silicon tong"
within the next ten years.
EUROPEAN TAXES ARE KILLING THE COMPUTER BUSINESS
According to European Commission (EC) sources in Brussels, European
expenditure taxes - known as the value added tax (VAT) - are
in disarray, despite the target date of 1 Jan.1992, when all
VAT levels throughout the EC are due to be harmonized. The effect
of the punitive VAT levels has been to stifle the information
technology industry at birth according to some sources.
ETC OFFERS CD-ROM WITH SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Electronic Text Corporation (ETC), maker of the powerful WordCruncher
full-text database software, has just released its latest CD-ROM
product, a massive collection of American literature, WordPerfect
documentation, Shakespeare, two Bibles, truth-in-lending regulations,
and all major early documents relating to the U.S. Constitution.
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Unix
====
AT&T SIGNS SOLBOURNE FOR UNIX SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
AT&T's UNIX Software Operation has signed a software development
agreement with Solbourne Computer under which the Colorado company
will provide AT&T with its C++-based Object Interface Library,
a graphical user interface (GUI) development system.
(Janet Endrijonas/19900117)
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