              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


                          Online Today Monitor Magazine

                               for the week ended
                                 March 22, 1985.

                           Downloaded from CompuServe
                             Edited and uploaded by

                               Bob Leigh, PC1022.

                   ------------------------------------------

        ABOUT MONITOR

        Welcome  to  the electronic edition of  Monitor,  Online  Today's 
        computer and information industry news section. In the electronic 
        version,  you'll find frequently-updated computer and information 
        industry news and features as well as follow-ups to articles that 
        appear in the printed version of Online Today.

        The  electronic  edition of Monitor contains news items  gathered 
        from  several major news services as well as articles written  by 
        Online Today staff members.

                                    * * * * *

        MONITOR WEEK IN REVIEW
        (March 22)

        Here  are  this week's leading computer and information  industry 
        news  stories  as  reported by Online  Today  magazine's  Monitor 
        section:

        EDELMAN  WINS  CONTROL OF DATAPOINT (March 18):  After  a  90-day 
        battle,  Asher B.  Edelman finally won control of Datapoint Corp. 
        According  to  the Wall Street Journal,  the  battle  ended  when 
        Harold  E.  O'Kelley,  Datapoint's chairman since 1974,  resigned 
        from the company late Friday and Edelman was named chairman.  The 
        Journal  reports the company gave Edelman control over  half  the 
        seats  on  the  12-member board and reimbursed him  for  expenses 
        incurred during the take-over fight.

        COMMODORE TO UNVEIL TWO NEW MACHINES MAY 7 IN CANADA (March  18): 
        Commodore  officials  told the Canadian Press Service  they  have 
        picked  May 7 in Toronto for an official unveiling of new entries 
        in the personal computer market. The firm said it would introduce 
        the  PC  10,  an IBM-compatible,  which  incorporates  technology 
        developed by Comterm Inc. of Montreal in its now-defunct Hyperion 
        portable computer, and the Commodore 128, which company officials 
        say  can  run  the  6,000 Commodore 64  programs  and  the  2,000 
        existing  CP-M  programs developed for Apple,  Kaypro  and  other 
        machines.

        IBM HALTS PRODUCTION OF THE JR (March 19):  IBM announced it will 
        halt  production  of its PCjr home  computer.  According  to  IBM 


                                        1





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        spokesman  John  Pope,   the  company  has  no  plans  to  resume 
        production  but  will  "continue to  market,  service  and  fully 
        support the PCjr."

        LOTUS  DELAYS 'JAZZ' SHIPMENTS (March 19):  Lotus announced  that 
        shipments  of Jazz,  the company's much anticipated software  for 
        the  Apple Macintosh,  will be delayed until about May 27.  Lotus 
        had originally said the program would be delivered by the end  of 
        the first quarter of this year.

        UNINET ADDS ELECTRONIC MAIL (March 19):  Uninet announced it will 
        add  electronic mail service to its system at rates it said  will 
        be  20 percent lower than MCI Mail's.  According to the  Videotex 
        Now Newswire,  the service,  "Worldlink," will include electronic 
        mailboxes,  telex  and postal delivery,  transmission of business 
        forms,  and a text-to-voice conversion feature enabling users  to 
        listen to their mail over the telephone.

        WANG  WILL CLOSE FOR TWO WEEKS THIS SUMMER (March 20):  Following 
        in  Apple  Computer's  footsteps,   officials  at  Boston's  Wang 
        Laboratories Inc.  said today they will close all of Wang's  U.S. 
        manufacturing  plants for two weeks in July to "bring inventories 
        into alignment with demand." This week, Apple Computer Co. closed 
        its  manufacturing  plant  for  one week for  the  first  in  its 
        history.

        WOZ:  STEVE JOBS HATES ME (March 22):  The feud between Apple co-
        founders  Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak grew more bitter  as  Jobs 
        commanded  the  owner of a Silicon Valley design  studio  -- Frog 
        Design  Inc.  -- to  stop  working  with Woz on  a  new  consumer 
        electronics project. Jobs told the Wall Street Journal, "It's not 
        personal.  We don't want to see our design language used on other 
        products." Woz told Online Today,  "I certainly have no intention 
        of stealing any of Apple's designs.  I don't know why he's  doing 
        this." -- John Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        CHIPS SLUMP AFFECTS ANOTHER 3,800 WORKERS IN THE VALLEY
        (March 16)

        Officials  of the Santa Clara,  Calif.,  Monolithic Memories Inc. 
        blame slumping sales of computer components for their decision to 
        close  three manufacturing facilities for two weeks and  put  all 
        non-production workers on a four-day work week.

        United  Press International says the shutdown will affect all  of 
        MMI's 3,800 employees on a staggered basis.

        The  layoffs  follow  similar steps or work force  reductions  at 
        other  Silicon  Valley  semiconductor  makers,  including  Intel, 
        Signetics, Synertek, Zilog and National Semiconductor. -- Charles 
        Bowen

                                    * * * * *


                                        2





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        TRUCE IN THE DATAPOINT FIGHT
        (March 16)

        Investor  Asher B.  Edelman has been named chairman of  Datapoint 
        Corp.  It's  part  of  a  new  agreement  between  the  New  York 
        businessman  and  Datapoint to restructure the  computer  maker's 
        board of directors.

        At the same time,  Harold E. O'Kelley resigned as chairman, chief 
        executive and a director of Datapoint.

        Associated  Press writer James F.  Peltz calls the  agreement  "a 
        major  victory for Edelman,  a 45-year-old financier who has been 
        seeking control of the San Antonio,  Texas-based company for  the 
        past few months."

        The  agreement calls for Datapoint to have a 12-member board that 
        includes six present Datapoint directors, Edelman and five of his 
        designees.  Edelman is scheduled to become chairman officially on 
        March 22.

        Datapoint executives filed suit to try to stop Edelman's takeover 
        bid.  Peltz says that under the agreement, all litigation pending 
        between the parties was canceled. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        COMPUTERLAND PLANS APPEAL
        (March 16)

        ComputerLand executives have made it official -- they will  fight 
        this week's court ruling that it must turn over 20 percent of its 
        stock and pay $125 million damages to investors holding a 9-year-
        old IOU for $250,000.

        President  Barbara  Millard,  daughter  of  ComputerLand  founder 
        William  Millard,  told United Press International:  "We'll go as 
        far as we have to go. We don't feel the verdicts are just."

        The Associated Press noted that an appeal of the verdicts in  the 
        case  must  be  filed  within 60 days of the  official  entry  of 
        judgment.  ComputerLand  attorney Pierce O'Donnell  predicted  it 
        will  be done within a couple of weeks,  adding the appeal  could 
        take as long as two years.

        Earlier  this week,  the Oakland,  Calif.,  jury in the nine-week 
        trial ruled that ComputerLand should pay punitive damages of  $10 
        million  and Millard should pay $115 million in damages to Micro-
        Vest,  a  group of investors formed to buy Millard's IOU  from  a 
        Massachusetts investment company, Marriner & Co.

        The same jury already had decided the group also should have one-
        fifth  of  the  voting  stock  in  ComputerLand,  plus  stock  in 
        ComputerLand's  holding  company  and  a  dozen  other  companies 
        controlled by Millard.


                                        3





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        UPI noted, "The damage award matched a California record assessed 
        by  a jury against Ford Motor Co.  in a case involving the  Pinto 
        automobile.  However,  the  amount  in  the Ford case  was  later 
        reduced on appeal."

        The  appeal  "will be a challenge," said  ComputerLand  spokesman 
        Glen Udine.  "There is work to be done in meeting it.  As you can 
        see, it's turning into a fight -- a big one." -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        ONLINE SERVICE HELPS HIGH-VOLUME PC BUYERS
        (March 16)

        Having   problems  with  your  IBM  Asynchronous   Communications 
        Adapter?  Can't  quite  get the hang of  PC-DOS  3.0?  Need  help 
        installing   an  8087  co-processor?   If  you're  a  high-volume 
        corporate customer of IBM, why not call Big Blue for an answer?

        One  of  the great secrets of the PC world is the fact  that  IBM 
        operates a 24 hour-a-day online help service for customers of its 
        National  Accounts  Division.  IBM's Direct  Electronic  Customer 
        Support  Facility,  based  in  Irving,  Texas,  transmits  users' 
        questions  directly  to technical experts in  Boca  Raton,  Fla., 
        IBM's PC headquarters. According to an IBM spokesman, the service 
        usually replies to users' inquiries within a day.

        To  use the service,  a customer holding an IBM  Volume  Purchase 
        Agreement will need a special account number and password. If you 
        think you qualify,  further information and application forms can 
        be obtained by calling the IBM Support Center at 800/527-9293.

        Now  wouldn't  it  be  nice if IBM provided such  a  service  for 
        customers who didn't buy their computers by the carload?  -- John 
        Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        NEW COMPUTER CURRICULUM PROVIDES MARKETABLE SKILLS
        (March 16)

        Are you a high school teacher or administrator who's looking  for 
        an  up-to-date computer science curriculum?  The Data  Processing 
        Management  Association,  a  nationwide organization of  computer 
        management  professionals,  is offering a  free  secondary-school 
        level curriculum that it claims "will serve as a road map to lead 
        young people into the information age."

        DPMA President Carroll L. Lewis says his organization's plan will 
        help  students  become computer literate and acquire  marketable, 
        computer-related  skills.   The  DPMA  curriculum  outlines   and 
        recommends  a  series  of  "core"  courses  that  concentrate  on 
        computer  applications.  It also helps students build entry-level 
        job skills and prepare for college entrance examinations.



                                        4





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        "All   citizens  in  an  information  society  require  a   solid 
        background  in computers and what they can do.  This  holds  true 
        even  for people who will not work directly with computers," says 
        Lewis.  "Virtually all people will have to react with  computers, 
        even  if they are not computer professionals." Lewis claims  that 
        local  communities  have  been "left floundering  looking  for  a 
        structured  and  up-to-date approach to teaching about  computers 
        and information systems."

        Free  copies  of  the  curriculum are  available  from  the  Data 
        Processing  Management  Association,  Educational  Services,  505 
        Busse Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068; 312/825-8124 -- John Edwards


                                    * * * * *

        IBM ENTERS COMPUTER BOOK PUBLISHING BUSINESS
        (March 16)

        IBM  and book publisher Random House have signed an agreement  to 
        produce and market books about the IBM PC.

        According to a Random House official, the deal calls for 30 books 
        on  various  PC topics,  including technical aspects of  the  PC, 
        programming  languages  and  telecommunications.  The  texts  are 
        currently  being  prepared by a staff of  freelance  authors  and 
        should  be  ready for marketing by late this year.  "The  books," 
        said   the  official,   "will  be  sold  through   Random   House 
        distributors,  including  most  major bookstore chains."  -- John 
        Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        ARTISTS AND COMPUTERS
        (March 16)

        Commercial  artists  of the not-too-distant future will  rely  on 
        more than paint brushes and pens for their creations. "The proto-
        typical  artist's  workstation  will be a drafting  table  and  a 
        computer,"  says Jack Powers,  president of Interactive  Features 
        Inc., a publishing technology consulting firm.

        Powers  is  so  sure of this future that his  firm  and  Scarlett 
        Letters  Inc.,  a  major  New York  graphic  arts  company,  have 
        embarked  on  a  pilot project aimed  at  probing  the  interface 
        between  artists and the new electronic medium.  Using  Macintosh 
        computers,  artists from Scarlett Letters' client firms are being 
        trained in picture processing and electronic design.

        "Image  processing software makes life easier for artists,"  says 
        Powers,  "but one of the things we want to study carefully is the 
        effect  of  computer tools on the images they  help  create.  For 
        example,  with  a  computer,  people  tend to  revise  much  more 
        frequently -- to try new variations and perspectives. Because the 
        image  exists in a 'soft' form on the screen,  they're not  stuck 


                                        5





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        with the physical limitation of conventional artwork."

        Says  artist  Julie Brumlik,  who is also president  of  Scarlett 
        Letters,  "By  now most people know that word processing software 
        makes creating words much faster and easier on a  computer.  What 
        we're  doing  with  the Macintosh is applying the same  power  to 
        creating pictures with image processing software."

        Powers  attributes this new working relationship between  artists 
        and computers to the decreasing cost of the electronic equipment. 
        "We're finally getting to the place where we can get an  artist's 
        workstation at a reasonable price, which is under $10,000, and in 
        many  cases under $5,000.  At this point it becomes an  effective 
        creative tool."

        One  of the goals the artists participating in the project  share 
        is  to  produce  commercial art that does not look  like  it  was 
        created  on a computer.  "We want to produce high quality digital 
        art," says Powers. He admits, however, that most of the creations 
        are  ending  up on living room walls rather than  the  covers  of 
        clients'  brochures and annual reports.  But Powers expects  this 
        trend  to  change,  as  computer art becomes  more  accepted.  -- 
        Cathryn Conroy

                                    * * * * *

        QUOTES OF THE WEEK
        (March 16):

        Here's  what computer and information industry newsmakers had  to 
        say  this week,  as reported by Online Today  magazine's  Monitor 
        section:

        -:- "We  never  said  these people used (the Mac) every  day"  -- 
            Apple  Treasurer  Charles  Burger commenting  to  the  AP  on 
            reports    that   Apple   published   misleading    celebrity 
            endorsements.

        -:- "It's  a big ship,  and it will take time to sink,  but  it's 
            already  listing" -- Robert T.  Fertig,  a computer  industry 
            analyst and former Sperry employee,  predicting the company's 
            future to a Wall Street Journal reporter.

        -:- "He  announced (the ST computers) at CES,  and said he needed 
            $180  million,  and he hasn't raised a penny.  That's  public 
            knowledge. I'm not knocking Jack -- he's a great bloke. (But) 
            it  doesn't  make sense does it?  One minute  he  wants  $180 
            million,  he doesn't get it and then he suddenly doesn't need 
            it.  I  don't  think that it (the ST) will appear at  all.  I 
            don't know what Jack will do,  he's got a problem" -- British 
            inventor/entrepreneur  Sir Clive Sinclair talking on  English 
            TV about Atari CEO Jack Tramiel.

        -:- "You  agree that,  30 days after you violate this  agreement, 
            ownership  of your eternal soul automatically passes  to  us, 


                                        6





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


            and that we have the right to negotiate the sale of said soul 
            to  the first smoking,  blood-drenched apparition with  fangs 
            (SBDAWF)  that meets our price.  The SBDAWF may collect  your 
            soul  at  any  time  of  his/her/its  choosing"  -- from  the 
            licensing  agreement included with software published by  the 
            Mother Jones' Son's Software Co. --John Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        DONAHUE DRAWS MIXED REVIEWS FROM ONLINE COMMUNITIES
        (March 17)

        Response   to   Friday's  "Phil  Donahue  Show"  about   computer 
        conferencing  has  ranged from seals of approval to  thumbs  down 
        from those who use computers to communicate.

        A lively discussion of the program has developed in a Participate 
        (PARTI)  on The Source where Robert Wiggins started a  conference 
        called "Donahue." Wiggins appeared in the latter part of the show 
        to demonstrate PARTI conferencing. Among the things he showed was 
        an excerpt from the PARTI's "Single Parenting" conference.

        Earlier in the show,  another guest displayed the opener for "Sex 
        Gadgets,"  a  subconference of a PARTI conference  called  simply 
        "Sex."

        "Phil  wasn't  interested in learning (or helping  others  learn) 
        about  teleconferencing,"  Wiggins said.  "He wanted to  stir  up 
        controversy  (as  always).  You notice how interested he  was  in 
        'Sex' and how quickly he lost interest in 'Single Parenting.' And 
        when I showed him 'Teenage Suicide' during a commercial break  as 
        an example of meaningful discussion, he wasn't interested at all. 
        I left it on the screen, but he never came back to me."

        Wiggins said he spent time with the program's producer before the 
        show and "all she wanted was 'Sex' and related stuff."

        Chris Dunn, on the other hand, thought the show was fair.

        Dunn,  known  on  CompuServe as Chrisdos,  appeared on  the  pre-
        recorded  show with his wife Pam and talked about how they met on 
        CompuServe's  CB simulator.  Dunn is manager of  CompuServe's  CB 
        Interest Group (CBIG).

        Donahue  "worked  both sides of the issue (as he is paid well  to 
        do) and brought out both the good and the bad," Dunn said. "In an 
        hour show,  it is hard to do the whole thing,  but Donahue did  a 
        good job at throwing out the points and letting the audience pick 
        up on the ones that interested the group.

        "You will note that even when Phil brought up CSEX (computer sex) 
        on  a  few  occasions," Dunn said,  "the audience  really  didn't 
        care."




                                        7





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        Dunn said there was a great deal of interest in him and his  wife 
        as a result of their interview during the broadcast.

        "We were mobbed by the audience after the show," he said. Many of 
        those   people  were  interested  in  both  the  educational  and 
        recreational  aspects  of  bulletin board  services  and  special 
        interest groups, he said.

        The organizer of the "Sex Gadgets" conference on Participate, who 
        goes  by  the PARTI name "Cunning Linguist," said  he  found  the 
        Donahue broadcast "somewhat traumatic."

        "It  started  out with a catalog of what sounded  like  organized 
        crime by people who 'hide behind' computers....

        "Then  a guest (author Richard Louv) told how he was watching his 
        greenscreen  one night and,  all of a sudden some  x-rated  stuff 
        just 'started coming across' his screen,  all by itself.  He must 
        have  typed  some  kind of request for it,  but he chose  to  act 
        totally innocent," he said.

        When  his "Sex Gadgets" conference opener was displayed  "I  read 
        the  whole  screen while he (Donahue) was puzzling over what  the 
        numbers  in the header meant.  The whole abstract was in  perfect 
        focus,  and it was probably the most explicit high-tech plug ever 
        broadcast," Cunning Linguist said.

        Another "Donahue" conference participant,  who goes by the  PARTI 
        name "Dragon Lady," says she is a Source employee who joined with 
        nearly  30  other  Source  employees to watch  the  show  on  the 
        newsroom TV at The Source's Virginia headquarters.

        "It  was time to demonstrate The Source," she wrote.  "You  could 
        hear a pin drop as 30 heads leaned forward...and,  lo and behold, 
        what  do we have displayed?  The 'Sex Gadgets' conference by  our 
        cunning friend Mr.  Linguist!  GASP.  Oh, no! (Nobody is laughing 
        now)....

        "Phil  was  completely  in  the dark about it  all.  So  was  the 
        audience,  for  the  most part,  although they  did  reserve  one 
        section for 'users'".

        Another  PARTI participant who goes by the name "Donder"  thought 
        it  ironic  that Newsweek journalist Richard  Sandza,  himself  a 
        victim of computer code-crackers,  said he had a friend crash the 
        bulletin board where his "teletrial" was being held.

        "Users  called in to witness.  Sentence was passed.  The victim's 
        credit card numbers were exposed.  What did the defendant do?  He 
        blew up the court house," Donder noted.

        One participant who had read the discussion but had not seen  the 
        show, wrote in defense of the teleconferencing medium:




                                        8





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        "Just  wanted to let the Donahue show know,  as the sun rises  in 
        the hills of Southern France,  that my two-year-old daughter, who 
        has  never  lived in a home without computing and  communications 
        capabilities,  daily  'chats' with her grandmother in  California 
        using  The  Source.  Unfortunately,  she doesn't have  access  to 
        American TV, however, which may make her a bit illiterate despite 
        all  the educational  software.  Regards,  Joel  Stratte-McClure, 
        Mougins, France." -- Dave Peyton

                                    * * * * *

        DISABLED CHILDREN'S COMPUTER GROUP GOES ONLINE
        (March 17)

        Parents  and  educators  of disabled children have  introduced  a 
        computer network in the San Francisco Bay Area.

        Maintained  at University of California/Berkeley's Lawrance  Hall 
        of  Science,  the new bulletin board is a vehicle  for  providing 
        information,   exchanging   ideas  and  discussing  the  role  of 
        computers in enriching the lives of disabled children, organizers 
        say.

        According  to  Linda  Delucchi and  Larry  Malone,  who  run  the 
        university's  Multi-Sensory Learning Center and the new  network, 
        the  Disabled  Children's  Computer Group -- founded in  1983  -- 
        offers  hardware and software demonstrations at their  bi-monthly 
        general meetings.

        It maintains reference materials at the Lawrence Hall of  Science 
        and  conducts weekend workshops on a variety of  computer-related 
        topics.  The organization hopes to establish a lending library of 
        hardware and software to be used by parents and children.

        If  you're interested in finding out more about the activities of 
        DCCG,  you can call the group's bulletin board in Berkeley  after 
        business hours at (415) 642-3787. -- Daveed Mandell

                                    * * * * *

        ATARI INTO MINICOMPUTERS
        (March 18)

        The Jeffries Report,  a computer industry newsletter, claims that 
        Atari  is  preparing  to  unveil,   of  all  things,  a  DEC  VAX 
        minicomputer clone.

        The  unit,  which will supposedly sell for about $5,000,  will be 
        aimed at CAD/CAM applications.  Its name?  The JAX, natch. --John 
        Edwards

                                    * * * * *





                                        9





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        TANDY WILL CONTINUE COMPETING ON BOTH ENDS OF MARKET
        (March 18)

        We'll  continue to see Radio Shack computers on both the  low-end 
        home  market as well as in competition for the  business  machine 
        dollars,  a  Tandy  Corp.  marketing  executive  told  an  online 
        audience last night.

        Speaking  at a conference in the Family Computing magazine Forum, 
        Market Planning Director Ed Juge said Tandy expects sales of  its 
        low-end home machine, the Color Computer, to continue for "a l-o-
        n-g time." Also he denied reports that Tandy will discontinue its 
        mid-range Model IV/4P series.

        Juge said Tandy has used a different strategy in marketing on the 
        business front with its new IBM compatible, the Model 1000.

        "You  don't  try too hard in the corporate world,  since  IBM  is 
        still the 'safe buy' for nervous purchasing agents," he said.

        However, "it's fairly easy in the rest of the world, where people 
        are  cost- and feature-conscious more than name-conscious.  After 
        all, what most people want IBM compatibility for is to be able to 
        use all the latest and greatest programs as they come out."

        Who buys the 1000?

        It's "a real wide mix," said Juge. He quoted a salesperson at one 
        Radio Shack computer center as saying,  "'Mostly business  people 
        are buying,  but they're buying it like a consumer product.' That 
        is,  it  takes about 30 minutes to sell one,  instead of the  two 
        weeks we're used to on a business sale."

        Asked just how compatible the 1000 is with the IBM PC, Juge said, 
        "We  have  identified four programs which we've  confirmed  won't 
        run. All are games, and not on the top 20 list."

        There have been only a few complaints,  he said, about the 1000's 
        BASIC  not  being totally compatible with the  IBM/PC,  but  "the 
        BASIC  isn't in final form yet.  Microsoft is still working on it 
        for us,  and the final version should be a lot faster,  and  much 
        more 'IBM compatible'."

        Regarding the home computer market, Juge said Radio Shack's Color 
        Computer (CoCo) is "the second largest installed base in the home 
        market ....  (and) we have every reason to expect the CoCo family 
        will  keep going for a l-o-n-g time." Meanwhile,  he  said,  "the 
        1000 might be a viable competitor" in the home market.

        Juge  denied  rumors that Tandy was forsaking its older Model  IV 
        product line -- "we plan to continue the 4/4P,  and I know  there 
        ARE   enhancements   planned  in  the  future"  -- but   declined 
        specifics.




                                       10





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        Looking at the competitors, Juge said he considered Jack Tramiel, 
        with his newly reorganized sales effort at Atari,  "a  formidable 
        competitor."

        However,  said Juge,  "he has a long, tough row to plow. He found 
        the  company  in  considerably  worse  shape  than  it  had  been 
        represented, and creditors aren't particularly friendly. Software 
        houses aren't jumping through hoops."

        Juge  told the forum,  "I think unless (Tramiel) stays compatible 
        with  some  existing software base,  I'd say he'll have  a  TOUGH 
        time. If he thinks the Tramiel name is enough to carry a new non-
        compatible machine through the formative stages, I think he'll be 
        surprised." -- Charles Bowen
                                    * * * * *

        IBM'S 'MAVERICK' PC DIVISION BEING 'REINED IN'?
        (March 18)

        Recent  management changes in IBM's personal computer  department 
        represent  the  company's efforts "to pull in the  reins  of  the 
        maverick  division  and integrate its product line  more  closely 
        with  IBM's larger systems and networking products," according to 
        the newsletter, Data Channels.

        This  probably will mean more emphasis on local  area  networking 
        (LAN) for the business market, the newsletter says.

        As  reported in Online Today's Electronic Edition,  IBM last week 
        named  William  C.  Lowe  as president  of  IBM's  Entry  Systems 
        Division,  which markets the PC product line.  He replaces Philip 
        D.  Estridge,  who now will oversee IBM's worldwide manufacturing 
        operations.

        Noting that Lowe formerly was an IBM assistant group executive in 
        charge  of  the  company's  local  area  network  strategy,  Data 
        Channels said:

        "The  change  seems  to indicate that IBM is  shifting  gears  to 
        reflect  the industry consensus that the future of the PC  market 
        will be increasingly tied to the development of LAN capabilities, 
        as  a cost-effective means of managing information and increasing 
        office productivity."

        The newsletter also quotes George Colony,  president of Forrester 
        Research in Cambridge, Mass.:

        "Boca  (ESD,  headquartered in Boca Raton,  Fla.) is going to  be 
        swept fully under the IBM office systems umbrella.  Bill Lowe has 
        been beating on the heads of Boca,  Raleigh (IBM's Communications 
        Products  Division) and the System/36 people,  for  systems-level 
        integration, all along." -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *



                                       11





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        APPLE DEALERS CUTTING PRICES FURTHER
        (March 18)

        As  Apple  Computer's one-week production shutdown  began  today, 
        dealers of Apple equipment were reportedly cutting up to $300 off 
        the  $2,995 package of a Macintosh 512K computer and  ImageWriter 
        printer.

        According  to  USA Today,  the dealers are doing  that  to  avoid 
        paying up to 17 percent interest on inventory.

        As USA Today's DecisionLine Technology notes, last week Apple cut 
        all prices 5 to 10 percent.

        The  online newsletter also observed that Apple dealers purchased 
        more than 15 pages worth of space in today's Wall Street  Journal 
        to  sell equipment,  software and services for the new  Macintosh 
        Office. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        EDELMAN WINS CONTROL OF OF DATAPOINT
        (March 18)

        The Wall Street Journal reports that Asher B. Edelman has won his 
        90-day  battle for the control of Datapoint Corp.  Both Datapoint 
        and  Edelman  claim  the action will speed efforts  to  sell  the 
        computer and office equipment maker.

        The  Journal  says  the battle ended  when  Harold  E.  O'Kelley, 
        Datapoint's chairman since 1974,  resigned from the company  late 
        Friday  and Edelman was named chairman.  The Journal reports  the 
        company gave Edelman control over half the seats on the 12-member 
        board  and reimbursed him for expenses incurred during the  take-
        over fight.

        The newspaper quotes Edward P. Gistaro, Datapoint's president and 
        chief executive officer, as saying "It was kind of crazy to spend 
        half  our time fighting each other and a lot of our money when we 
        were  trying  to do the same thing (sell the  company)."  -- John 
        Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        U.K. SOFTWARE FIRM TO ENTER U.S. MARKET
        (March 18)

        Systematics,  a  British  softwar hoe,  is pitching into  the  US 
        United States for the first time.

        Ron  Young,  the company's chairman,  aims to tap into  the  U.S. 
        market  for  accounting  packages on the Apple  Macintosh  before 
        American firms step in, a apparently decided such action after he 
        visited the first Mac-dedicated show,  Macworld, in San Fransisco 
        last month.


                                       12





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        Young says he was particularly attracted to the U.S. market after 
        realizing that,  out of 190 business packages for the  Mac,  only 
        one,  Peachtree,  could  be  regarded as a serious rival  to  his 
        firm's products.

        Systematics  has been in the U.K.  business software market since 
        1977,  and  is  expected to sign with a  major  U.S.  distributor 
        within the next two weeks.

        Currently,  the  firm's  family of programs is being  offered  to 
        prospective customers in the U.K.  as part of the Mac test  drive 
        campaign. -- Ben Knox, London

                                    * * * * *

        U.K. MICRO FIRMS TARGET USSR
        (March 18)

        A  Russian plan to put 20 micro into every secondary school  will 
        probably lead to sales for the U.K.'s main computer firms,  Acorn 
        and Sinclair, Soviet educators said this week.

        Two  of Russia's top education experts,  who have  responsibility 
        for  putting the plan into action,  will meet this week with U.K. 
        manufacturers  and developers of educational software  under  the 
        U.K.'s Micro-electronics Education Program.

        Valery  Bykov,  computing  director of the Ukrainian Ministry  of 
        Education, is quoted in this week's edition of Computing magazine 
        as  saying  that they intend to discuss with Acorn  and  Sinclair 
        "Special projects such as the construction of a keyboard for  the 
        Cyrillic alphabet."

        Vadim  Monakhov,  head of of education research,  said they  were 
        interested in U.K. computing textbooks.

        Bykov  also  said that the USSR's plan is to have  all  secondary 
        schools  equipped with micros,  of the 8 and 16 bit  variety,  by 
        1990.  Currently,  primary  and  eighth grade school students  in 
        Russia receive computer education -- Ben Knox, London

                                    * * * * *

        GRID UNVEALS PORTABLE THAT'S 'SECURE' FROM BUGGING
        (March 18)

        In Mountain View,  Calif., GRiD Systems Corp. today unvealed what 
        it  says  is the first portable computer to be  approved  by  the 
        National  Security Agency (NSA) for transmission of  confidential 
        classified data.

        GRiD  officials  said  the 13-pound machine,  called  the  COMSEC 
        (Communications  Security)  Compass  computer  Model  1117,   "is 
        designed  to  secure classified government data  from  electronic 
        eavesdropping by adversaries of the United States."


                                       13





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        It  "has  embedded high-grade encryption which  allows  users  to 
        transmit  classified data without the use of a  bulky,  expensive 
        encryption device."

        Said  GRiD President Samuel Wiegand,  "Industry leaders currently 
        estimate  that  satellites or microwave towers are  used  for  70 
        percent   of  domestic  telecommunications  and  60  percent   of 
        international.  Both forms of atmospheric transmission are easily 
        interceptible  by  Soviet  eavesdropping  equipment."  -- Charles 
        Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        COMMODORE TO UNVEIL TWO NEW MACHINES MAY 7 IN CANADA
        (March 18)

        Commodore  officials  have told the Canadian Press  Service  they 
        have  picked  May 7 in Toronto for an official unveiling  of  new 
        entries in the personal computer market:

        -- The  PC  10,  an IBM-compatible,  which CPS says  incorporates 
           technology developed by Comterm Inc.  of Montreal in its  now-
           defunct Hyperion portable computer.

        -- And the Commodore 128, which company officials say can run the 
           6,000  Commodore  64  programs  and the  2,000  existing  CP-M 
           programs developed for Apple,  Kaypro and other machines using 
           CP-M.

        While  those  two will be formally unveiled May 7 at  a  computer 
        show in Toronto,  according to Commodore chief Alfred Duncan,  no 
        date has been set for release of Commodore's previously announced 
        lap-size portable.

        The  Canadian Comterm company stopped selling its  Hyperion  last 
        fall after disappointing sales in the competitive market for IBM-
        compatible portables.

        CPS  notes,  "Commodore developed its version of the Hyperion  at 
        its  plant in Braunsweig,  West Germany.  Duncan said that rather 
        than  proceeding  with  a proposed  Hyperion  clone  the  company 
        decided  instead  to  develop  the desk-top PC  10  to  be  built 
        exclusively at Braunsweig.  The PC 10 has 256 kilobytes of memory 
        and two built-in 360-kilobyte disk drives."

        Officials  hope the new machines will off-set declining sales  of 
        the  Commodore  64,  which  Duncan said "platformed"  during  the 
        Christmas shopping rush. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *







                                       14





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        COMPUTER LINKS TO EUROPE LIKELY FOR P.R. FIRMS
        (March 19)

        Public  relations firms in America may soon transmit  their  news 
        releases via computer to major European cities.

        Mike Naver, author of the online High Tech Alert newsletter, says 
        that TRIM International,  a major European system,  will make its 
        network  available  through North American public relations  wire 
        services with which it is now negotiating.

        TRIM's service includes English-language transmission by  private 
        line to the Paris newsroom of major international press agencies, 
        as  well as transmission of the same release in translation to 43 
        media in 10 countries by computerized telex. -- Dave Peyton

                                    * * * * *
        ARAB COMPUTER IN OPERATION
        (March 19)

        The  United States Information Agency claims as a world  first  a 
        computer  system that creates,  transmits and reproduces  Arabic-
        language copy.

        USIA Director Charles Z. Wick inaugurated the new system, part of 
        the agency's Arabic Wireless File, on Jan. 15.

        The  wireless file is made up of daily transmissions of text  and 
        articles to five geographic regions, according to the USIA Update 
        newsletter.  It  is  used  for the information  of  U.S.  mission 
        personnel  abroad and for foreign opinion makers,  including  the 
        media.

        The  English-language  file,   as  well  as  Spanish  and  French 
        versions,  have  been  translated to 56 posts by  computer  since 
        1983,  while other cities continue to receive the file by  radio-
        teletype. -- Jim Ware

                                    * * * * *

        NEW E-MAIL IN NEW ENGLAND
        (March 19)

        Connecticut  telecommunicators have a new electronic mail service 
        on tap -- Southern New England Telephone Co.  has signed a three-
        year agreement with Electronic Mail Corp. of America.

        According to the Associated Press,  Electronic Mail, based in Old 
        Greenwich,  Conn., will offer "GemService," enabling "compatibil-
        ity  among  small- to  large-scale  computer  systems,   personal 
        computers, communicating word processors and other such devices."

        AP  says Electronic Mail offers  message  switching,  information 
        processing  "and  document  distribution,   including  electronic 
        transfer  of documents to mail and courier services for  delivery 


                                       15





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        throughout the United States, Canada and international points."

        Southern   New   England  is  a  non-Bell  company  that   serves 
        Connecticut  and  will carry GemService on its  new  packet  data 
        network, called ConnNet. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        EMPLOYEES MAY BUY ROLM DIVISION FROM IBM
        (March 19)

        IBM  may  be selling the military computer business of its  newly 
        acquired Rolm Corp. to a group of Rolm employees.

        As you may recall,  a few months ago the Justice Department  gave 
        IBM  until May 19 to divest itself of Mil-Spec,  Rolm's  military 
        computer  business.  The  Justice Department said it objected  to 
        IBM's ownership Mil-Spec because the effect "may be substantially 
        to lessen competition" in that specialized area.

        Approval of the $1.26 billion takeover of Rolm,  a major telecom-
        munications company, depends on the divestiture.

        The  Associated  Press  now quotes IBM spokesman  Peter  Kuhn  as 
        saying,  "We  have a conditional agreement that says if we  don't 
        receive a bid in excess of $97 million that our preference is  to 
        sell to (the employees)."

        Kuhn  said computer maker Data General Corp.  and other  parties, 
        which  he declined to identify,  also have expressed interest  in 
        Mil-Spec. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        UNINET ADDS ELECTRONIC MAIL
        (March 19)

        Log  in Uninet as the latest entrant in the Great Electronic Mail 
        Race -- the Lenexa,  Kan.,  packet network has announced it  will 
        add  electronic mail service to its system at rates it says  will 
        be 20 percent lower than MCI Mail's.

        However, those rates haven't been announced yet.

        According  to  the  Videotex Now  Newswire,  the  service  called 
        "Worldlink"  will include electronic mailboxes,  telex and postal 
        delivery,  transmission  of business forms,  and a  text-to-voice 
        conversion  feature enabling users to listen to their  mail  over 
        the telephone.

        In addition,  the newsletter says, "Worldlink eventually plans to 
        offer  gateways  to other public and private mail  systems."  The 
        service  is backed by Consortium Communications International  of 
        New   York   which  will  transfer  Worldlink  messages  to   the 
        international telex network through its London office.


                                       16





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        "Personal  computer users will be able to dial up the service  in 
        400 U.S.  cities and 50 countries,  or gain access through an IBM 
        mainframe connected to the network," reports the  newsletter.  -- 
        Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        WE'RE USING THE MORE EXPENSIVE MACHINES THESE DAYS
        (March 19)

        For  the  first  time  since  Dataquest  Inc.  researchers  began 
        surveying home computer owners,  it's found that the computers in 
        more than half our homes cost $500 or more.

        "It's dramatically different this year.  People aren't looking at 
        these  as  games anymore," Dataquest's Joan Grim told  USA  Today 
        writer Kathy Rebello following the release of the findings of the 
        firm's February survey of 20,000 homes:

        -:- 51  percent of the estimated 11.15 million computers in homes 
            cost  more than $500.  That's up from 29 percent in  November 
            1983, Grim said.

        -:- Nonetheless,  games still are a high priority,  Number 1  for 
            the owners of the under-$500 machines, and Number 3 for those 
            with  the more expensive systems,  behind word processing and 
            spreadsheets.

        -:- 13.1  percent  of  all  households  now  have  some  kind  of 
            computer,  "up from 11.4 percent last November -- and nearing 
            the 17 percent of homes that have VCRs," Rebello reports.

        -:- 12  percent  of  the  sample said they plan  to  buy  a  home 
            computer  in the next year.  That's down 3 percent from  last 
            November,  according to Rebello,  but Dataquest said that's a 
            normal seasonal decline.

        Speaking of surveys, USA Today also reports the Center for Social 
        Organization  of Schools has found that of secondary  schools  in 
        the  country,  those in the Northeast are most likely to  provide 
        microcomputers for their students.

        According  to the report,  85 percent of the secondary schools in 
        the  Northeast had micros,  compared with 81 percent of those  in 
        the Midwest,  76 percent in the West and 67 percent in the South. 
        -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        THE SOURCE REJECTED EMAIL SUBPOENA
        (March 19)

        A  report in Monday's New York Times claims that The  Source,  an 
        online  information  service,  refused to comply with  a  federal 
        subpoena requiring it to provide federal prosecutors with  copies 


                                       17





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        of  electronic  mail and personal files pertaining to an  ongoing 
        criminal investigation.

        According  to the story,  the prosecutors were  investigating  an 
        alleged  cocaine  ring and had requested the files believing  the 
        electronic  documents,   created  by  ring  suspects,   contained 
        information critical to the case.  The Source reportedly  refused 
        to  turn  over the data,  which in turn caused the government  to 
        file  a brief in federal court claiming that electronic  mail  is 
        not  subject to the same constitutional protections as paper mail 
        or telephone calls.

        The Times says a court decision on the conflict was  circumvented 
        when  a  principal  suspect in the cocaine ring  pleaded  guilty, 
        ending the legal debate. -- John Edwards

                                    * * * * *
        JAPAN TO PROTECT SOFTWARE
        (March 19)

        According  to  the New York Times,  the  Japanese  government  is 
        planning  to  grant  long-term copyright protection  to  computer 
        software.

        Under the terms of a proposed amendment to the Japanese copyright 
        laws,  computer  software  would  be  protected  as  intellectual 
        material  for 50 years.  Currently,  notes  the  Times,  American 
        companies  have  no protection from Japanese computer  users  who 
        frequently copy or adapt U.S. software without permission.

        The  Times notes one drawback,  however:  software users would be 
        able  to make copies and alter programs without  the  developer's 
        permission,  if  such copies were for personal use only.  -- John 
        Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        LOTUS DELAYS 'JAZZ' SHIPMENTS
        (March 19)

        Shipments  of Jazz,  Lotus Development Corp.'s  much  anticipated 
        software for the Apple Macintosh, will be delayed until about May 
        27.  Originally, Lotus had said the program would be delivered by 
        the end of the first quarter of this year.

        In  a statement late today,  Lotus Chairman Mitchell Kapor  said, 
        "Jazz  is in the final stages of testing.  To develop an easy-to-
        use  software  product with powerful  business  capabilities  has 
        required   an  unusual  number  of  engineering  refinements  and 
        rigorous testing. Those are the only reasons for the delay."

        From  the  Cambridge,   Mass.,   headquarter,  Lotus  Development 
        spokesmen   said  the  company  is  notifying  by  Mailgram   all 
        authorized Lotus dealers of the change in shipping plans.



                                       18





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        In addition, this Friday Lotus intends to place advertisements in 
        the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times to further explain 
        the delay, according to the statement.

        Jazz,  a followup to Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony,  is planned as  an 
        integrated software system for the Mac. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        ZIFF-DAVIS AND DYSON TO LAUNCH DAILY COMPUTER NEWSPAPER
        (March 19)

        Esther  Dyson is selling her rights to the RELease 1.0 newsletter 
        to Ziff-Davis and is preparing to head up the company's new daily 
        computer newspaper, reports the New York Times.

        While neither Ziff-Davis or Dyson would comment on the deal, both 
        parties  have  announced a joint news conference  for  March  29. 
        According to the Times,  the newsletter would be unlike any other 
        Ziff-Davis  publication,  for it would contain no advertising and 
        carry  a  stiff  subscription fee.  The  Times  reports  industry 
        sources as saying that the new newsletter would publish more than 
        four  pages a day and would replace Dyson's current  publication. 
        Dyson is currently in Tokyo for the COMDEX Japan trade show,  and 
        is  said by the newspaper to be busy recruiting staffers for  the 
        new publication. -- John Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        PCjr HALT CALLED A 'BOMBSHELL' BY SURPRISED ANALYSTS
        (March 20)

        Computer  industry  analysts  admit they  were  caught  off-guard 
        yesterday  by IBM's decision to halt production of its PCjr  home 
        computer,  a  move the Washington Post today called IBM's  "first 
        major failure in the personal computer field."

        As  reported  last night in a special updated edition  of  Online 
        Today's  Electronic Edition,  IBM officials said they would  stop 
        production  of  the  PCjr next month,  saying  they  have  enough 
        inventory to meet the anticipated demand.

        The   company  says  it  will  continue  manufacturing   software 
        cartridges and memory and power supply attachments.  Also it will 
        maintain its service and support for the PCjr,  such as its toll-
        free IBM PCjr Customer Support Center, officials said.

        So, what's gone wrong with the PCjr? IBM isn't saying much.

        A   company  spokeswoman  told  Washington  Post  writer  Michael 
        Schrage,  "The  home market didn't expand to the degree that  IBM 
        and others thought it would," and "our initial expectations  (for 
        the PCjr) might have been overly optimistic."

        Analysts were initially surprised.


                                       19





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        "This is a bombshell that's been dropped on virtually everybody," 
        Ed Toshkus,  president of Creative Strategies research firm, told 
        the Post. "It's going to shake up a lot of people."

        And PC World publisher David Bunnell added, "I guess they saw the 
        handwriting  on the wall.  They had a low end product that wasn't 
        really competitive."

        A look at the numbers explains some of the problem.

        For instance,  analysts figure IBM sold 250,000 and 300,000 PCjrs 
        last  year.  Future Computing estimates 80 percent of  them  were 
        sold  in the fourth quarter,  when the price was dropped for  the 
        Christmas season.

        But IBM's costs DIDN'T drop.  "Some analysts say that advertising 
        alone cost IBM nearly $200 per machine," Schrage said.

        Jan  Lewis  of Infocorp told the Post that while IBM  PCjr  sales 
        made  up  17 percent of the retail computer sales last  December, 
        that portion dropped to just 4 percent last month.  "And that's 4 
        percent of a shrinking market," he told Schrage, who added:

        "Industry  sources indicate that retail sales of  home  computers 
        have dropped by over half since the Christmas season. Indeed, IBM 
        cited  the seasonality of the home computer market as one  reason 
        why it has discontinued PCjr production now."

        IBM  declined  to disclose the size of its existing inventory  or 
        how  it  would  handle  the existing  PCjrs  now  in  the  retail 
        pipeline. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        IBM: WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
        (March 20)

        How do you read the signs?

        Does  IBM's halting of the PCjr mean Big Blue is abandoning  home 
        computers to focus its efforts on the business market, where it's 
        the undisputed leader?

        Or  does  IBM have another low-end home computer waiting  in  the 
        wings to be unveiled this spring?

        Don't ask IBM -- officials there aren't speculating publicly. And 
        the analysts are divided on the question.

        There  are some reports that IBM might introduce a machine  based 
        on  the low-cost JX home computer the company introduced in Japan 
        recently.

        Aaron  Goldberg,   an  analyst  with  International  Data  Corp., 
        believes  that's a possibility.  He told Michael Schrage  of  the 


                                       20





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        Washington Post:

        "It would be similar,  but not the same. It would have a 3.5-inch 
        disk  drive and an Intel P8 chip set.  It would be similar to the 
        IBM PC (computer chip set) but cheaper to build." It would be  in 
        the $700-to-$800 price range, Goldberg says.

        Other analysts are watching for clues in the business end of IBM.

        Jan  Lewis of Infocorp and other industry observers told  Schrage 
        that  IBM is preparing to introduce its newest business  personal 
        computer by June.

        "According  to  several analysts,  including  Infocorp's  Lewis," 
        writes Schrage, "the new machine will enable IBM to cut the price 
        on  its existing IBM PC and IBM PC-XT and thus enter the low  end 
        of the market."

        Meanwhile,  others  are  watching for changes in IBM's new  Entry 
        Systems  Division,  which  designed the original IBM PC  and  the 
        PCjr.

        As reported in Online Today on Monday, the appointment of William 
        C.  Lowe as president of ESD is seen by some as a signal that the 
        "maverick division" may become more business-oriented.

        For instance,  Lowe (who replaced the division's first president, 
        Philip  Estridge)  has  background  in  IBM's  business   network 
        development  and may move ESD into work on local area  networking 
        for business offices.

        One thing's for certain -- you can expect layoffs in Tennessee.

        The PCjr is manufactured at a Teledyne plant in Lewisburg,  Tenn. 
        Berkley  Baker  at Teledyne headquarters in Los Angeles told  UPI 
        today:

        "We will try to keep as many of the people on as possible,  but I 
        think  it  is safe to say a number of people will be  laid  off," 
        said  Baker.  Teledyne Lewisburg has about  1,600  employees.  -- 
        Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        IBM HAS PCJR REPLACEMENT READY
        (March 20)

        In  the  wake of the PCjr's demise,  an IBM source  tells  Online 
        Today  that Big Blue already has a replacement machine waiting in 
        the wings. That computer, according to an employee at IBM's Entry 
        Systems  Division in Boca Raton,  Fla.,  is none other  than  the 
        venerable IBM Personal Computer.

        According  to  the source,  IBM will soon announce a  substantial 
        price  reduction in the standard PC that "will take it  virtually 


                                       21





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        into the same price range the PCjr occupied." The employee  notes 
        that  IBM will unveil a new PC 2 sometime this summer,  "and  IBM 
        must  make room for it and the older PC in its pricing structure. 
        The PCjr,  which wasn't selling too hot anyway,  just got lost in 
        the shuffle," he says.

        "IBM isn't abandoning the home market at all," the source claims. 
        "The  company  is committed to home sales,  and thinks  there  is 
        still  a bright future in aiming systems at managers who need  to 
        take work home.  Only the PC,  in that respect,  makes much  more 
        sense than the PCjr. Time and technology passed the PCjr by, it's 
        as simple as that," says the source. -- John Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        AT&T BEAMS 1 MEG A SECOND TO FRANCE
        (March 20)

        AT&T  has  begun transmitting digital and video  teleconferencing 
        signals  to France via satellite at a speed of 1.544 megabits  of 
        information per second, using its International ACCUNET system.

        According  to AT&T officials,  the International ACCUNET  Service 
        lets customers in 32 U.S.  cities originate video teleconferences 
        or data transmission to France.

        U.S.  customers pay $450 per half hour for AT&T's portion of  the 
        transatlantic  circuit  (those  outside New York  would  pay  the 
        additional domestic ACCUNET charges from the originating city.)

        AT&T says,  in a statement,  "France is the third global point to 
        become  a  part  of the AT&T International  ACCUNET  1.5  Service 
        network.  In  April 1984,  AT&T began offering the service to the 
        United  Kingdom via the seventh transatlantic  telecommunications 
        cable.  On Dec. 3, a similar service began to Canada." -- Charles 
        Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        COMMERCIAL COMPUTER CONFLICTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
        (March 20)

        College  bookstores  that  get into  the  computer  business  and 
        undercut  prices  of retail computer stores in college towns  are 
        causing  a  commercial war that has been taken to  the  halls  of 
        several state legislatures and beyond.

        The  latest skirmish,  according to an article by Chuck Sade  for 
        the  College  Press Service,  is in Boulder,  Colo.  There  Apple 
        Computer Co. is negotiating to sell micros through the University 
        of Colorado's bookstore.

        Sade  reports  that neither Apple nor university  officials  will 
        comment,  but  one  source  says the  talks  "should  make  Apple 
        products much cheaper for CU students soon."


                                       22





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        Elsewhere:

        -:- Lawmakers in Texas,  Indiana and Illinois have proposed bills 
            to   stop  colleges  from  offering  discount  computers   to 
            students.

        -:- A  law  in  Washington State forbids campus  bookstores  from 
            competing with local retailers.

        -:- Last month, a Madison, Wis., computer store dropped a lawsuit 
            charging the University of Wisconsin was competing  illegally 
            against  local  computer  shops by offering the  machines  at 
            discounts.

        IBM,  Apple,  Zenith and other computer makers all began  selling 
        discount  computers  to  colleges in  1983.  Today,  hundreds  of 
        campuses have turned their bookstores into computer centers where 
        discounts of 30 percent or more are not unusual, Sade reports.

        Universities  can  undercut the prices in  most  computer  stores 
        because  they  buy  the computers in volume and receive  a  hefty 
        discount, an IBM spokesman told Sade.

        A  Boulder  computer  store salesman says  that  because  of  the 
        quantity  of  computers  a university can purchase  at  one  time 
        "there's no way a computer store can compete.

        "It's not fair, but what are we going to do?" he said. "If we had 
        the kind of money to buy large amounts of stock,  we'd be OK.  As 
        it is, we get by." -- Dave Peyton

                                    * * * * *

        SOURCEMAIL FLAP RAISES CONCERNS FOR E-MAIL PRIVACY
        (March 20)

        By J.S. Orr
        Special to OLT from Washington

        A  major legal battle is shaping up over privacy protections  for 
        electronic  mail and other data communications following a recent 
        federal  grand jury subpoena of personal transmissions and  files 
        of  a cocaine distribution ring alleged to have communicated  via 
        The Source, a McLean Va.-based online service.

        Industry officials and the American Civil Liberties Union  (ACLU) 
        said  in  interviews with Online Today's Electronic Edition  that 
        the  issue  poses a threat to all users of  online  services  who 
        expect  their  electronic  mail  and personal files  to  be  kept 
        private.

        "There  is apparently a hole in the law," said Michael  Cavanagh, 
        executive  director of the Electronic Mail  Association.  "As  it 
        stands  now  the wiretap provisions of criminal statutes  do  not 
        apply because these are non-oral transmissions and, likewise, the 


                                       23





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        protections for postage do not apply."

        In  The Source case,  the government argued in a legal brief that 
        electronic mail and personal files do not enjoy the same  privacy 
        protections as telephone calls and regular mail,  which cannot be 
        examined without a warrant.

        The brief,  which came in response to a filing by lawyers for The 
        Source,  was never considered by the federal court because one of 
        the defendants in the case pleaded guilty.

        "The  threat is that,  one,  the government can intercept private 
        information which you have reasonable expectation to believe will 
        be  kept  private," said Jerry Berman,  a lawyer  with  ACLU  who 
        recently organized an industry conference on the issue.

        "Secondly," Berman said,  "private persons can now intercept data 
        without  fear of prosecution because the laws that apply to first 
        class mail do not apply to computer data transmissions.

        "Congress  needs  to update the wiretapping statutes  to  require 
        judicial  warrants before information can be intercepted  and  to 
        make sure that the same protections afforded first class mail are 
        broadened to include electronic transmissions," Berman added.

        Robert  Willard,  vice president for governmental relations  with 
        the Information Industry Association, added that the legal system 
        must protect all forms of communication regardless of its source.

        "A  legal system that affords protection ought to be  transparent 
        to what form the communications takes. The Communications Act, as 
        it  reads now,  refers only to oral communications so digital  or 
        data  transmissions  don't  get the same degree  of  protection," 
        Willard said.

        During  the  last session of Congress a  measure  addressing  the 
        issue was introduced in the Senate,  but the session ended before 
        it was acted upon.

        Sen.  Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  the sponsor of a number of computer 
        related  bills,  is  expected  to introduce  similar  legislation 
        during the current congressional session.

        A  spokeswoman  for  The Source,  meanwhile,  said  she  was  not 
        familiar  with  the issue,  but added that  the  company's  legal 
        department  was  in  the process of preparing a  comment  on  the 
        privacy aspects of the cocaine investigation.

        The Source attempted in its legal brief to show that the personal 
        files  and  electronic mail transmission of the 12  Detroit  area 
        residents  suspected  in the case should not be required  by  the 
        grand jury.

                                    * * * * *



                                       24





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        ENGINEER ADMITS COMPUTER EXPORT VIOLATIONS
        (March 20)

        In  Alexandria,  Va.,  an  engineer  has  admitted  he  illegally 
        exported $6.5 million worth of high-tech equipment to an Austrian 
        firm that resold it to Soviet bloc countries.

        D. Frank Bazzarre, 45, of Accokeek, Md., founder of the San Jose, 
        Calif.-based  firm Technics Inc.,  faces up to 15 years in prison 
        and  fines  of  up to $5 million when he  is  sentenced  in  U.S. 
        District Court May 10, according to the Associated Press.

        Authorities  said much of the highly sophisticated material  with 
        which   Bazzarre   dealt  was  related  to  computer   circuitry, 
        applicable to areas such as missile guidance systems, satellites, 
        antisubmarine warfare and cruise missiles.

                                    * * * * *

        MAN SAYS HE'S INVENTED A CRACKER THWARTER
        (March 20)

        A Wheeling,  W.Va.,  man says he's perfected a security system to 
        protect  computer  systems from unauthorized entry.  It  uses  an 
        electronic rather than software gatekeeper.

        "I  guess I wouldn't state it to be completely foolproof,"  Kevin 
        Coleman  told  the Associated Press,  "because  there  always  is 
        somebody  lurking to put you under.  But there are millions  upon 
        millions   of  combinations  and  various  modifications  to  the 
        circuitry  instead of just typing in something from  a  keyboard, 
        making it virtually impossible to break the system."

        While  many other security systems use software to thwart illegal 
        access,   Coleman's  system  centers  on  electronic   circuitry, 
        plugging  into an electrical outlet near the computer it's  meant 
        to protect.

        Coleman wouldn't discuss his device in detail but said no one has 
        been  able to crack it yet.  He and two associates are trying  to 
        patent the device, AP said.

        "This  circuit has more combinations than any vault door I know," 
        Coleman  said,  adding,  "You can fool around with  software  and 
        eventually  stumble across something,  but with electronics,  you 
        have to know what you're doing before you can build the circuit." 
        -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        WE'RE MAKING MORE ROBOTS
        (March 20)

        Production of robots in the United States is up 18.7 percent from 
        last year, officials at the Robotics Industry Association say.


                                       25





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----



        According   to   a  report  in  The   Houston   Chronicle,   U.S. 
        manufacturers  shipped  3,633 robots in the first nine months  of 
        1984, valued at $234.9 million.

        This  compares  to same period a year earlier when  3,060  robots 
        costing $193.4 million were built.

        The report was quoted on DecisionLine/Technology, provided by USA 
        Today.

                                    * * * * *

        WANG WILL CLOSE FOR TWO WEEKS THIS SUMMER
        (March 20)

        First, Apple. Now Wang.

        Officials at Boston's Wang Laboratories Inc. said today they will 
        close  all of Wang's U.S.  manufacturing plants for two weeks  in 
        July to "bring inventories into alignment with demand."

        This week,  Apple Computer Co. closed its manufacturing plant for 
        one week for the first in its history.

        According  to the Associated Press,  the Wang closing  will  send 
        6,000 employees on a mandatory summer vacation.

        Wang spokesman Peter Connell told AP,  "We asked our employees if 
        they  would take off the first two weeks of July and rsponse  has 
        been good. So that's what we're going to do."

        Frederick  Wang,  executive  vice president of  the  Lowell-based 
        computer  manufacturer,  added  that the two-week  work  stoppage 
        "will  help  with  current expenses and  push  out  inventories," 
        saying the shutdown will save the company "in the millions."

        "July  is a slow period anyway," Wang said Tuesday.  "We're doing 
        it  less for the savings of salaries than for being able to  push 
        out the inventories." -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        CHINA GOES HIGH TECH
        (March 21)

        Think  of  China and images of an honorable and  ancient  culture 
        immediately  come  to  mind.   But  what  about  images  of  high 
        technology?

        China  is desperately trying to become a more  high-tech  nation, 
        but  will  have  to  import a  considerable  amount  of  computer 
        technology  if it intends to achieve the level of  sophistication 
        by 1990 that the West attained in 1980.



                                       26





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        "China's  main  interest is in developing its  own  manufacturing 
        capability  rather  than becoming the world's largest market  for 
        imported equipment," states Cary Lu,  the microcomputer editor of 
        High  Technology magazine and a recognized authority  on  China's 
        high-tech development.

        In  this  month's  issue of the national  business  magazine,  Lu 
        writes  that  China's  computer  industry  is  far  behind.  "For 
        example,  the largest domestically produced RAM chip in wide  use 
        holds just one kilobyte, while the U.S. and Japan are turning out 
        256-kilobyte chips."

        This  far  eastern  nation faces some difficult  choices  in  its 
        decision  to adopt computers.  "From a technical standpoint,  the 
        language  issue favors the adoption of  Japanese  designs,  which 
        already  have  sufficient graphics capability.  But most  Chinese 
        have  a  deep distrust of anything Japanese and  a  penchant  for 
        anything  American.  As  a result,  most computers in  China  are 
        either  American  models or their foreign clones,  machines  that 
        cannot handle Chinese characters adequately even with  supplemen-
        tary hardware and software," Lu explains.

        Virtually all the micros manufactured in China use imported parts 
        for  most  of the critical components -- from CPU and  controller 
        chips to disk drives and keyboards.

        And  prices  are  high  -- very  high.  An  IBM  PC-XT  lookalike 
        manufactured in China costs about $10,400.  The real thing  sells 
        for a whopping $20,000.

        But,  according  to  Lu,  no matter the number of  problems,  the 
        ultimate   aim  is  to  achieve  self-sufficiency   in   computer 
        manufacturing. -- Cathryn Conroy

                                    * * * * *

        AT&T TO OFFER NEW UNIX-BASED MICRO NEXT WEEK
        (March 21)

        AT&T,  in  its  second  assault  on  the  IBM-dominated  personal 
        computer  market,  is expected to introduce its latest micro next 
        week. It's the Model 7300, entering in the $5,000 to $6,000 price 
        range.

        Also at the unveiling, scheduled for next Tuesday, the company is 
        expected  to  announce  a new low-cost  business  network  system 
        called Starlan.

        About  the  Model 7300,  Washington Post writer  Michael  Schrage 
        quotes  analysts  as saying the new machine will  use  an  "icon" 
        approach similar to Apple's Macintosh,  letting the user point to 
        symbols on the computer screen for specific functions.

        And  "while AT&T currently offers a personal computer,  the 6300, 
        that  is  compatible with IBM's popular  machine,  the  new  7300 


                                       27





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        relies  on AT&T's own UNIX operating system...  The machine  will 
        come with 512 kilobytes of memory and is expandable."

        The  computer,  under  development at Convergent Technologies  of 
        Santa Clara,  Calif.,  for the past 14 months,  also will have an 
        optional   telephone  attachment  along  with  phone   management 
        software,  Schrage  said.  And it can be plugged in  to  existing 
        office  switching equipment so it can be simultaneously used as a 
        telephone and a data transmission device.

        Meanwhile,  Starlan,  which stands for "Star Local Area Network," 
        will  link  personal  computers  in  an  office  for  high  speed 
        communications.

        Schrage  reports,  "AT&T is expected to position Starlan  as  its 
        low-cost network blending data and voice communications. Up to 30 
        computers could be linked to Starlan, according to one source who 
        asked not to be named.... One important aspect of Starlan is that 
        it  might  not require corporate customers to rewire  and  change 
        existing  phone lines to hook their computers into the  network." 
        -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        APPLE LOSES MOMENTUM WITH LOTUS JAZZ'S DELAY
        (March 21)

        Analysts  say  the two-month delay of Lotus  Development  Corp.'s 
        "Jazz"  business  software  will  be a serious  blow  to  Apple's 
        efforts to get a footing in the business computer retail market.

        As  reported here Tuesday,  Lotus announced delivery of the  Jazz 
        software  for Apple's Macintosh has been pushed back to  May  27. 
        Both  Apple  and Lotus had said Jazz would be available  by  late 
        March, although industry insiders were not expecting to see it on 
        dealers' shelves until mid-April.

        The program, developed by the same people who brought us Lotus 1-
        2-3  and  Symphony,  is  considered  very  important  to  Apple's 
        standing in the business market.

        For instance,  Apple President John Scully has said several times 
        that  the office market is crucial for Apple's long term  growth. 
        And  he has estimated that half of all Macintosh purchasers would 
        buy the Jazz software to go with the machine.  Industry  analysts 
        estimate  that  20 percent to 30 percent of Apple's $1.5  billion 
        income comes from the Macintosh computer.

        According  to  the Los Angeles Times,  independent  analysts  now 
        estimate  that  100,000  copies of Jazz will  be  sold  in  1985, 
        instead  of  the 140,000 copies predicted earlier,  and that  the 
        delay means Lotus could lose some $12 million in sales.

        The delay will be even more costly for Apple,  analysts  believe, 
        noting Apple is having a difficult time overcoming consumers' and 


                                       28





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        investors'  doubts  about the company's  staying  power.  Apple's 
        stock  has  fallen from more than $30 a share on Feb.  11 to  $22 
        recently.

        Industry analyst Brian Mutert told the Times that Lotus' delay in 
        delivering  Jazz is "definitely going to hurt Apple.  This  is  a 
        critical  time in the company's bid to take on IBM in the office. 
        Every month lost hurts."

        Although  an Apple spokesman insisted that Macintosh  sales  "are 
        up," Mutert is quoted as saying, "My sources tell me that there's 
        been very -- and you can underline 'very' -- poor movement in the 
        (office) version of the Macintosh."

        Noting  the expected introduction of a new IBM PC model in  June, 
        analyst  John  Dean said,  "Apple has lost momentum when it  most 
        needs  it.  There are lots of people out there waiting  for  Jazz 
        who'll  now say,  'Well,  I've waited this long,  I might as well 
        wait to see what IBM's got to offer." -- Hardin Brothers

                                    * * * * *

        DID JAPAN SANDBAG U.S. CHIP INDUSTRY?
        (March 21)

        U.S.  Trade Representative William Brock is studying charges that 
        Japanese firms have dumped computer chips on the American market, 
        causing layoffs through the American semiconductor industry.

        Sen.  James  McClure  thinks there's truth to  the  charges.  The 
        senator  from Idaho,  where Micron Technology recently  laid  off 
        nearly   half   of   its  1,250  workers,   told   United   Press 
        International:

        "Below-cost Japanese microchips,  which receive massive subsidies 
        from  the Japanese government,  have seriously  eroded  America's 
        domestic  microchip  producers,  and  could  seriously  hurt  our 
        nation's technological development."

        The Republican senator added,  in a statement, "Should Ambassador 
        Brock  determine that the Japanese have violated trade  practices 
        by  dumping,  then there would be grounds for government  action, 
        including   the   imposition  of  an  import  duty  on   Japanese 
        microchips."

        Virtually all major U.S.  microchip manufacturers have  announced 
        employee  cutbacks  since the beginning of the  year.  -- Charles 
        Bowen

                                    * * * * *







                                       29





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        DEC SUED IN ILLEGAL COMPUTER EXPORT CASE
        (March 21)

        A  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  computer company has sued Digital  Equipment 
        Corp.,  alleging DEC caused it to unknowingly become involved  in 
        the illegal export of computer equipment to the Soviet Union.

        According to the Associated Press,  MLPI Business Systems Inc. of 
        Phoenix  and its parent company,  Manufacturers' Lease Plans Inc. 
        of  Pennsylvania,  say  DEC failed to disclose  information  that 
        would  have prevented MLPI from becoming involved in the  illegal 
        exports.

        This  failure,  says the suit,  resulted in MLPI and one  of  its 
        officers  being  indicted for alleged violations of  U.S.  export 
        laws.  They seek $6 million in general damages and $15 million in 
        punitive damages.

        AP  says,  "According to the suit,  Digital became aware in  1982 
        that a shipment of equipment was destined for the Soviet Union in 
        violation of U.S.  export laws.  However,  the suit said  Digital 
        induced  MLPI to help arrange the shipment,  which was seized  by 
        the   U.S.   Customs  Service  and  agents  of  the  West  German 
        government." -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        BELL ATLANTA TO BUY COMPUTER RETAIL CHAIN
        (March 21)

        Philadelphia-based  Bell  Atlantic  Corp.  is  strengthening  its 
        position  in  the  computer  industry -- it  has  agreed  to  buy 
        CompuShop Inc., a 53-store computer retailing chain headquartered 
        in Dallas.

        With the acquisition,  the Bell company has additional  distribu-
        tion  channels  for  personal  computers  and  telecommunications 
        products.  CompuShop  Inc.  sells  IBM,  AT&T  and  Compaq  brand 
        personal  computer  systems in stores throughout the Midwest  and 
        West.

        Earlier,  Bell  Atlantic also acquired Sorbus  Inc.,  a  computer 
        repair  and maintenance organization with some 3,000  technicians 
        nationwide.

        Bell  Atlantic is the Bell regional holding company that provides 
        phone service for six mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C. -- 
        Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *







                                       30





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        SHAKING OUT THE SOFTWARE MOVERS AND SHAKERS
        (March 21)

        Right  now there are some 3,000 personal computer software  firms 
        in the country,  but only about a hundred of them will earn  more 
        than $5,000 over the next two years,  according to Andrew Bose of 
        Link Resources.

        Bose  told  Venture magazine that this 100 firms will  eventually 
        shakeout to six and 10 major software providers, according to USA 
        Today's DecisionLine/Technology today.

        The analyst says that survival will depend on which firms  corner 
        specialized, vertical markets.

                                    * * * * *

        L.A. CITY COMPUTER MAY HAVE BEEN SABOTAGED
        (March 21)

        Los  Angeles police are investigating the possible sabotage of  a 
        municipal  computer.  They  say  a program was  inserted  into  a 
        central   computer   at  the  Department  of  Water   and   Power 
        headquarters   which  rearranged  and  possibly  destroyed   some 
        personnel and inventory records.

        Lt.  Fred Reno,  head of a police computer fraud unit,  told  the 
        Associated  Press  that the program apparently was  designed  "to 
        destroy, remove, replace or change around stored information at a 
        given  time  and  a given date," but he declined to  say  how  he 
        thinks the tampering was done.

        The  problem's been corrected now,  but authorities said the bill 
        for  fixing  the apparent computer sabotage could  run  into  the 
        hundreds of thousands of dollars.

        Meanwhile,  a  DWP spokesman said he doubted that many  customers 
        were  inconvenienced  because of the existence of  backup  manual 
        systems. -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        COMPUTER STORE CHAIN REPORTS LOSS FOR 1984
        (March 21)

        Computer  Store  Inc.  has  announced a $440,000  loss  for  1984 
        despite a near doubling of sales to $26.2 million.

        Richard Schmader,  Computer Store's president and chief executive 
        officer,  blamed the loss on an inventory shortage, but predicted 
        the  computer  retail  company would post a  $900,000  profit  in 
        November, reports the Wall Street Journal.

        The Journal says Schmader first noticed the inventory shortage on 
        March 17.  After the discovery, the company's controller, who was 


                                       31





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        unnamed by Schmader, was relieved of his duties. An investigation 
        is  underway to see if the shortage is an accounting error or  if 
        merchandise  was  actually lost,  stolen or given  away.  -- John 
        Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        IBM READIES LASER PRINTER
        (March 21)

        Not  all of the news about IBM these days is concerned  with  the 
        death of products.  Behind the Screens has received word that the 
        mammoth  micro maker is licking its wounds after the PCjr debacle 
        and preparing to enter the laser printer field.

        As is always the case with IBM, details are scarce and subject to 
        change at any moment,  but rumor has it that Big Blue is  working 
        on a unit that will be local-area-network-compatible and generate 
        copies  at  about  25  pages per minute.  Unlike  the  Apple  and 
        Hewlett-Packard  laser printers,  the IBM unit will  feature  all 
        American  (as  in  IBM) technology.  The other  printers  feature 
        Japanese-made laser "engines."

        More details as they become available. -- John Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        FEDERAL ATTORNEY TALKS ABOUT SOURCE MAIL PRIVACY CASE
        (March 22)

        By J.S. Orr
        Special to OLT from Washington

        The  kingpin  of  a multi-million dollar cocaine  ring  used  The 
        Source  online  information  service to make  drug  contacts  and 
        record  transactions  with  accomplices in at least  five  cities 
        before  being  indicted just over a year ago,  according  to  the 
        federal prosecutor who handled the case.

        In an exclusive interview with Online Today's Electronic Edition, 
        Assistant  U.S.  Attorney for Eastern Michigan Thomas  Violkowski 
        disclosed  that Leo Radosta used The Source to  communicate  with 
        cocaine  dealers and smugglers in New  York,  Michigan,  Florida, 
        Texas, Colorado and California.

        The case,  which came to light this week,  has raised broad legal 
        questions  about  what  right  the  government  has  to  subpoena 
        electronic  mail  and  personal  files  of  people  using  online 
        services.

        Radosta,  a  Colorado  resident,  pleaded guilty to federal  drug 
        trafficking  charges  and  was sentenced to 10  years  in  prison 
        before  a  court  could rule on the  thorny  legal  questions  of 
        privacy for electronic data transmission.



                                       32





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        Nancy Beckman,  a spokeswoman for The Source,  says the company's 
        legal  department  is investigating what impacts the  case  could 
        have  on future company policy and on telecommunications networks 
        in general.

        "Our  position is that this information cannot be  subpoenaed  by 
        the  government,"  Beckman said.  "Our legal counsel is busy  now 
        investigating this whole area."

        Violkowski disagreed about the subpoena.  In a brief filed in the 
        case,  the government argued that it had the right to subpoena  a 
        recorded   copy   of   all  of  The  Source's   electronic   mail 
        transmissions under the same authority that allows the government 
        to subpoena financial records from banks.

        "Our position," he said, "was that, since the company was running 
        a back-up tape of all the letters,  the communications became the 
        property of the company.  The person who sent the letters had  no 
        access  to  the back-up so they had no reasonable expectation  of 
        privacy."

        The government filed the brief in an attempt to force The  Source 
        to  turn over the copies of the communications after lawyers  for 
        the  McLean,  Va.-based service would not surrender them,  citing 
        privacy grounds.

        According  to  Violkowski,   The  Source  did  provide  the  U.S. 
        Attorney's Office in Detroit with information and identities of a 
        number of users who were connected to the online drug network.

        "We  were  working with access numbers that were  assigned  to  a 
        number  of  corporations and individuals involved in this  ring," 
        Violkowski said. "We knew who they were, but we needed to tie the 
        numbers to the right individuals.  The Source people were helpful 
        in that area."

        A  total of 28 people were indicted in connection with the  case, 
        said Violkowski,  who heads the office's drug division.  He added 
        that the use of the computer network was not discovered until the 
        final days of the investigation and therefore did not  contribute 
        significantly to its success.

        Joel Shere,  the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Michigan, said the key 
        to  the  government's argument was that The Source,  as  a  third 
        party,  had  no  right  to  claim the  same  privacy  protections 
        afforded two-party communicators.

        "The  government  has the right to subpoena  third-party  records 
        without the necessity of obtaining a search warrant,  just as  we 
        are able to subpoena corporate records or bank records," he said.

        The  Detroit case has prompted questions from industry  officials 
        and the American Civil Liberties Union about what kind of privacy 
        protections   are   in  place  for   electronically   transmitted 
        communications.


                                       33





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        The  officials  called  on  Congress this  week  to  broaden  the 
        protections afforded regular mail and telephone calls to apply to 
        data communications.

        Earlier  this week,  Online Today talked with industry  spokesmen 
        about  this legal battle shaping up over privacy protections  for 
        electronic communications.

                                    * * * * *

        COMDEX OPENS IN ANAHEIM AMID DIRE INDUSTRY REPORTS
        (March 22)

        On  the  tails  of  two weeks of bad news  in  the  microcomputer 
        industry,  the COMDEX trade show opened in Anaheim,  Calif., last 
        night  where keynoter Mike Shabazian said the  maturing  industry 
        still  is seeing new product introductions at a faster and faster 
        pace.

        Shabazian,  ComputerLand's  U.S.  division  president,  told  his 
        colleagues  that  the success of computer companies in  1985  and 
        beyond  will  depend on  three  areas:  product  differentiation, 
        customer loyalty, and the globalization of markets.

        "We  believe  it is imperative that each and  every  manufacturer 
        understand  that computer products must be differentiated in  the 
        consumer's  mind," Shabazian said.  "This means that each product 
        must have a real reason for being.  Almost no products are bought 
        and sold solely on the basis of price."

        About   customer  loyalty,   Shabazian  said  manufacturers   and 
        retailers can't afford to keep winning and losing customers  over 
        time.  It  is  through  customer loyalty that  the  economics  of 
        initial  and  repeat  sales work for both the  retailer  and  the 
        vendor, he said.

        Finally, he expects computer companies to learn from companies in 
        other businesses how to market themselves globally,  so that "the 
        customer  can be assured that the same high quality products  and 
        services are available wherever they may go."

        Meanwhile,  as  computer industry representatives arrived for the 
        weekend  show,  journalists reminded them of recent  failures  in 
        their business:

        -:- IBM's halting production of the PCjr this week.

        -:- Apple's shutdown of manufacturing plants for a week.

        -:- The  delay of Lotus Development Corp.'s Jazz program for  the 
            Apple Macintosh.

        -:- ComputerLand's loss last week of a major court action,  which 
            meant  the surrender of one-fifth of the company's stock to a 
            group  of  investors.  The California jury  also  ruled  that 


                                       34





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


            ComputerLand founder William Millard must pay $125 million in 
            punitive damages to the investors.

        Stephen  Miller of United Press International talked to Shabazian 
        about the ComputerLand situation, following his keynote speech.

        Shabazian said that all the negative industry news must be  taken 
        in context.  "Two leaders in the industry -- IBM and ComputerLand 
        -- made  news  that  could shake consumer  confidence,  but  they 
        should be viewed differently.

        "The  problem  Bill Millard is having is one of  control  of  his 
        company that in no way affects the operation of that company. Our 
        problem is one of public relations.  The business is profitable." 
        -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *

        FUTURE COMPUTING: HOME COMPUTER MARKET 'ALIVE & WELL'
        (March 22)

        Add Future Computing to the list of analysts who are saying IBM's 
        halting  of  the PCjr production does not mean the death  of  the 
        home computer market.

        "The  market  for  personal computers in the home  is  alive  and 
        well," said Bill Ablondi, vice president of Future Computing Inc. 
        of   Dallas.   He   told   Harihar  Krishnan  of   United   Press 
        International,  "IBM's decision does not signal the demise of the 
        consumer market for PCs."

        Ablondi   predicts,   as  others  have,   that   IBM's   surprise 
        announcement  earlier this week is a prelude to a new machine  -- 
        "We  perceive  that IBM will have a new product on the market  by 
        the  third  quarter  of 1985," perhaps an  upgrade  of  the  PCjr 
        itself.

        Ablondi  told  UPI he believes it was the cost of  producing  the 
        PCjr,  not  the state of the home market itself,  that caused the 
        halt  of production.  This is a problem IBM will correct  in  the 
        next round, he said.

        "In  their new model they will reduce the parts count,  and  that 
        will  require a new design," Ablondi said.  "They're  considering 
        all  their alternatives.  What is surprising is that IBM did  not 
        announce something to fill the gap created by the PCjr decision." 
        -- Charles Bowen

                                    * * * * *








                                       35





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        KOALA EXPANDS MARKETING ARM
        (March 22)

        Koala Technologies of San Jose,  Calif.  -- the people who made a 
        name  for  themselves with the Koala digitizing graphics  tablets 
        for computers like the Commodore 64 and Apple -- has formed a new 
        marketing  arm  and  is going after business  and  well  as  home 
        customers.

        The  new  division  will  market  peripheral  input  devices  and 
        software to PC manufacturers, corporate and industrial clients.

        Koala  now  is  working with Tandy Corp.  to  provide  digitizing 
        tablets  for  TRS-80  computers,   and  is  discussing  potential 
        agreements with several other major PC  manufacturers,  officials 
        say.

                                    * * * * *

        BRITISH TELECOM PROFITS FALL
        (March 22)

        According to the Wall Street Journal, British Telecommunications' 
        profits  for the fiscal third quarter fell 3 percent from a  year 
        earlier.

        The  now  privately owned British Telecom blames the fall on  its 
        $164 million tax bill. The Journal reports that for the quarter a 
        year earlier,  the company was still government-owned and  didn't 
        have to pay taxes.  Before tax payments,  profits rose 51 percent 
        to $455 million from $301 million the year before. --John Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        UK FIRM FINED FOR FRAUD IN US
        (March 22)

        U.K.  computer-maker Burroughs has been found guilty of fraud and 
        breach  of contract in the United States,  after leasing a faulty 
        B800 minicomputer to a San Francisco insurance company.

        Beaver Insurance was awarded $785,000 damages for the fraud,  and 
        a further $14,000 on a breach of contract charge.

        The  award is said to be the biggest yet awarded to the  disgrun-
        tled band of Burrough's B80, B700 and B800 systems.

        Burroughs  is  understood to be  contesting  the  verdict,  after 
        claiming   the   jury   returned  two   contradictory   verdicts. 
        Apparently, after initially declaring a verdict of guilty, Beaver 
        was awarded $872,555 punitive damages, but no actual damages.

        Burroughs maintained this to be illegal,  and,  the  jury,  after 
        being  instructed to reconsider,  returned the next day to  award 
        $785,300 actual damages, this time with no punitive element.


                                       36





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        Beaver's  claim  centered  around their charging  Burroughs  with 
        misleading them into believing the B800 had  interactive,  multi-
        programming capabilities,  which,  due to a file lockout feature, 
        prohibited more than one user from accessing a file at a time.

        According to Richard Perez,  the insurance companies lawyer,  the 
        case  focused  on two basic issues--the B800's  reliability,  and 
        shortcomings  in the system's multiprogramming  capabilities.  -- 
        Ben Knox, London

                                    * * * * *

        JAPAN'S MITI DROPS PATENT PLAN
        (March 22)

        Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry has  dropped 
        its  controversial plan to initiate legislation to make  programs 
        subject to patent laws.

        The  move  will  undoubtedly  bring joy to  the  hearts  of  U.S. 
        software  houses,   who,  despite  having  to  abide  by  similar 
        legislation  at  home,  would have suffered from the  fact  that, 
        while U.S.  patent law holds good for 50 years,  Japanese patents 
        are  only  valid for 15 years,  which would have given  Japan  an 
        unfair advantage over the United States.

        MITI's  decision  comes  very  soon after  a  World  Intellectual 
        Property Organization conference in Geneva last month,  where  it 
        was agreed that software should come under copyright legislation. 
        -- Ben Knox, London

                                    * * * * *

        EEC RACE FOR UNIFIED NETWORK
        (March 22)

        Last  Thursday saw the public outlining of the first phase of  an 
        ambitious  plan to establish a common telecommunications  network 
        in Europe.

        Called RACE, for Research into Advanced Communications technology 
        for Europe,  the program aims to provide a framework within which 
        European  PTT's,   currently  using  a  variety  of  incompatible 
        networks,  will  develop  a  broadband system based  on  standard 
        connections and interfaces.

        The  intention is to have such an integrated system in  place  by 
        1995,  with  an  initial annual capital of 22.1  European  Units, 
        (about $25 million), financed by the European Commission, and, it 
        hoped,  supplemented by a similar annual amount by each country's 
        PTT.

        The one year definition phase, due to start in July of this year, 
        will  be followed by a five year research and development period, 
        which will include various pilot schemes,  and finishes with  the 


                                       37





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        final  phase,  scheduled  for  1991-95,  which will  involve  the 
        installation of the eventual system.

        The  EEC is publicly stating that it hopes the RACE project  will 
        open  the  door  for  co-operation  between  developing  European 
        telecommunications  technologists  which has  been  hampered,  to 
        date, by commercial and national competition. -- Ben Knox, London

                                    * * * * *

        U.K. BUDGET FAVORS HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIES
        (March 22)

        High-tech  companies based in the U.K.  have fared very  well  in 
        British  Chancellor Nigel Lawson's second budget since he came to 
        office.

        Although  financial  analysts were  disappointed  with  Tuesday's 
        budget,  following  last year's radical U.K.  budget,  it  became 
        clear  that  the  government's strategy is  to  assist  high-tech 
        industry where possible.  This year sees the retention of the 100 
        percent  allowance against tax for companies' R & D  budget.  (It 
        had been foreseen that the relief could have dropped to as low as 
        25 percent), and the inclusion of pure R & D companies within the 
        umbrella  of  the government's business expansion  scheme,  which 
        should  make  it  up to 60 percent  cheaper  to  raise  expansion 
        capital.

        Buyers of computer equipment also get a useful bonus, following a 
        general widening of the U.K.'s tax laws regarding offsetting such 
        purchases against tax. -- Ben Knox, London

                                    * * * * *

        WOZ: STEVE JOBS HATES ME
        (March 22)

        The  feud between Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve  Wozniak 
        is growing bitter.

        Last  weekend,  Apple  chairman  Jobs commanded the  owner  of  a 
        Silicon  Valley  design  studio -- Frog Design  Inc.  -- to  stop 
        working  with Woz on a new consumer  electronics  project.  While 
        visiting  the studio,  which designed the case for the Apple IIc, 
        Jobs spotted plans for Woz's product posted on a wall. "He took a 
        look at them and said it was unacceptable," Joseph Ennis,  a vice 
        president at CL9,  Woz's company,  told Behind the Screens. "Jobs 
        ordered  Frog to destroy the work or to send it to him at  Apple. 
        The  firm  did  neither,  although it did  stop  working  on  the 
        project," Ennis said.

        Today's  Wall  Street  Journal quotes Jobs as  saying  "It's  not 
        personal.  We don't want to see our design language used on other 
        products.  Woz has to find his own resources." Apple, the Journal 
        notes,  is  one of Frog's largest customers and has the right  to 


                                       38





              ----- Online Today Monitor - March 22, 1985. -----


        approve  or  disapprove clients in related  fields.  Jobs  didn't 
        return calls from Online Today.

        But  Steve Wozniak told BTS,  "Jobs hates me.  I don't think he's 
        forgiven  me  for certain things I said after  leaving  Apple.  I 
        certainly have no intention of stealing any of Apple's designs. I 
        don't know why he's doing this." Woz noted the new product is  an 
        audio/video  control  unit that will sell for  about  $70.  "It's 
        won't compete with Apple's products in any way," he said.

        As  reported  by Online Today,  Woz quit Apple early  last  month 
        after  a disagreement with Jobs over the future of the  company's 
        Apple II series,  which Woz designed. "I think the whole thing is 
        really sad," said Woz. -- John Edwards

                                    * * * * *

        LOTUS WORKING ON ENHANCED 1-2-3
        (March 21)

        Sources are telling Behind the Screens that Lotus is preparing to 
        release  an  enhanced  version of its  popular  1-2-3  integrated 
        software  package.  Word  is that the new software  will  feature 
        local-area network compatibility,  string-handling abilities, and 
        an  ability to handle larger spreadsheets.  Lotus is also said to 
        be  working  on a new copy-protection scheme.  Look for  the  new 
        package to premiere in about two or three months. -- John Edwards

                                    * * * * *




























                                       39





