Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.tech From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: tech Wed, Jun 24 1992 Date: Wed, 24 Jun 92 05:16:10 EDT Message-ID: 06-24 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update June 24, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network HEWLETT-PACKARD TO BUY TI LINE: Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it will acquire Texas Instruments Inc.'s Unix computer business later this year. Terms of the agreement were not announced. Hewlett-Packard Vice President Lewis E. Platt said many details of the agreement need to be worked out, including a provision under which TI would keep making the Unix 1500 computer line for resale to Hewlett-Packard. GATES WINS TECHNOLOGY AWARD: Bill Gates isn't the youngest person to ever win the National Medal of Technology, but he's the youngest of the 1992 winners. Gates, 36, CEO of Microsoft, was awarded the medal by President Bush Tuesday along with six other pioneers whose average age is almost 80. Gates, whose company makes the software that runs most personal computers, won for helping make PCs a fixture in offices. (For more, see special Medal package below.) MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MAKES CUTS: McDonnell Douglas Corp. said Tuesday it will lay off 207 workers in Tulsa, Okla., in the latest round of layoffs tied to reduced aircraft demand. The job cuts, effective July 3 for 187 union members and July 10 for 20 salaried workers, stem from the winding down of the F-15 Eagle fighter program and reduced production rates for commercial airlines, the company said. GOLDHABER TO LEAD KALEIDA: Apple Computer Chairman John Sculley says Apple and IBM may enter the information services business. Sculley says each company was exploring the possibility both individually and through their joint venture, Kaleida. Also, A. Nathaniel Goldhaber was named CEO of Kaleida, which will develop multimedia software technology for the computer and communications industries. SHUTTLE PROBLEMS CORRECTED: Technicians corrected minor glitches as the countdown continued toward launch of the space shuttle Columbia from Cape Canaveral at 12:07 p.m. EDT Thursday, on a record 13-day scientific mission. The problems involved a faulty fuel temperature sensor and navigation units. NASA may decide to fly with the faulty sensor. The navigation units were replaced. PEROT WINS TECHNOLOGY DEBATE: Ross Perot came out ahead of his two declared rivals for president Monday night at a debate on the merits of a national technology policy underwritten by Computer Associates International Inc. and Computerworld newspaper. The Texas billionaire won the votes of three of the six technology debaters. Gov. Bill Clinton won two votes, including that of Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. HUGHES GAINS AMPLIFIER DEAL: Hughes Aircraft Co. said Tuesday it has received a $2.9 million contract from the Air Force. The firm will develop high-efficiency amplifiers for use in the U.S. military's advanced satellite communications program. The millimeter-wave, solid state amplifier will be used in the ground terminals of the Milstar program, a group of satellites that will link military posts. ECCS UNVEILS STORAGE SYSTEM: The ECCS Products Group has introduced a complete family of fault-tolerant network storage subsystems featuring advanced RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) technology. It will be available for UNIX platforms and Novell networks. Pricing for the units will start at $4,800. They will be available in July. NEW ROCKET ENGINE DESIGNED: Pratt & Whitney says it is working on an improved RL10 rocket engine for General Dynamics' Atlas family of space vehicles. The rocket engine, designated the RL10A-4-1, will provide 22,300 pounds of thrust, a gain of 1,500 pounds over the previous model. Pratt & Whitney also plans to increase in engine's fuel efficiency by improving the design of the fuel injector. VITALINK, DIGITAL SIGN DEAL: Vitalink Communications Corp. has signed a resale agreement with Digital Equipment Corp. The agreement will allow Digital to resell Vitalink's entire 5000 Series of TransLAN, TransRING and TransPATH bridge and bridge-router products as well as Vitalink's network management products on a worldwide basis. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON MEDAL: BAR CODE INVENTOR HONORED: Joseph Woodland, 71, inventor of the bar code, was among the winners of the National Medal of Technology. "You've seen firsthand how impressed I am about how barcoding works," President Bush said. During a visit to a National Grocers Association meeting in February, Bush was shown the machine and his apparent amazement led to reports that he appeared never to have seen one before. HAWKINS WINS AWARD: W. Lincoln Hawkins, 81, a chemist and the first black member of AT&T Bell Labs' elite technical staff, won a National Medal of Technology. Hawkins co-invented an additive that stabilizes the plastic covering phone cables, saving phone firms millions of dollars. Charles Kelman, 62, got his for inventing techniques to remove eye cataracts and repair retinas without scalpel surgery. JURAN GIVEN MEDAL: Joseph M. Juran, 87, chairman emeritus of the Juran Institute, won a National Medal of Technology for pioneering methods that help companies dramatically improve the quality of products and processes. The medal has been awarded to 68 individuals since 1985. (End of package.) Technology Editor: Ed Kelleher. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM