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, Jul 1 1992 Date: Wed, 1 Jul 92 05:20:57 EDT Message-ID: 07-01 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update July 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TAIWAN TO RESUME TALKS: Taiwan officials said Tuesday they will resume talks with McDonnell Douglas to try and salvage a $2 billion agreement to team up with the No. 2 U.S. aircraft maker. The Taiwanese government says a new negotiating team hopes to restart talks in early September. The deal would give McDonnell the money it needs to develop its next-generation MD-12 jumbo jet. DIGITAL OFFERING INEXPENSIVE PC: Digital Equipment Corp. has joined the growing number of computer makers that are offering low-cost personal computers. Digital's entry-level PC316 sells for $1,249, including hard drive and monitor. Several firms, including Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp., have cut prices in the past few weeks. Digital lost $294 million in its last quarter. POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS GO ONLINE: Computer networks aren't yet ready to challenge television as a mass-media campaign tool. But this is the first presidential campaign in which the online networks are getting some respect. "The political handlers are starting to realize that there are 40 million people online," says Don Rittner, author of Ecolinking, a guide to using networks for environmental activism. PEROT USING NETWORKS: President Bush and Democratic front-runner Bill Clinton have showed little inclination toward using online networks in their campaigns. But Ross Perot has used the approach. When his supporters mounted a petition drive to get their man on the ballot, they opened a computer bulletin board in Florida and stocked it with Perot's speeches and position papers. NEW BATTERY UNVEILED: American Flywheel Systems Tuesday unveiled a new electric storage battery technology that may be the missing link in making electric cars competitive. Unlike lead acid batteries, which can propel an electric vehicle only 50 to 100 miles on an overnight charge, the AFS battery would power an electric car 300 to 600 miles. AFS says it has just received a patent for the technology. ENERGY IS STORED MECHANICALLY: A battery designed by American Flywheel Systems stores energy mechanically without using chemicals and without the related toxic waste, explosion and corrosion problems. The AFS flywheel mechanical battery stores energy kinetically in a mass rotating at very high speed in a vacuum enclosure, suspended by magnetic bearings and controlled by sophisticated electronics. HUGHES TO CUT 9,000 JOBS: Hughes Aircraft Co., a unit of General Motors Corp., said Tuesday it will eliminate more than 9,000 jobs over the next 18 months. That represents 15% of its workforce. Hughes said the cuts will increase the company's competitiveness and pave the way for future growth. Hughes makes a wide range of missles, communications and military satellites, radar and sonar and other products. ARTISOFT RELEASES NEW SERVICE: Artisoft Inc. Tuesday announced the release of its LANual Information Service. It is a collection of Artisoft Manuals, SpecDisk Information Diskettes, LANtastic Compatibility Guides and Technical Bulletins compiled into diskette format. It will be updated quarterly and can be purchased either by a one-year subscription for $249 or one quarter for $75. INTEGRIS, PYRAMID MAKE DEAL: Integris said Tuesday it has signed a strategic marketing agreement with Pyramid Technology Corp. Pyramid will jointly market Integris' SmartSizing solutions. Integris will resell Pyramid's MIServer line through its direct sales channel as part of full-service solutions of hardware, software and services. SPECTRUM GAINS $2 MILLION DEAL: Spectrum Information Technologies Inc. said Tuesday it has been awarded a $2 million contract by Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. Spectrum will install 700 of Compaq's LTE Lite 386sl:84 notebook units to upgrade Ortho's field sales force. Shipping has begun this week and will be completed over the next three months, Spectrum said. AT&T TO SELL MULTIPLEXERS: AT&T Paradyne said Tuesday it plans to begin selling bandwidth-on-demand inverse multiplexers by September. The Acculink Bandwidth Controller can be used for video teleconferencing, disaster recovery and backup, network overflow, imaging and LAN interconnect. Prices will range from $7,000 to $16,000, depending on the configuration. LOTUS JOINS UNIX: Lotus Development Corp. says it has joined Unix International Inc., the software concern that popularizes and develops the Unix computing environment that was developed by AT&T. Lotus, whose spreadsheet software operates on workstations that run on Unix System Release IV, said it will broaden those offerings. Unix International now has more than 270 members. 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