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 Thu, Jul 9 1992 Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 05:13:14 EDT Message-ID: 07-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update July 9, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network PC PRICES CONTINUE TO PLUMMET: In the 1980s, having a high-priced personal computer in the den was a symbol of yuppie cachet. Today, "they resemble pieces of meat that might as well be sold by the pound," says Dick Shaffer, publisher of the Technologic newsletter. Last year, PC prices plummeted 25% and another 30% this year. Now a state-of-the-art model costs $1,600. That figure could be below $1,000 by yearend. (For more, see special Price package below.) INTEL INVESTS IN VLSI: Intel said Wednesday it will invest $50 million in VLSI Technology and work with the small computer chip maker to build handheld computers compatible with Intel's 386-based personal computers. Intel Chairman Andy Grove says he expects significant growth in the handheld computer market. MCDONNELL WARNS BUSH: The head of aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas warned President Bush Wednesday that failure to approve a $5 billion sale of 72 advanced F-15 fighters to Saudi Arabia will mean the loss of 80,000 aerospace jobs later this summer. "It's that simple," said McDonnell Douglas CEO John McDonnell in a letter to Bush. FIVE COMPUTER HACKERS INDICTED: Five people were indicted Wednesday on charges of computer tampering, computer fraud, wire fraud, illegal wiretapping and conspiracy by a federal grand jury in Manhattan. The indictments were the result of the first investigative use of court-authorized wiretaps to obtain conversations and data transmissions of hackers. A hacker is someone who obtains unauthorized access to computers. PHONE FIRMS WERE TAPPED: Indictments against five computer hackers allege that the defendants broke into computers "to obtain telephone, credit, information and other services without paying for them." Some of the computers that the defendants allegedly broke into were telephone switching computers operated by Southwestern Bell, New York Telephone, Pacific Bell, U S West and Martin Marietta. LOGITEK CEO CUTS SALARY: Logitek Inc.'s CEO Herbert Fischer said Wednesday he has cut his salary by more than 50% to $125,000 from $275,000. For the nine months ended March 31, Logitek posted a loss of $224,500 on revenue of $3.07 million. The company makes electric-power monitors and power supplies for use by the defense industry in high-level computers, communications and satellite systems, and aircraft. TOOL MAKERS GUILTY OF DUMPING: Makita and other Japanese electric machine tool makers are illegally dumping their products on U.S. markets, the International Trade Commission ruled Wednesday at a preliminary hearing. Black & Decker had asked the ITC to examine the Japanese companies' actions in the USA. The Commerce Department will now determine the extent of any injury to U.S. firms and could impose a tariff. INFONOW SERVICE UNVEILED: InfoNow Corp. said Wednesday it has launched its CD-ROM based software subscription service and has shipped it to major corporate customers. InfoNow provides information about thousands of software titles. It allows PC users to print out products' brochures, compare the products by feature, and even try out the actual software packages, InfoNow says. PILOT, TECHGNOSIS TO MERGE: Pilot Software Inc. and TechGnosis International Inc. said Wednesday they have signed a letter of intent to merge TechGnosis into Pilot Software. TechGnosis markets SequeLink client:server middleware technology. Pilot Software develops information access and analysis tools. Terms of the transaction were not announced. ATLANTIS LAUNCH BUMPED BACK: The next space shuttle mission is being bumped back a week to clear the way for an unmanned rocket mission, officials say. Shuttle Atlantis is now being targeted for liftoff July 30. The delay will allow NASA a better chance to launch a science satellite aboard a Delta rocket. The delay will allow Atlantis' crew members more time to train in flight simulators. IBM, FEDERATED SIGN DEAL: IBM said Wednesday it will market the software system developed by Federated Department Stores Inc. to keep track of large retail operations. Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will operate and maintain computer systems and networks for clients, while Federated will provide the Sabre software. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON PRICE: PERFORMANCE IS ALSO INCREASING: The computer industry continues to demonstrate an unmatched ability to churn out steady increases in performance at steadily declining costs. A 486 chip can search through the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in four seconds - three times faster than its predecessor, the 386, and 400 times faster than the Intel 8088, the chip that ran the original IBM PC. PC MAKERS TRY TO KEEP PACE: In many ways, the personal computer price war is a story of high-intensity capitalism. Five hundred companies have entered the business since 1987, undercutting IBM, Compaq and Apple with low-cost PCs. In recent months, PC makers have been playing a deadly game of one-upsmanship. Hours after Compaq slashed prices 30% on June 15, NEC and Dell Computer followed suit. TREND IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE: PC prices seem destined to head in one direction - down. That's because the companies making the key parts of a PC are locked in their own price-cutting battles. Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Instruments and other firms have found ways to clone Intel's 386 microchip. Its price has dropped 43% since 1988 to $119. The price of disk drives and memory chips have also fallen dramatically. MORE CUTS ANNOUNCED: Firms continued to cut prices Wednesday. Digital Equipment Corp., in a previously announced move, slashed PC prices 35% to 45% and cut prices on its least expensive PCs below $1,000. CompuAdd announced discounts of 3% to 16% on its entire line of PCs and will offer a new family of PCs in August starting at $899. NCR cut prices as much as 30%. (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. 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