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 Fri, Jul 10 1992 Date: Fri, 10 Jul 92 05:13:31 EDT Message-ID: 07-10 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update July 10-12, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NATIONAL LABS CHANGING FOCUS: The national laboratories are shifting their focus - sometimes painfully - from making nuclear bombs to helping create industrial booms. With an annual research budget of $22 billion, the nine national labs have warehoused a "critical mass" of scientific knowledge that cannot be allowed to decay in an era of declining defense expenditures, said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. (For more, see special Labs package below.) INTEL, PHILIPS EXTEND AGREEMENT: Intel Corp. and Philips Electronics said Thursday they have extended their patent cross-licensing agreement through the end of the decade. The agreement, which covers the semiconductor activities of both companies, includes all of their necessary domestic and foreign patents. Intel is the largest semiconductor supplier in America, while Philips is the largest in Europe. SHUTTLE TOUCHES DOWN: Shuttle Columbia capped an unprecedented two-week research flight Thursday by landing just five miles from its Kennedy Space Center launch pad. The spaceship braked to a stop on Kennedy Space Center's 15,000-foot, moat-surrounded runway at 7:43 a.m. The landing had been scheduled for Edwards Air Force Base in California but those plans were washed out by rainy weather. MOTOROLA BUYS 25% OF ACTC: Motorola Government Electronics Group Thursday said it has purchased a 25% interest in ACTC Technologies Inc., a Canadian software engineering firm based in Calgary, Alberta. Motorola began working with ACTC Technologies in 1991 as part of a contract to develop a crypto material management software system for the Canadian Armed Forces. QUOROM, APPLE SETTLE SUIT: Quorum Software Systems Inc. said Thrusday it has resolved its lawsuit with Apple Computer Inc. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. As a result of the settlement, Quorum will continue to develop and market its cross-paltform compatibility products without threat of legal action from Apple. Additionally, Quorum will be reinstated in the Apple Certified Developer program. ADDRESS SYSTEM UNVEILED: Pitney Bowes Inc. launched a new line of microelectronics-based addressing and mailing systems Thursday. The Paragon system, with a price of $19,995, sorts, weighs and affixes postage to envelopes. The Addressright system types a customer's name on envelopes. It sells for $23,995. The systems use application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to compute and transmit the information. WILLEMIJN'S PATENT UPHELD: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has ruled that all of the patent claims in Willemijn Holding BV's U.S. patent covering token ring and FDDI networking equipment are valid, the firm said Thursday. The confirmation of the patent clears the way for the resumption of Willemijn's pending litigation in federal court in San Jose, Calif., against Madge Networks. VIRUSES TO GET FORMAL NAMES: The Anti-virus Methods Congress, a New York-based organization of computer network users, is endorsing a formal method of naming computer viruses, Computerworld reports. The scheme has a four-part descriptor for each virus. A classification will allow technicians to avoid the trap of retracing work that has already been down by anti-virus programs, a spokesmen for the group said. CLIENT-SERVER CONFERENCE PLANNED: "Client-Server At Work" is the theme of Gupta Technologies' Third International Developer's Conference, to be held Aug. 2 through Aug. 5 in San Francisco. Speakers at the conference include Umang Gupta, Gupta Technologies' CEO, Colin White of Database Associates and executives from Novell Inc. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON LABS: CHANGE HAS BEEN TOUGH: By converting the nine national laboratories to peacetime use, the nation will get more "bang for the buck," said Clyde Prestowitz of the Economic Strategy Institute. But changing course can be "tough sailing," said Dan Arvizu, director of technology transfer at Sandia National Laboratory near Albuquerque, N.M. At one point, he told his superiors, "I don't think it will work." BILL PASSES SENATE: Some workers have been confused about what the mission of the labs will be in the future, Kay Adams of Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory said. Last week, a bill was passed in the Senate that makes technology transfers with industry and academia part of the labs' new mission. Work is in progress on a number of items whose potential in the marketplace is yet to be measured. MANY INTERESTED IN SANDIA LAB: The Sandia lab has 42 agreements with various industries totaling more than $100 million in investment. Among them is research on "smart" cars and "smart" highways that use computers to notify drivers of road conditions. The lab also is developing a contamination-free manufacturing center that eliminates dust particles that clog electronic circuits. LOS ALAMOS KEEPING BUSY: Los Alamos is developing sophisticated tools and computer models to recover oil from oil fields. It also has been working to clean up the air in Mexico City. Other programs at Los Alamos include research on ultrasound that detects flaws in manufactured parts, image and testing devices that let supercomputers talk to each other, and using magnetic fields to separate toxic waste. LABS PLAY ROLE IN ECONOMIC WAR: The national labs and industry can no longer ignore each other. While the USA focused on defense, Japan and Germany were developing economic competence, Arvizu said. Now the labs can play a role in a different war, the global economy: Increasing productivity, creating economic growth and developing high-tech jobs for their fellow Americans, Arvizu said. (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