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 Mon, Aug 3 1992 Date: Mon, 3 Aug 92 03:33:15 EDT Message-ID: 08-03 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Aug. 3, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network IBM MAY LOSE TOP TALENT: IBM is trying to trim the fat, but it's apparently losing a lot of muscle, too. In an effort to slash costs, IBM offered a generous severance package to most of its U.S. employees. By Friday's deadline, 32,000 - nearly 10% of its workforce - accepted. IBM insiders say those leaving include hundreds of product specialists intimately familiar with IBM technology and strategies. (For more, see special IBM package below.) MCDONNELL'S EARNINGS FALL: McDonnell Douglas, the USA's No. 2 aircraft maker and top defense contractor, reported a big drop in second-quarter earnings Friday, mostly because of increased research-and-development costs. McDonnell says it earned $38 million, or $1 a share, including a charge of $34 million for development costs of the C-17 military transport carrier. A year earlier, McDonnell earned $77 million. EURECA SATELLITE IS RELEASED: Astronauts on the space shuttle Atlantis released a European satellite Sunday after a day's delay, but it is in a dangerously low obit. Unless the Eureca satellite is raised to a higher altitude, astronauts might not be able to retrieve it in the spring as planned, officials said. Tuesday, the crew will try to generate electricity by dragging a tethered metal ball through space. ROCKET MOTOR GETS SOME FUNDS: NASA's beleagured Advanced Solid Rocket Motor project got an extension on life Friday when a Senate committee approved $50 million for it next year. Supporters hailed the Senate Appropriations Committee action as a major victory for the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor program, although $500 million is needed to keep the project on schedule. MOVE CALLED `GREAT VICTORY': Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran said a Senate approval of $50 million for the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor project keeps the door open for more funding later. That could happen in Senate floor debate within the next two weeks, or in conference with House members over differences between the two chambers' budget proposals for NASA next year. "This was a great victory," Cochran said. DEC GETS SOME GOOD NEWS: Digital Equipment, rocked by losses and the resignation of president and founder Ken Olsen last month, hasn't had much good news lately. But at least its personal-computer business isn't doing too badly. It is the fastest-growing personal-computer vendor in the USA for the second month in a row, according to Computer Intelligence, a La Jolla, Calif.-based market-research firm. SOFTWARE PROVIDES WISDOM: MCR Agency's 5.1 version of its Wisdom of the Ages software - an electronic book of quotes, sayings and ideas - has a new feature, Quote-A-Day. The program provides PC users with easy access to wisdom from more than 1,000 of history's great minds - Eastern and Western. It costs $99. MCR's phone number is 1-800-767-6797. SUPER COLLIDER BONDS SELLING: Investors are continuing to buy municipal bonds sold to help finance the Superconducting Super Collider, Bloomberg Business News reports. The $8.4 billion Super Collider is a research project designed to develop technological materials, such as superconducting magnets. The materials could be used to run trains by magnetic levitation and to store electricity more efficiently. WHEATLEY TO BUY SUBSIDIARY: Wheatley TXT said Friday it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Tokheim Automation Corp., a subsidiary of Tokheim Corp. TAC makes field flow computers and remote telemetry units that measure and facilitate control of the flow of natural gas and other fluids. It had revenues of approximately $6.5 million in the fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 1991. BELLCORE FILES SUIT: Bell Communications Research has filed suit against Vitalink Communications Corp. in U.S. District Court. Bellcore says that Vitalink willfully infringed on its patented bridging technology. Bellcore is seeking a restraining order, preventing Vitalink from using the technology, as well as monetary damages. OPTOELECTRONIC ALLIANCE FORMED: GE, AT&T, Honeywell and IBM have formed an alliance to develop optical interconnections for high-speed data transmission in computers and telecommunications systems. The Optoelectronic Technology Consortium will develop optical networks that will transmit data two to five times faster than conventional copper-wired systems, AT&T says. INFRINGEMENT CASE TO GO TO JURY: Lotus Development Corp. said Friday a U.S. District judge ruled that Borland International Inc.'s Quattro products infringe the Lotus 1-2-3 copyright, and Borland's motion for summary judgment was denied. Richard Eckel, director of corporate communications for Lotus, told Bloomberg Business News that the judge has called for a jury trial. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON IBM: MORE TAKE BUYOUT THAN EXPECTED: IBM's latest buy-out offer attracted 60% more people than the computer giant expected. Among them: Richard Goldberg, assistant general manager of software marketing in the USA; Pat Kearney, a senior official in charge of turning IBM into a developer of computer systems and services for corporations; and John Poland, former general manager of IBM's central-California district. IBM IS PROTECTING TALENT: IBM officials say they're taking steps to guard against a mass exodus of top talent. "We did reserve the right to deny people the plan," says IBM spokesman Jim Ruderman. "In fact, we exercised that right on several hundred occasions." Still, while IBM has a deep bench, it could be left short-staffed in several key areas, say former company officials. SOME SAY THEY SHOULD LEAVE: IBM follower Bob Djurdjevic of Phoenix-based Annex Research says early retirements could rob IBM of precious experience and brainpower. Others say IBM is better off without the people who leave, even if they are talented. "If a person's going to leave, they're not interested in the company anyway," says Robert Simko, an analyst at International Technology Group in Los Altos, Calif. (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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