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 Tue, Aug 4 1992 Date: Tue, 4 Aug 92 07:01:11 EDT Message-ID: 08-04 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Aug. 4, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ATLANTIS READY FOR EXPERIMENT: Shuttle Atlantis Tuesday will attempt what managers call the toughest feat in spaceflight - flying tethered to a satellite. Monday, four of the shuttle's seven astronauts test-fired electron beam guns to prepare for Tuesday's unraveling at 2:19 p.m. ET. The half-ton Italian satellite is on a shoestring-thin, 12-mile-long tether. The operation has never before been attempted. (For more, see special Atlantis package below.) INTEL UNVEILS COPROCESSOR: Intel unveiled a computer chip Monday that it says will boost the quality and lower the price of top grade computer printers. The new coprocessor chip works with Intel's i960 memory chip, reducing the number of costly memory chips needed. Printers using the new chip should be available within a year. SENATE KEEPS COLLIDER FUNDING: The Senate refused to go along with a House move to deny nearly all funding for the superconducting super collider being built south of Dallas. Senators voted 62-32 Monday to reject an amendment deleting $516 million of the $550 million allocated for the giant atom smasher in a fiscal 1993 energy and water funding bill. The White House is seeking $650 million for the project. CRITICS CALL PROJECT A WASTE: Critics of the $8.25 billion super collider project, led by Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., argued Monday that its scientific merits are marginal when considering the effect on federal spending and other scientific programs. Countered Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.: "This project will keep our nation on the cutting edge of science and technology." TANDEM TO SELL ASSEMBLY PLANT: Tandem Computers Inc. said Monday it will sell its Watsonville, Calif., printed circuit board assembly plant to SCI Systems Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of electronic equipment for sale to other companies. Terms were not disclosed. CABLETRON TO SHOW FDDI ADAPTER: Cabletron Systems Inc. said Monday it will demonstrate the industry's first Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) adapter for Apple Mac II and Quadra computers at the Macworld Boston Expo, to be held Tuesday through Friday. The F6069 dramatically enhances the Mac's performance on applications requiring high-bandwidth, Cabletron says. It is priced at $2,995. SUNGARD BUYS SHAW DATA: SunGard Data Systems Inc. said Monday it has completed the acquisition of Shaw Data Service Inc. Purchase price: $20.5 million. Shaw Data is the largest domestic provider of portfolio management and performance measurement systems and computer services to institutional investment organizations and investment advisors. The company's main product line is the On-Line System. CONTRACTORS BATTLE FOR LTV: Another round has begun in the wrestling for LTV's missile and aircraft business. Martin Marietta shed previous partner Lockheed and raised its bid Monday to $440 million - $396 million cash, $44 million in preferred stock. LTV says it tentatively agreed to the deal. By Monday evening, Loral bid $445 million - $424 million in cash and $21 million in preferred stock - for the two LTV units. VERITEC BUYS SYSTEM: Veritec Inc. said it acquired a counterfeit-detection system and technology from Optical Scanners Ltd. Under terms of the sale, Optical Scanners will receive $25,000 cash, 50,000 shares of Veritec's series B convertible preferred stock priced at $1 each, and warrants to purchase 150,000 shares of Veritec common stock at $1 a share. Veritec will also pay Optical Scanners a 5% royalty. LCI'S ETHERNET BEING USED: Laser Communications Inc., a unit of Safeguard Scientifics Inc., said Monday its laser-based connectivity product is being used by Hitachi Software Engineering Co. in Yokohama, Japan. Hitachi is using TeraBeam E:10 for its ethernet data transmissions as an alternative to its digital network or leased phone lines, LCI said. Ethernets transmit data at the rate of 10 megabits per second. NCR TO USE ORACLE SOFTWARE: Oracle Corp. said Monday that NCR Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of AT&T, has signed a contract to standardize Oracle's manufacturing and financial management software so it can run on NCR products. NCR will use Oracle software to manufacture 90% of NCR's products, including automated teller machines, point-of-sale devices and System 3000 computers. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON ATLANTIS: POWER WILL BE GENERATED: The shuttle Atlantis will attempt to fly tethered to a satellite Tuesday. The satellite and tether are expected to generate up to 5,000 volts of electricity as they are dragged through Earth's magnetic field at 5 miles per second. Electron beam guns will be fired at the tether regularly to break the electrical circuit, preventing electricity from reaching the shuttle. SATELLITE WILL BE REELED IN: The riskiest part of the mission comes when the crew reels the satellite in Wednesday. The tether could swing like a pendulum, bob like a yo-yo or whip like a jump rope. If the satellite or its cord endanger the shuttle, the crew can cut the tether. "We expect to see some things about satellites attached to tethers that nobody's really thought about," says shuttle commander Loren Shriver. SATELLITE STILL IN LOW ORBIT: The first satellite freed by the crew - a European-built free-flying science instrument - remained stuck Monday in a dangerously low orbit. Controllers puzzled over what went wrong after Sunday's release. The $213 million European Space Agency satellite rose to an altitude of 276 miles, 44 miles short of its intended orbital altitude. (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