Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.tech,americast.usa-today.tech From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: tech Thu, Aug 20 1992 Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 04:20:23 EDT Message-ID: 08-20 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Aug. 20, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SOFTWARE SALES RISE: North American sales of software for personal computers rose 19.8% in the first quarter, to $1.22 billion from $1.02 billion a year earlier, according to the Software Publishers Association. The trade association said sales of applications software for Microsoft's Windows grew the most, to $311.4 million from $157.3 million. MAC SOFTWARE SALES UP: First-quarter sales of Macintosh software applications increased to $216 million from $143 million a year ago, according to the Software Publishers Association. Other fast-growing software programs were utilities, home education and graphics. Sales of utility software, which is designed to enhance computer operating systems, climbed to $90 million from $51.9 million. MULTIMEDIA USED IN EDUCATION: George Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot appeared before an amazed group of teachers while music played on nearby speakers. It wasn't a campaign appearance. The images and sound were generated by a glitzy mix of computer graphics, VCR video, laser disc images and compact disc sound in what may become a new method of teaching, called "interactive multimedia computing." (For more, see special Multimedia package below.) ROCKWELL AGREES TO PAY: Rockwell International Corp.'s Tactical Systems Division said Wednesday it agreed to pay $5.1 million to the government in settlement of a suit that charged Rockwell with failure to disclose pricing information during procurement negotiations for the GBU-15 "smart" bomb. The suit involved contracts negotiated between the Air Force and Rockwell from 1984 to 1987, the company said. TANDY INTRODUCES NEW PC: Tandy Corp. Wednesday introduced the Tandy Sensation!, billed as Tandy's first personal computer in which fully integrated multimedia is a standard part of every unit. The suggested retail price is $1,999. Tandy also introduced Tandy WinMate software, a Windows organizer developed exclusively for the Sensation! Multimedia Personal Computer. CRANE IS BEING USED: Kennedy Space Center managers have approved the use of a suspect crane to lift shuttle Endeavour into place for attachment to an external tank Wednesday. The 250-ton-capacity crane is identical to one that malfunctioned in the Vehicle Assembly Building last week while carrying an explosive solid rocket booster segment. Tests have cleared the crane to be used Wednesday. WANG MAY NOT RECOVER: Many companies have fallen into bankruptcy and survived, but Wang Laboratories Inc. is the biggest computer company to take the step and the odds are against it, Bloomberg Business News reports. Wang's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection gives computer buyers another reason not to put faith in a company that lost its technological edge in the 1980s, analysts said. H-P DENIES ALLEGATIONS: Hewlett-Packard Co. Wednesday denied allegations in a suit filed by three shareholders that the company was responsible for overly optimistic earnings estimates by third-party analysts. The details of the suit were not disclosed. On Aug. 18, the firm said third-quarter net income fell 1% to $191 million. Earlier in the month, the firm said earnings would fall short of analysts' expectations. WORLDWIDE BUYS REST OF STARBIRD: Worldwide Television News has acquired 100% interest in Starbird Satellite Services, a mobile satellite news-gathering operation based in Europe. WTN purchased the British Aerospace Communications' 50% share in the joint venture. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON MULTIMEDIA: EDUCATORS EXPLORE NEW MODELS: The three-week "Institute for Information Age Education" project, sponsored by the Autodesk Foundation and several other education groups, allowed educators to explore new models of teaching using new technology provided by Autodesk, Apple and IBM. "We're leaving the industrial age and shifting to the technology and information age," says Autodesk's Dorrie Kennedy. TECHNOLOGY SEEN AS A TOOL: An interactive multimedia project on the 1992 presidential campaign, for example, could include lessons in words, images and sound on a variety of subjects. "We think of technology not as a separate subject, but as tools to get work done," Kennedy said. "That's how it's used in the real world." Multimedia computing is not meant as a substitute for formal instruction. SCHOOLS TO USE EQUIPMENT: The $200,000 in computer hardware and $40,000 in software was donated by Autodesk, Apple and IBM. When school begins in September, the equipment will be loaned to the participants' schools and then rotated through the districts. The educators said they had no doubt about one thing: Students would go wild over learning with multimedia computing. (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