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 Wed, Sep 9 1992 Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 04:29:47 EDT Message-ID: 09-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Sept. 9, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network VIRUS NUMBERS ARE EXAGGERATED: Computer viruses are far less prevalent than some would have us believe, says Jeffrey Kephart of IBM. The spread doesn't merit claims from some industry observers that "things are getting very bad very quickly," Kephart told Bloomberg Business News. His study shows there is one chance in a thousand of a personal computer being "infected" by an outside virus every three months. SOFTWARE FIRMS ARE BLAMED: An IBM study found that if a computer is infected with a virus and anti-virus measures are in place, it spreads to an average of just 1.5 other computers within an organization. Without anti-virus software, it spreads to four computers. The high virus "numbers floating around are from anti-virus (software) companies," said Bill Kesselring of Data Quest, a market research firm. VDTS MAY CAUSE MISCARRIAGES: Pregnant women working at video display terminals that emit strong magnetic fields are three times more likely to have a miscarriage than those working at VDTs with low-level magnetic fields, a new study by Finnish researchers says. The study is the first to link VDT use to miscarriages, although workers have been concerned about the possible health hazards of VDTs for years. (For more, see special Hazard package below.) 5.9-OUNCE PHONE TO BE UNVEILED: Motorola once again has bragging rights to the world's smallest, lightest portable cellular phone. Wednesday, the Schaumburg, Ill., electronics giant unveils the MicroTAC Ultra Lite, a 5.9-ounce model that is the third generation of a line introduced in 1989. The new Motorola phone, priced at $945, weighs 5% less than a competing model unveiled last month by AudioVox. 1-2-3 FOR WINDOWS' PRICE IS CUT: Lotus said Wednesday it is slicing prices on the version of its spreadsheet 1-2-3 that works with Windows. The new suggested retail price of its 1-2-3 for Windows release 1.1 is $495, a $100 cut. Lotus also cut prices on three other editions of the product but held the price on its popular DOS version. ROCKWELL SIGNS RUSSIAN DEAL: Rockwell International Corp. said Tuesday it has signed an agreement in principle to pursue space ventures with a Russian aerospace company. Under terms of the agreement, NPO Energia will develop hardware to allow U.S. space shuttle vehicles to dock with Russia's Mir space station. The value of the deal wasn't disclosed. SEEQ LAYS OFF 46 WORKERS: SEEQ Technology Inc., faced with lower-than-expected sales, said Tuesday it is laying off 46 of its 230 employees. The Fremont, Calif., firm makes electrically erasable programmable read only memories and Ethernet local area network controllers and data communication devices. FIRMS JOINTLY DEVELOP CHIPS: Texas Instruments and GM Hughes Electronics Corp.'s Delco division said Tuesday they have jointly developed more than 20 electronic modules that will be deployed in General Motors automobiles by 1995. The modules will integrate multiple functions onto single chips, the companies said. SATELLITE IS SET FOR LAUNCH: An Air Force Delta 2 booster carrying the 15th member of the Navstar Global Positioning System satellite network is scheduled to be launched Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Navstar spacecraft are used to guide U.S. troops, tanks, vessels and aircraft around the world. The system also is used by industry and civilian government agencies. PEOPLE TELL TRUTH TO COMPUTER: Blood donors might be more honest about whether they're an AIDS risk if they talk to computers instead of humans. A new study finds 12 of 272 donors told computers about risky behavior or possible AIDS symptoms. None mentioned those things in the routine written questionnaires or personal interviews. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON HAZARD: WORKERS HAVE BEEN CONCERNED: For years, workers have been concern about the possible health hazards of video display terminals, now used by about 50 million U.S. employees. Over the past decade, about 15 unexplained clusters of miscarriages have occurred in U.S. and Canadian workplaces containing VDTs. But research on the potential hazards of magnetic fields has been mixed. FINNISH STUDY FINDS LINK: Researchers in Finland studied workers that used VDTs in three companies - 191 who suffered miscarriages and 394 who gave birth between 1975 and 1985. The finding: Pregnant women working at VDTs that emit strong magnetic fields are three times more likely to have a miscarriage than those working at VDTs with low-level magnetic fields. MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED: "I can't say they haven't found something significant here," says Dennis McIntosh, spokesman for the Center for Office Technology, a coalition of computer manufacturers. "But it doesn't begin to answer the questions," he says, adding that the researchers found no difference in miscarriage rates between women who used VDTs and those who did not. NEW VDTS ARE SAFER: Louis Slesin, editor of VDT News, says VDTs manufactured in the late '70s to mid-80s are more likely to emit high levels of magnetic fields than those made in the '90s. Some companies now market devices to measure VDT magnetic fields, at a cost of about $150. Some say pregnant women should not to work at older terminals until more studies are done. (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