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 Tue, Sep 15 1992 Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 04:23:48 EDT Message-ID: 09-15 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Sept. 15, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TADPOLES BEING HATCHED IN SPACE: The Spacelab module inside space shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay soon will be a nursery for dozens of tiny tadpoles born from frog eggs fertilized in space Monday. "The first two days (of the mission) have been a bonanza for the frog embryology experiment," said Kenneth Souza, a NASA scientist from Ames Research Center in California. "We'll have actively swimming tadpoles by landing." (For more, see special Biology package below.) COMPAQ REPORTEDLY TO CUT JOBS: Compaq Computer is expected to lay off 200 workers next month, according to a report in PC Week. The trade magazine says Compaq has laid off between 50 and 100 middle managers the past few weeks and is expected to cut an additional 200 middle-management jobs. The layoffs are the second in Compaq's 10-year history. Last November, Compaq cut its workforce by 1,700. INTEGRATION SOFTWARE DUE OUT: Banyan Systems Inc. will unveil software Tuesday for integrating incompatible computer environments, Bloomberg Business News reports. The new product, called Enterprise Network Services, is the first in a line of software packages giving users of competing network systems access to Banyan's applications packages, the firms said. STREETTALK CAN BE ACCESSED: Banyan Systems Inc.'s new Enterprise Network Services family will permit users of rival networks to gain access to Banyan's popular StreetTalk applications package. The application allows instant access to users, printers and files anywhere on a network. ENS for Novell's NetWare is priced at $3,995. There is a charge for an additional package permitting Novell users to be connected. TUTOR FOR PERFORMA IS ON WAY: Personal Training Systems, a developer of self-paced interactive software training tutorials, Monday said it will begin shipping audio-based Personal Training tutorials for Apple's Macintosh Performa computers later this month. A cassette tape player and the desired software application are required. Each tutorial retails for $99.95. OVERDRIVE PROCESSORS AVAILABLE: Intel Corp. Monday announced the second version in its line of retail performance upgrades, the OverDrive Processors for Intel486 DX CPU-based systems. They boost overall application performance by up to 70%, Intel says. Prices range from $449 to $799. IBM JOINS MESSAGING GROUP: IBM said Monday it has become a member of the Vendor-Independent Messaging's (VIM) steering and technical committees. The groups will work toward making it easier for users of personal computers using different systems and platforms to send electronic mail to each other. Other members of the group include Apple, Borland, Lotus, WordPerfect and Novell. PICTURE PUBLISHER WINS AWARD: Micrografx Inc., a developer of Windows-compatible graphics applications, says it has received the Editors' Choice Award from PC Magazine for Picture Publisher 3.1. PC Magazine reviewed products based on photo retouching, creative editing, hard copy output and electronic output. Picture Publisher 3.1 received perfect scores in all four categories. AT&T, HARRIS CORP. TO HOOK UP: AT&T said Monday that it and Harris Corp.'s Dracon Division will jointly develop, market and manufacture voice paging products for office telephone equipment. AT&T said the first product under the agreement is scheduled to be introduced in the fourth quarter of this year. Harris' Dracon division supplies loud-speaker voice paging products and systems. AMERITECH SIGNS TWO DEALS: Ameritech Information Technologies says it has signed two contracts valued at nearly $1 billion for equipment that enables it to speed the use of fiber optics in Ameritech's five phone firms. The deals are with Digital Switch Corp. and Raynet Corp. The fiber equipment will be deployed starting late this year. Ameritech has phone firms in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON BIOLOGY: EGGS WERE FERTILIZED IN SPACE: Four female frogs were carried into space when Endeavour lifted off Saturday from Kennedy Space Center. The frogs were given a hormone Monday to induce ovulation, then the eggs were fertilized with a refrigerated sperm solution - a space first. Half of the 600 eggs are being kept in a weightless environment while the rest are in a spinning centrifuge to grow in normal Earth-like gravity. CHICKEN EGGS ARE ALSO ON BOARD: In a related experiment, 30 chicken eggs are aboard the shuttle so researchers can see how well the chicken embryos grow into small birds. Two Japanese carp and dozens of fruit flies and hornets are also aboard Endeavour so scientists can record their reactions to space. STUDIES COULD HELP LONG TRIPS: Scientists say such studies will help them understand how humans might be able to adapt to long-term space flights aboard space station Freedom or on voyages to Mars. Endeavour's mission is relatively short - seven days - but flight controllers are considering adding a day to the trip, said NASA mission manager Gary Coen. SHUTTLE MAY STAY UP EXTRA DAY: By sometime Tuesday, the crew will have saved enough power and other supplies to remain in space and conduct science operations another day, moving the landing at the space center to Sunday. Coen said a decision on the mission extension could come Tuesday or Wednesday. (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