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 Fri, Sep 18 1992 Date: Fri, 18 Sep 92 04:43:57 EDT Message-ID: 09-18 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Sept. 18-20, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SUNDSTRAND HOPES TO SAVE F-16: Sundstrand Corp. executive Richard Spencer was in Washington Thursday hunting congressional support for continued production of the F-16 fighter, worth $45 million in annual sales to the company. It could be an uphill fight for the Air Force plane. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed a 1993 defense bill with no money for new F-16s. (For more, see special F-16 package below.) OSPREY DENIED FUNDING: Supporters of the V-22 Osprey were denied money for the trouble-plagued experimental helicopter Thursday, but got assurances of eventual funding from the Senate Appropriations Committee. By voice vote, the committee approved a $250 billion defense spending measure that eliminates the $755 million for the V-22, an experimental tilt-rotor aircraft. COOPERATION EXPECTED IN SPACE: Commander Robert "Hoot" Gibson hailed the shuttle Endeavour's international research flight Thursday as a stepping stone to the future. "It's paralleling the sort of cooperation that we are going to have with the Japanese ... and other countries ... aboard the space station," Gibson said. NASA and the Japanese Space Development Agency are co-sponsoring Endeavour's second flight. BUBBLE EXPERIMENT BEGINS: While most of the 43 experiments aboard Endeavour are under way or completed, Mamoru Mohri Thursday began a study on the behavior of bubbles in weightlessness. The issue is important for NASA, which is preparing to build and operate a permanently occupied space station later this decade. Bubbles are difficult to remove in space and they can cause problems for electrical and other systems. GTE TESTMARK TO LOOK OUTWARD: GTE Telephone Operations Thursday said GTE TestMark Laboratories will become a stand-alone business unit under the general direction of GTE Supply effective immediately. TestMark Labs will now focus on external telecommunications and data communications industry. In the past, TestMark Laboratories has served the internal needs of GTE business units. PICTURETEL WILL CUT PRICES: PictureTel Corp. will slash prices of its products by about 25% to 30% in 1993, CEO Norman Gaut told Bloomberg Business News Thursday. As new products come into the market, the industry as a whole will face a scaling down in prices, he said. A leading manufacturer of videoconferencing equipment, PictureTel faces growing competition as firms come out new low-end products. RAYTHEON GAINS CONTRACT: The U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command said Thursday it has awarded a $491 million contract to Raytheon Company for the Ground Based Radar family of radars. The total contract, including options, could reach a value of $614.7 million. The radar will be developed for use both in regional conflicts and for the National Missile Defense of the USA against strategic attack. ELECTRONICS GROUP TURNS 50: Nine California cities that share common borders with America's high-tech mecca, Silicon Valley, have issued proclamations honoring the industry's standard-bearer, the American Electronics Association, for its five decades of service to the state's and nation's electronics industry. In 1993, the American Electronics Association celebrates its 50th anniversary. GREAT PLAINS, FRX MAKE DEAL: Great Plains Software and FRx Software Thursday jointly announced the formation of a new strategic partnership. Under the terms of the agreement, Great Plains Software will market FRx: The Financial Reporting Extender, a high-powered General Ledger report writer. FRx Software will deliver to Great Plains the first local area network version of its flagship financial report writer. TRIDEX, ULTIMATE MAY MAKE DEAL: Tridex Corp. said Thursday it signed a preliminary agreement to acquire Ultimate Technology Corp. for $6.5 million in cash and notes. Tridex said the acquisition is subject to its ability to secure financing. Ultimate Technology makes displays and hardware platforms for retail chains and distributors. Tridex makes specialty printers for the retail, banking and gaming industries. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON F-16: 24 ARE INCLUDED IN HOUSE BILL: President Bush had requested money for 24 new F-16 planes in 1993. The House defense appropriations bill includes money for those 24 and calls for another 24 in 1994. But a Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday passed a 1993 defense bill with no money for new F-16s. A House-Senate conference committee will negotiate differences in the two bills. FOREIGN SALES COULD DRY UP: Speculation is that House-Senate negotiators may compromise on the 24 F-16s for 1993, but no money beyond that. General Dynamics' Joe Stout said that without U.S.-ordered production, foreign sales of the F-16 will dry up. This year, foreign sales account for 72 of 120 planes ordered. If the U.S. military doesn't order, the price will go up and foreign firms may lose interest in the plane. TAIWAN SALE WON'T HELP MUCH: The F-16 is sold to countries around the world, including Israel, Egypt, Venezuela, Greece, Turkey and Thailand. Stout says recent decision to allow sales to Taiwan won't have a big impact on the F-16 production. There is no guarantee Taiwan will buy any F-16s and any orders would be spread over a number of years. (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