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, Oct 9 1992 Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 04:40:11 EDT Message-ID: 10-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Oct. 9-11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TEXAS INSTRUMENTS ADDS NEW CHIP: Texas Instruments Inc. said Thursday it has begun shipping its new microSparc microprocessor for the personal computer market. Texas Instruments says its engineers have put 800,000 transistors onto microSparc's surface. Engineering samples of the new microprocessor cost $500. It is compatible with reduced instruction set computing. DIGITAL IS BUILDING NEW PLANT: Digital Equipment Corp. formally broke ground Thursday on construction of a new plant in Hudson, Mass. It will produce future generations of Digital's recently announced Alpha family of semiconductors, billed as the world's fastest 64-bit microprocessor. The 526,000 square-foot facility is scheduled for completion in 1994. PICTURETEL TEAMS WITH LOTUS: PictureTel Corp. said Thursday it will develop a desktop videoconferencing system using Lotus Development Corp.'s Notes software. PictureTel will pair Lotus Notes, which allows users to share documents over a computer network, with videophones. Users working with the same document will be able to simultaneously talk to each other over a videophone link. It is due out in mid-1993. COMPUTER FIRMS MAKE CUTS: Hewlett-Packard said Thursday it will eliminate about 2,700 jobs - 2,000 of them in the USA - early next year through voluntary severance. That's about 3% of its global work force. Late Wednesday, Compaq said it will cut 1,000 workers, including 700 who will be laid off this month. MARTIN MARIETTA TO MAKE CUTS: Martin Marietta Corp. said Thursday it plans to lay off 300 employees, including 80 managers, at its information systems division in Orlando, Fla., by the end of the year. The firm said it is attempting to reduce costs as it prepares to bid for contracts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. MARTIN MARIETTA GETS CONTRACT: The Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory in Dallas has awarded a $2.7 million contract to Martin Marietta Astronautics Group's Civil Space & Communications company. It will develop Spool Pieces, a component in the construction of the collider. The Spool Pieces will integrate cryogenic fluids, vacuum, power and instrumentation systems for the Collider ring operations. AEL GAINS ARMY DEAL: AEL Industries Inc. said Thurday it has received a $4.4 million award from the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command for additional quantities of the Aviation Night Vision Heads-Up Display shipsets. The system combines the image seen by a helicopter pilot through night vision goggles with readings of information needed for safe operation of the aircraft. UNISYS TO BUILD IRS SYSTEM: Unisys Corp. Thursday said its Unisys Government Systems Inc. unit won a $115 million contract to supply computer systems to Internal Revenue Service tax-return processing centers. It will supply information systems and services at 10 regional IRS processing centers and its national computing center in Martinsburg, W.Va. DELMARVA POWER PLANS SOLAR TEST: Delmarva Power will explore the use of solar electricity in an experiment next year, the firm said Thursday. The firm says it plans to gather more data on solar power by installing an experimental system capable of producing 15 kilowatts of electricity. Data will be used to develop a strategy for the future use of solar power on the Delmarva Peninsula, the firm says. COMPUTERLAND STREAMLINES: ComputerLand Corp., the biggest reseller of personal computers in the USA, will streamline its business to meet new trends in PC sales, the company said Thursday. The firm created a U.S. franchising and distribution division to manage its 600 franchises, and a corporate division to manage its own stores. ORACLE FORMS NEW DIVISION: Oracle Corp. said Thursday it has formed a new division to identify and develop advanced software technology. The Advanced Technology Division will be led by Oracle co-founder Robert N. Miner. Initially, the division will develop a distributed object management and parallel programming architecture, focusing on multi-media, nomadic computing, and other promising technologies. CUBIX UNVEILS ISA COMPUTER: Cubix Corp. is offering another solution to the growing multi-user remote communications market: A 486-based host computer for dial-in local area network remote access. The BC 4030 single board ISA computer increases the performance of Cubix's rack-mount and tower based communications systems two to five times current 80386SX-based systems, the firm says. POST GAINS TENTATIVE PREFERENCE: The Washington Post Co. said Thursday its affiliated limited partnership, American Personal Communications, has received a tentative pioneer's preference for Personal Communications Services from the Federal Communications Commission. This preference, if finalized, will give the firm one of two or more licenses for a market area yet to be defined by the FCC. MOTOROLA ENGINEER WINS AWARD: Eduardo Dardet, a project manager at Motorola's Paging Products Group in Boynton Beach, Fla., has been named the 1992 Most Promising Engineer in Industry, an award sponsored by Hispanic Engineer magazine. Dardet is credited with the creation of a 30-station, state-of-the-art, robotic assembly line for Motorola's Bravo Express pager. 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