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, Oct 22 1992 Date: Thu, 22 Oct 92 04:38:37 EDT Message-ID: 10-22 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update Oct. 22, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network PEDIATRIC WARDS GET NINTENDO: A growing number of pediatric wards are offering portable computer games for ill youngsters to distract and calm them. Thursday, the trend will grow much larger as the first of 68 U.S. hospitals begins using glitzy, mobile video game trolleys to cheer bed-bound kids. Within six weeks, 161 "Nintendo Fun Centers" will be available for play in 11 Los Angeles hospitals. COLUMBIA SET FOR LIFTOFF: Space shuttle Columbia and six astronauts are set to launch Thursday on a mission to launch an Italian mirrored satellite and test a Canadian robotic vision device for the shuttle's arm. The 10-day mission carries experiments - including tests to assess the earth's ozone layer, measure bone loss in rats and heat and chill a variety of liquids and metals. Liftoff is set for 11:16 a.m. ET. VIDEOPHONES ARE ON WAY: AT&T said Wednesday that its Phone Centers have filled the thousands of orders placed for the AT&T VideoPhone 2500 - the world's first full-color, motion videophone that works on existing phone lines. The company says it also has started shipping the VideoPhone to other retail stores nationwide. By Christmas, the VideoPhone will be available in more than 1,000 retail locations. VIDEOPHONES TO BE IN STORES: Retail locations that will sell the AT&T VideoPhone 2500 in the USA include selected outlets of Office Depot, Circuit City, Impulse, Dayton:Hudson, GTE, Cincinnati Bell, Sears and the Good Guys. The AT&T VideoPhone is in the Sears Wish Book and the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday catalog. VideoPhone uses telephone lines, so video calls cost the same as voice-only calls. Cost: $1,499. TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR PLANNED: The Japan External Trade Organization and Alliance Forum will host a joint seminar on Nov. 12 at the University of San Francisco for U.S. and Japanese executives. The seminar, entitled Technology Alliances Across the Pacific, will bring speakers such as Bill Campbell of GO Corp. to share their experience developing partnerships in Japan. For information, call (415) 742-0757. OPERATING SYSTEM BOOKS SELLING: IBM Wednesday said three books on OS:2 2.0 have topped the Barnes & Noble Computer Book Bestseller List for 17 consecutive weeks. OS:2 2.0 is IBM's new operating system for personal computers. The books are: "Client Server Programming with OS:2 2.0"; "Inside OS:2"; and "Now That I Have OS:2 2.0 on My Computer - What Do I Do Next?" ZITEL SIGNS DEAL WITH ADSTAR: Zitel Corp. said Wednesday it has signed a joint development agreement with IBM's ADSTAR business unit in the area of disk storage technology. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. The companies have had a continuing business relationship since 1983. Zitel makes solid state and disk storage subsystems for both original manufacturers and business end-users. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS DEAL MADE: Electric & Gas Technology Inc. Wednesday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Texas Instruments Inc.'s magnetics operations. Terms were not disclosed. Electric & Gas said newly formed unit Superior Magnetics Inc. will complete the transaction by the end of the year. Texas Instruments' magnetics unit is an internal supplier and will continue to serve TI. NEW BAR CODE DEVELOPED: Leading Japanese pigment producer Dainichi Seika Colour and Chemical Mfg. Co. has developed an organic carbon pigment for bar codes that is impossible to copy or fake, the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Sangyo reported Tuesday. Barcodes are extensively used in the distribution industry for the control of stock. OUTBOUND ADDS NOTEBOOK: Outbound Systems said Wednesday that it has added a new Notebook System to its line of Macintosh-compatible computers. The Outbound Notebook System 2030V runs at 40 MHz which is faster than any of the Apple PowerBooks, the firm said. Available in late November, prices start at $3,599. ADVENT BUYS KEY TRONIC DIVISION: Advent Technology Inc. Wednesday said it has purchased the notebook computer division of Key Tronic Corp. of Spokane, Wash. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Advent will begin immediately to manufacture and market 386 and 486 notebook computer enclosure systems along with its other hard plastic enclosures for the electronics industry. COMPUADD INTRODUCES TERMINAL: CompuAdd Information Services Corp., a recent spin-off of CompuAdd Computer Corp., has introduced a point-of-sale terminal that initially will be marketed to McDonald's restaurants nationwide beginning next month. CompuAdd's TR5 consists of an LCD touch-screen terminal integrated with a 386 25 Mhz personal computer-based point-of-sale system. PRIVATE NETWORKS ARE GROWING: The growing popularity of private data:voice wide area networks, has given rise to an emerging market segment in the private network industry, a new study by industry analyst firm International Data Corp. says. The study finds a growing trend toward "piggybacking" free remote-site voice and fax calls on data or local area network private communications lines. 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