Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.tech From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: tech Tue, May 5 1992 Date: Tue, 5 May 92 05:31:47 EDT Message-ID: 05-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update May 5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TOSHIBA SLASHES PRICES: Toshiba cut prices on its full-line of laptop and notebook computers 10% to 22% Monday, the latest volley in the ongoing computer price-cutting war. Price reductions include: The T2200SX:80 notebook reduced to $3,099 from $3,499 and the T6400DXC:200 laptop priced at $8,799 from $9,749. WORD PROCESSORS POPULAR: A February survey of 1,190 owners of home personal computers by the Software Publishers Association shows that word processors and entertainment software are the most common types of software, used in 50% of the households with PCs. Education software is found in 31% of homes but in 50% of the households with children. Homes with PCs have more kids (1.6 per household) than households without PCs. WORD-OF-MOUTH SELLS SOFTWARE: Software Publishers Association survey found that word-of-mouth recommendations are the biggest factors determining what software PC owners buy. A friend's recommendation, the survey showed, was as important as past experience with a software maker or watching a product demo - and more important than magazine reviews and advertising. AT&T TO PROVIDE CABLE EQUIPMENT: AT&T said Monday it would provide technology and equipment to deliver new cable TV services, including the ability to order movies and other programs any time of day. AT&T said working with partners, it would provide cable operators with the equipment needed to offer such services, including satellite transmission gear and set-top boxes consumers would use to order the shows. CABLE CAPACITY TO BE INCREASED: AT&T said its new technology for cable systems would boost the channel capacity by up to 13 times. It would also allow for "video on demand," or the ability to request a movie or other program at any time from a large list, AT&T said. The technology would electronically "compress" the vast amount of data contained in a TV signal so several programs could be sent at once on one channel. ROCKWELL, HONEYWELL TEAM UP: Rockwell International Corp. and Honeywell have teamed up to pursue the Air Force's Minuteman III Guidance Replacement Program contract. The program's objective is to extend the life of Minuteman III beyond the year 2020 by providing cost-effective replacement electronics for the aging NS-20 guidance set. CONFERENCE SET FOR MAY 29: Top federal government officials will join with industry and academia in a May 29 conference in Pasadena, Calif., as part of the National Technology Initiative (NTI) to strengthen the USA's competitiveness. The California Institute of Technology will be host of the conference, designed to promote a better understanding of the opportunities for industry to use new technology advances. FIRMS MAY MERGE: Script Systems, Inc. has received an offer to combine its business with InfoMed, Inc., a provider of computer systems and services to the home health care industry. Script's board of directors have been asked to immediately consider a share exchange in which the shareholders of Script and InfoMed will exchange their shares for shares of the newly formed Script-InfoMed Holdings, Inc. NEW FACILITY TO BE DEDICATED: IBM Corp., Motorola, and Apple Computer Inc. will formally dedicate a new facility in Austin, Texas Wednesday. It will serve as the focal point of design and development efforts for the alliance's PowerPC family of single-chip, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) environment. AEROJET GAINS CONTRACT: Aerojet Electronic Systems Division has been awarded an 11-month, $1 million contract from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to develop a preliminary design of a Microwave Temperature Sounder (MTS) instrument for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Data from the MTS will be used both to predict the weather and to model long-term climate changes. GATEWAY 2000 ADDS NOTEBOOK LINE: Gateway 2000 Monday introduced its first notebook computers, all with at least six hours of battery life. Dubbed the Nomad Family, the notebook line includes a 25MHz 486 DX, a 20 MHz 486 SX and a 25MHz 386 SX system. All weigh less than six pounds and will be available next week. DIGITAL RADIO TO GO ON SATCOM: Digital Cable Radio, billed as the nation's first satellite-delivered digital cable audio service, will soon join the SATCOM cable neighborhood. DCR has contracted with GE American Communications, Inc. for long-term satellite transmission service on Satcom C-3, scheduled for launch in September. Cable systems will have access to DCR programming via the Satcom fleet. 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