Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.tech From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: tech Mon, May 11 1992 Date: Mon, 11 May 92 05:22:18 EDT Message-ID: 05-11 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update May 11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SATELLITE RESCUE ATTEMPT FAILS: Astronaut Paul Thuot was unable to get a grip on a marooned communications satellite Sunday, forcing NASA to give up on the rescue attempt at least until Monday. Perched atop a mechanical arm connected to the shuttle Endeavour, Thuot tried twice to snare the Intelsat. But each time, it began to wobble and move away from him. NASA is being paid $93 million to rescue the satellite. ICEBERG'S DELAY COOLS STOCK: Storage Technology said its Iceberg disk-storage line won't meet its $50 million revenue goal. Shipments of Iceberg will begin the fourth quarter, not the third-quarter as predicted. The potential of Iceberg, unveiled Jan. 28, was key in pushing the company's stock to a 52-week high of $78 a share Feb. 5. The stock fell Friday 7 3:4 a share to $39 1:4. BOEING LAYS OFF 833: Boeing laid off 833 workers Friday as part of its plan to cut 6,500 jobs this year. Boeing cited the recession, reduced military spending and a poor year for the airline industry for the cutbacks. Boeing employs about 150,000 people worldwide. Friday's layoffs were the largest this year at Boeing, bringing the number of jobs cut to 2,600. DESKTOP MANUFACTURING TO GO UP: The desktop manufacturing industry, still in its infancy, is poised for tremendous growth in the 1990s, says a study by Market Intelligence. The growth will be powered by new applications in the automotive, aerospace, medical, and consumer electronics industries. Market Intelligence is a high technology research firm specializing in industrial electronics and automation. NINTENDO FACES COUNTERSUIT: United Microelectronics Corp. has filed a countersuit against Nintendo in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The suit seeks millions of dollars in compensation and attorneys' fees. It alleges that Nintendo defrauded UMC into manufacturing custom Read Only Memory chips based on promises by Nintendo's agents that the chips were "not in violation of copyright law." SATELLITE LAUNCH DELAYED: The Palapa B4 satellite launch by a McDonnell Douglas Delta launch vehicle, originally scheduled for May 11, has been postponed to no earlier than May 13 because of a problem with the interior bridge crane, McDonnell Douglas says. The crane is needed to help stabilize the craft during installation. Actions are being initiated to make the necessary repairs, the firm says. STUDENTS TO CHAT VIA SATELLITE: Whittier Middle School students in Sioux Falls, S. D., will have face-to-face chats Thursday with their counterparts at an Indian school in Arapahoe, Wyo. without leaving the school building. The kids will be linked via satellite as a demonstration of the Technology for Teaching Project, an effort by 15 schools in 14 Western states to show how technology can aid education. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER DEAL MADE: International Microelectronic Products Inc. Friday said it has entered into a multi-million dollar design and process technology transfer agreement with SAMES Ltd. Under terms of the pact, SAMES purchased 1.2 and 2.0 micron mixed signal process technology, as well as IMP's proprietary design methodology and technology relating to the process. VIDEOPHONE COMES OUT IN JUNE: AT&T says its new VideoPhone 2500 will be arrive at AT&T Phone Centers throughout the USA in June. The products sends and receives video calls over existing phone lines. It also will be available in the Maternal Infant Units at Florida Hospital Orlando and Florida Hospital Altamonte. IBM INTRODUCES SUPPORT PROGRAMS: IBM has introduced more than 25 support programs aimed at software vendors developing 32-bit applications for OS:2. The support and joint marketing programs focus on design, development, publicity and sales of OS:2 software applications, the firm says. IBM TO INTRODUCE NEW SERVER: IBM says it will ship a high-end RISC System:6000, the Model 970, in June. Pricing starts at $97,000 for the new box, which delivers double the expansion capability and nearly twice the disk storage of the existing high-end server, IBM says. CLARIFICATION: PAR Technology and Olivetti have been selected by McDonald's to automate McDonald's U.S. restaurants. McDonald's restaurants and franchises can choose either company for the automation equipment. 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