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 Wed, May 27 1992 Date: Wed, 27 May 92 05:20:54 EDT Message-ID: 05-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update May 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network GOLDIN TO MAKE WEEKLY ADDRESS: NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, who took over NASA's top job in January, says plans to address employees weekly via the space agency's in-house television service, NASA Select. He also has appointed 12 teams to examine ongoing NASA programs including aeronautics, remote sensing, space access, robotic exploration, human presence in space and moon and Mars missions. INVESTORS LOOKING FOR ANSWERS: Storage Technology executives will face shareholders looking for some answers at the company's annual meeting Wednesday. Stockholders have seen the value of their investments in the high-tech company drop by more than half the past three months, hurt by weak earnings and product delays. LAPTOPS PROVE USEFUL: Frequent travelers are finding laptop computers useful, according to a recent survey by USA TODAY. Contacting superfrequent fliers, USA TODAY found that some "have laptops up and running as soon as the planes table trays can come down." Some have concerns about X-ray machines, but others say they have run their computers under the machines hundreds of times with no damage. CENTER GETS $20 MILLION CHECK: Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., presented a $20 million check to the national Center for Advanced Technologies Tuesday, part of a multi-million-dollar commitment from the U.S. Department of Defense. The center, located in Detroit, is a national demonstration project designed to train young men and women skills that can be used in high-tech jobs. It is slated to open in August. MERISEL SIGNS DEAL WITH IBM: Merisel Inc. Tuesday announced a new agreement with IBM to begin distribution of IBM's multimedia options and products. Merisel will distribute IBM multimedia hardware boards, software and other accessories to retailers and resellers across the USA. Merisel currently carries IBM Token Rings, laser printers and software. ALLIANT FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY: Alliant Computer Systems said Tuesday it has downsized its operations from 225 employees to 60. It also says it has filed a petition for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code while it seeks to reorganize its remaining operations. The firm says it will suspend the development and most direct sales of new computer systems. AT&T HIRING RUSSIAN RESEARCHERS: For just $700 per year, AT&T is hiring some of the best Russian engineers. AT&T will put 100 top researchers at the Russian Academy of Sciences on the payroll June 1. While the yearly salary may seem paltry, the average Moscow apartment rents for about 50 cents a month, and the salary is roughly equivalent to engineers at Bell Labs who make roughly $60,000 a year in the USA. PA. TO SUPPORT RAIL LINE: Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey is expected Wednesday to announce a major financial commitment from the state toward a high-speed rail project in the Pittsburgh area. Pennsylvania is among the states competing for federal money for a magnetically-levitated train demonstration project. The trains are propelled by a system of electromagnets. They can move at speeds that can exceed 300 mph. P.G. DESIGN ACQUIRES SUBSIDIARY: Micron Semiconductor Inc., a subsidiary of Micron Technology Inc., says it has sold its Enhancement Products Division business to P.G. Design Electronics. The newly-acquired business will be managed as an independent division of P.G. Design under the name of Xceed Technologies. The purchase price was not disclosed. NEW VIDEO DISPLAY AVAILABLE: Qume Peripherals Inc. Tuesday introduced a color video display terminal featuring a true Super VGA monitor. The QVT70 terminal can connect to two separate host ports simultaneously, providing users with flexible access to host-based data, the firm says. It features 64 colors. Available now, it is priced at $979 for a 14-inch screen and $1,745 for the 17-inch version. PICTURETEL UPS RESEARCH BUDGET: PictureTel Corp. says in its 1991 annual report that its research and development spending rose 89.3% to $10.2 million last year from $5.4 million in 1990, Network World reports. But those expenses decreased as a percentage of revenues to 13% in 1991 from 14.5% in 1990. PictureTel, headquartered in Danvers, Mass., makes videoconferencing systems. RULE CHANGES ARE ON NETWORK: Federal agencies can now review procurement rule changes electronically. The Federal Acquisition Regulation Council's new electronic bulletin board is available over the Government FTS 2000 network via electronic mail. For information, call AT&T at 800-624-5672 or Sprint at 800-736-1130. 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