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, Jun 1 1992 Date: Mon, 1 Jun 92 05:21:13 EDT Message-ID: 06-01 0000 DECISIONLINE: Technology USA TODAY Update June 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network IBM, PARALLAN TO MAKE DEAL: IBM will buy a small stake in a company that makes high-end personal computers and resell the machines under the IBM label, industry executives close to the deal said Friday. The company, Parallan Computer Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., makes computers called servers that are used to link networks of PCs. IBM is expected to announce its arrangement with Parallan on Monday. AUDITORS CRITICIZE DIA: Internal auditors have slammed the Defense Intelligence Agency for mishandling a contract with IBM, saying the bid solicitation was unfairly biased toward IBM and the contract itself shoddily managed. By the time defense agency officials halted orders under the IBM contract March 16, more than $64 million had been committed for a contract originally estimated at $19 million. (For more, see special Audit package below.) VIDEO GAMES GET CHEAPER: State-of-the-art 16-bit video game systems have suddenly gotten a good bit cheaper. For the first time, both Sega and Nintendo systems can be had for under $100. A plain-vanilla version of the Super Nintendo system, out July 15 for $99.95, comes with just one controller and an AC adapter. By August, Sega will package a Genesis system with a single controller for $99.99. CD GAMES DUE OUT IN NOVEMBER: Nintendo Co. is the leader in video game sales, but Sega Enterprises Ltd. has been an aggressive rival. Sega may be first with the latest twist: Video games on CD. Its $299 attachment, due in stores in November, will allow games to be longer, with more detail, better animation and even live video. Nintendo plans an early 1993 launch for its own CD game, at under $200. JAPAN DEFENDS CHIP SALES POLICY: The Japan's trade minister Friday blamed a sluggish economy for the slow growth of U.S. semiconductor sales in Japan, not inadequate efforts by Japanese companies. Kozo Watanabe's comments reflected efforts by Japan to appease mounting impatience in Washington over the slow growth of U.S. chip sales in the Japanese semiconductor market, the world's largest. SONY INTRODUCES PYXIS: For people who aren't quite sure where in the world they are, Sony has introduced PYXIS. It is a hand-sized global positioning device which tracks the location of a person with the use of four satellites. Its screen tells longitude, latitude, altitude and which way a person's destination lies. Out now, it's $1,195. BORLAND TO DISMISS SUITS: Borland International Inc. Friday announced that it has filed papers in Federal District Court to dismiss the copyright infringement cases of Ashton-Tate Corporation vs. Fox Software Inc. and The Santa Cruz Operation Inc. All counter-claims against Ashton-Tate were dismissed on May 21. SKYTEL TO SUPPORT NEWTON: SkyTel Corp. said Friday that it will be supporting Apple Computer in offering a wireless communications capability for Apple's Newton product. Apple CEO John Sculley said, "Telecommunications will be as important to Newton as graphics are to Macintosh." Newton, to be available in 1993, combines telecommunications and computer technology into one small package. VACCINE 5.0 SHOOTS DOWN STEALTH: The Davidsohn Group has released Vaccine 5.0, an antiviral software package that detects and guards against the computer virus known as "the stealth bomber." The stealth is hard to detect because of the self-encryption techniques it uses. Vaccine 5.0 retails for $129. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON AUDIT: ORDERS HAVE BEEN HALTED: A report by Department of Defense's office of inspector general says the agency mishandled a contract with IBM. The report contains no criticisms of IBM, but finds fault with the way agency officials developed and managed the contract. Defense agency officials agreed with the report's findings, saying they have acted on most of its recommendations, including halting orders against the contract. BASIC PLAN GREW QUICKLY: In 1986, the auditors said, officials from the Foreign Science and Technology Center in Charlottesville, Va., "persuaded" the Defense Intelligence Agency to purchase a general purpose computer for the center. By the time the agency sought bids in October 1987, however, the proposal had mushroomed into a plan to meet computer needs of the group's worldwide defense intelligence system. CONTRACT MODIFIED 13 TIMES: Because of restrictive requirements in the proposed contract, only IBM submitted a bid. On July 27, 1988, it was awarded a five-year contract with an estimated worth of $19 million. By May 1991, the contract had been modified 13 times and its price tag had risen to $64 million. Auditors said contracting officials "did not adequately evaluate modification proposals." IBM SAYS COMPETITION WAS FAIR: Asked about the decision to cut off the contract, IBM spokesman Mark Holcomb said, "You're never happy about having what you expected to be the life of a federal contract interrupted." IBM officials, Holcomb said, "obviously resist any suggestion IBM ... somehow had a leg up" when the contract was awarded. "... We won the competition fair and square and are proud of it." (End of package.) 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