This was the final issue for Marios Cleovoulou who was leaving Digital after publishing VNS for over nine years. Marios developed the innovative automated publishing system for VNS.
<><><><><><><><> T h e V O G O N N e w s S e r v i c e <><><><><><><><>
Edition : 2752 Monday 25-Jan-1993 Circulation : 7261
VNS Announcement .................................. 35 Lines
VNS MAIN NEWS ..................................... 49 "
VNS COMPUTER NEWS ................................. 293 "
VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH .............................. 10 "
Please send subscription and backissue requests to EXPAT::VNS
VNS Announcement: [Marios Cleovoulou, VNS Publisher]
================= [Valbonne, France ]
The end of an era is fast approaching for me. After sixteen years with
DIGITAL and nine and a half years of publishing The VOGON News Service
I will soon be leaving the company.
I am very pleased to announce that Colin Blake has kindly volunteered
to take over the job of publishing the VNS and attending to the
readerships' subscription requests, etc.
It pleases me not only because Colin has the technical experience
necessary to "run the shop". He is also an expatriate Brit and a
long time VNS reader who has relocated from Reading, England to the
Spit Brook Road facility in Nashua, NH, USA.
This takes VNS back to its roots, for it was exactly people like Colin
that VNS was started for back in 1981, when a number of Brits in ZK
realised that they were missing home news and the cricket scores! In a
sense the publishing and distribution of VNS is returning "home".
I am also happy to announce that Tom Povey, of our UK News Desk, will
be taking over the running of the VNS VideoTeX service, which, with
circa 5000 readers per day, is also very popular amongst our followers.
I cannot go without saying a public word of thanks to all of the VNS
"staff", both past and present. In particular to the current team, who
have put in countless hours of their own time, day in day out, over
many years to provide the high quality service that VNS readers have
come to expect.
While VNS is well "established" I ask that you, the readers, never take
it for granted, that you remember that VNS is a labour of love, and
that it is the ongoing dedication of a small group of people performing
over and above the call of duty that provides you with this, your daily
newspaper. The one and only VOGON News Service.
My best wishes to you all! Marios (CASEE::) Cleovoulou
VNS MAIN NEWS: [Tom Povey, VNS UK News Desk]
============== [Reading, England ]
Here is the News at 07:00 GMT on Monday 25-January-1993
-------------------------------------------------------
{It is Burn's night tonight...}
UK News
-------
FT-SE = 2781.2
Exchange Rate for UK pound = $ 1.5260 = Dm 2.4380
= Yn 190.88 = SFr 2.2294 = FFr 8.2229 = A$ 2.2706
The Prime Minister, John Major, is in India today as chief guest at the
Republic Day celebrations. 4 Sikh militants have been arrested in
connection with an alledged plot to blow up a number of government
buildings.
The Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee meet today to finalise
their report on the Coal industry which is due out on Friday.
A man kidnapped in Northern Ireland on Wednesday by the IRA has been
released unharmed. No reason was given.
A report says that some half a million children in Britain suffer as the
result of their parents abuse of alcohol.
An article in the magazine of the Industrial Society has criticised the
government for its public sector pay policy, calling it "half-baked and
unfair".
The body of a 7-year old girl has been found in woods near Bracknell.
She went missing at the weekend.
There have been heavy storms around Britain this weekend with especially
strong winds and snow in the north.
European News
-------------
Artillery attacks continue in Bosnia in the renewed fighting bewteen
Serbs and Croats over territory. The peace talks also continue in
Geneva.
{News courtesy of the BBC}
Local Weather
-------------
A dry and mainly sunny day. High 5C/41F.
VNS COMPUTER NEWS: [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
================== [Littleton, MA, USA ]
Friday's Market Digital Fair Market Value
Quote Change 1-Jun-1992 $40.750
IBM 48 5/8 +2 1/4 30-Nov-1992 $33.6875
85% of lower $28.75
Friday's Market Dow Jones Change 1-Dec-1992 $32.687
DEC 43 +1 1/2 3256.81 + 3.79
IBM - To pull funding for Supercomputer Systems Inc.
{The Boston Globe, 23-Jan-93, p. 8}
IBM said yesterday it intends to halt funding a project by designer Steven
Chen to build the world's most powerful mainframe computer. Chen reportedly
is seeking new funding for Supercomputing Systems. He had been working for
five years to develop a mainframe to compete with the most powerful Cray
Computer Corp. machines. Chen formerly worked at Cray. IBM had agreed to
fund Chen through 1992.
IBM - Should chairman John Akers go?
{The Boston Globe, 20-Jan-93, p. 53}
Analysts and other IBM watchers disagree on whether Akers is actually to
blame for the red into which Big Blue finds itself sinking. But many agree
that the most important symbolic step that Akers could take is downward.
Fiscal News - IBM, Apple, Data General
IBM - 4th quarter deficit hit a record $5.46 billion
{The Wall Street Journal, 20-Jan-93, p. A3}
IBM reported it first-ever operating loss, closing out a disastrous year
with a record $5.46 billion 4th quarter deficit.
The showing was slightly worse than IBM had forecast and highlighted the
depth of the company's troubles. The narrow $45 million operating loss wasn't
as bad as some pessimists' worst fears, but IBM's dismal performance still
raised new red flags about the year ahead.
Excluding a $7.2 billion pretax charge in the quarter, taken mostly to pay
for a big retrenchment it unveiled last month, IBM's operating loss for the
period was eight cents a share - roughly in line with its forecast of
break-even results.
Including the enormous charges, IBM's 4th quarter net loss amounted to $9.57
a share, compared with a restated loss of $1.46 billion, or $2.55 a share, a
year earlier. Revenue fell to $19.56 billion from $21.97 billion.
For all of 1992, Big blue reported a record net loss of $4.97 billion. The
loss eclipsed even the $4.45 billion deficit posted by General Motors Corp.
for 1991.
With such humbling statistics and no end in sight to the company's troubles,
there was little promise that Chairman John Akers would see any relief from
angry investors.
A particularly ominous sign about IBM's future, securities analysts said,
was that the company's huge minicomputer business faltered in the 4th period
and could lose its status as a reliable growth generator. In addition, IBM's
successful workstation line lost steam during the quarter after nearly two
years of fast growth.
Sales of big mainframe computers slowed even more sharply than expected,
accelerating the sudden downturn in IBM's core business. And personal
computers continued to show losses as revenue fell, even though shipments rose
50% to record levels.
The company didn't say much about what it expects in 1993, except to repeat
its statements about an "unfavorable" outlook for the foreseeable future.
"Difficult problems remain ahead for IBM," said Mr. Akers in a statement,
citing IBM's familiar afflictions: the fast-changing computer industry and
weak economies world-wide.
Mr. Akers tried to accentuate the positive in his report, listing IBM's
various efforts to make itself more competitive and saying he is "confident
that we are on the right path." But he conceded that the latest results "are
not acceptable to us or to our shareholders."
Overall, IBM's equipment sales fell a precipitous 20% from a year earlier,
fueling an 11% decline in revenue. That's a startling drop even in tough
economic times, since the 4th quarter is traditionally IBM's best period; the
showing virtually guarantees that IBM will post another operating loss for the
seasonally weak first quarter.
IBM shares initially rose slightly on the report, apparently because it
wasn't significantly worse than expected. But the stock quickly settled back
to finish at $48.375 a share, down $1.125, in composite trading on the New
York Stock Exchange.
For the year, IBM racked up pretax restructuring charges of $11.6 billion to
cover massive work force cuts and capacity reductions; its 1992 net loss
translated to $8.70 a share, compared with a restated $2.86 billion, or $5.01
a share, in 1991. Revenue dropped slightly, to $64.52 billion from $64.77
billion.
IBM's 1992 results include a $1.9 billion addition to its bottom line for an
accounting change regarding income taxes, while its 1991 figures include a
$2.26 billion charge for a change involving retirees' medical benefits.
With the price of IBM's shares falling 50% in the past six months - a $28.5
billion drop in market value- some angry shareholders have already called for
Mr. Akers to surrender at least his chairman's post to an outsider. As IBM
spokesman said, however, that Mr. Akers retains the confidence of the board.
IBM's directors are set to meet next week, when analysts expect them to
deliver another blow to the company's image by cutting IBM's once-sacrosanct
annual dividend of $4.84 a share.
Several analysts said IBM's current share price reflects the assumption that
the payout will be sliced roughly in half, giving the stock a return of 5% or
so. No significant stock move is likely to occur before investors see whether
the scenario is borne out, they added.
But even if the dividend action is exactly as expected, analysts aren't
certain about what the impact would be on IBM's share price. "I think Wall
Street isn't going to know how to react next week, no matter what happens to
the dividend," said Jay Stevens of Dean Witter Reynolds, who thinks a 75% cut
in the payout would be good news.
Because of all the negative signals in IBM's latest report, most analysts
spent yesterday cutting their 1993 earnings estimates sand said there's still
plenty of room for the stock to drop. "I don't think the light at the end of
the tunnel is clear yet," said Steve Milunovich of Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Milunovich noted that 1993 "doesn't look really good for IBM,"
particularly compared with other big computer companies that are better
focused on growth areas such as Hewlett-Packard Co., or ones that may have
taken their worst bumps, such as Digital Equipment Corp.
While many analysts hadn't finished their calculation, a new consensus on
IBM's 1993 profit seemed to settle around $2 a share - down from $2.75 or so
before the report. Moreover, most analysts said they expect IBM to take
further restructuring charges in 1993, despite the deep cost cuts already
planned. Some of the margin erosion is due to price slashing across the
computer industry, but some also relates to the fast-changing nature of IBM:
A company that became fat on mainframes and their bloated profits is
now betting that its future growth will come from lower-margin services and
the cutthroat business in smaller machines.
Indeed, while IBM boasted that its non-hardware sales had risen to account
for 48% in total revenue in 1992 from 43% in 1991, the phenomenon was largely
due to Big Blue's cratering mainframe sales.
IBM said its weakest results in the 4th quarter came from European
operations, followed by its big U.S. business. Both areas posted double-digit
percentage declines in revenue. IBM's Asia Pacific region performed slightly
better, but still had a drop in revenue.
The company said European weakness was largely responsible for what it
described only as a "double-digit" drop in revenue from its AS/400
computer, which in the past had been a lone bright spot. While IBM made a
point in saying it remains pleased with the AS/400's performance, analysts
said the drop in sales is worrisome.
Mr. Stevens of Dean Witter said that the machine is still a strong seller
in the U.S., where it continues to be a market-share leader, but that the
European decline may be an early sign of trouble. "They're trying to hide
behind the weak economies," he said.
IBM plans to introduce a revamped AS/400 family in the middle of next month,
which could provide a boost to sales. But the real issue may be a general
shift away from proprietary technology such as that in the IBM minicomputer,
Mr. Stevens said.
IBM also plans to add to its mainframe and workstation lines next month,
making February a key product-introduction period for the company. Mainframes
will gain a new high-end model and more power for the price, for example,
while IBM will add a "parallel-processing" version of its workstation product
that links up many microprocessors to work on a problem.
Despite such moves, analysts said they expect a virtual repetition of sales
trends for the various IBM products during 1993: a double-digit decline in
mainframes, a slight drop in minicomputers, and slowing growth for
workstations - perhaps to the 30% level of 1992.
In personal computers, IBM expects to continue increasing its shipments
through the first quarter, and appears to be regaining market share. But PC
prices are still dropping, and IBM's quasi-independent IBM Personal Computer
Co. remains unprofitable.
IBM has said it expects to make a profit in PCs in 1993, but analysts said
that's a tough target. And even if it happens, said Mr. Milunovich of Morgan
Stanley, "it doesn't solve the company's problems."
Apple - 1st quarter profit fell 2.8% despite record sales
{The Wall Street Journal, 15-Jan-93, p. B6}
Competitive price cuts, coupled with the costs of introducing laptop
products, reduced profit for the quarter ended Dec. 25 to $161.3 million from
year-ago $166 million. The results were in line with Wall Street
expectations. Robust overall demand for personal computers - including 31%
growth in unit sales of all Apple's Macintosh computers - powered revenue
growth of 7.4% to just over $2 billion from $1.86 billion. Gross margins
declined to 41% of net sales from 44%. The quarterly results would have been
better but for Apple's inability to meet demand for some of its hottest
products, according to Charles Wolf, an analyst for First Boston Corp. Apple
sold more PowerBooks in the period than in any prior quarter, the company
said. An Apple spokesman said there was also strong demand for desktop
machines, particularly new lines that include optical-disk drives.
Data General - 1st quarter earnings fall 80% over last year
{The Boston Globe, 21-Jan-93, p. 37}
Data General 1st quarter income fell to $800,000 from $4 million on a 5%
drop in revenue to $294.8 million. Factoring in the effects of currency
exchange rates, analysts said, revenues are roughly flat. "This is a
turnaround in the making," declared Barry Bosak, an analyst with Smith Barney,
Harris Upham & Co. "The nature of the economy is such that there isn't much
oomph in this sector. But they've got everything in order." Operating
income for the quarter was $4.2 million, compared to $4.9 million in the
year-ago period. Wall Street had expected to the company to break even at
best.
Digital - Now ranked among leading PC vendors
{Livewire, Worldwide News, 21-Jan-93}
Digital has penetrated the Top 10 PC makers ranking for the first time,
according to a monthly market study published by Computer Intelligence of La
Jolla, Calif.
"Digital was the fastest growing PC vendor in 1992, establishing Digital's
credibility in Intel-based PC products. The forthcoming Digital Alpha
AXP-PCs, running Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, should help Digital
grow even more aggressively in 1993," said Dan Ness, senior industry analyst,
Computer Intelligence. Digital launched its Desktop Direct catalog business
in January, 1992, and introduced its popular DECpc LP family of desktop
computers in August.
Each month, Computer Intelligence conducts in-depth interviews with 4,500
computer purchasing managers at large and small establishments in the U.S.
Computer Intelligence publishes its findings from these interviews in its
monthly PC Market Monitor.
Within the last 12 months, Digital's PC sales ramped up past about 20 other
vendors in order to reach its current ranking of #9 among PC industry
leaders, according to Computer Intelligence.
---
Windows NT is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Intel is a trademark of
Intel Corporation.
Digital - Alpha AXP technology wins major trade press awards
{Livewire, Worldwide News, 21-Jan-93}
Leading computer trade magazine editors worldwide have recognized the Alpha
AXP microprocessor and systems as being among the best technology introduced
during 1992:
o BYTE (January, 1993): The DECchip 21064 microprocessor (the Alpha AXP
chip) receives an "Award of Excellence" for being one of the "best
products, technologies, and standards" that represent "the most
significant developments in terms of innovation, performance, and
price." BYTE reports: "Workstations keep getting faster and faster,
and DEC's scalable Alpha CPU will help ensure this rising performance
curve for the foreseeable future."
o CORPORATE COMPUTING (January, 1993): The DEC 3000 AXP workstation is
recognized as one of the 50 "best buys for 1993... that will make a
crucial difference in the way your company does enterprise computing in
1993." Said the editors: "The real cymbal crash for Alpha is for its
openness... DEC's Alpha machines run more operating systems than any other
workstation... Alpha could boost enterprise computing to new levels."
o UNIX WORLD (January, 1993): The Alpha AXP computer series was named
one of "the best products of 1992" in the UNIX market. "Credit for
the most important product announcement of 1992 has to go to Digital
Equipment Corp.," said the editors.
o DIGITAL NEWS & REVIEW (January 18, 1993): The Alpha AXP architecture
recived an "Editor's Select Award" for "fundamentally improving the
way in which computers can be applied to solve strategic applications
problems."
o PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD (February, 1993): The DECchip 21064 received
"the most innovative hardware product award" for 1992 from this U.K.
publication for being "the hardware which has been most instrumental
in pushing the hardware market into new, uncharted waters or which
has taken the most prominent role in an existing market." Said PCW:
"With DEC already having a number of high-end machines based on the
product, the Alpha looks set for success."
Digital - Computer Downsizing/Re-engineering campaign subject of Jan. 26 DVN
broadcast
{Livewire, Worldwide News, 21-Jan-93}
Digital President and CEO Bob Palmer will set the stage for the Computer
Downsizing/Re-engineering DVN which will be broadcast on Jan. 26. at 11:30
a.m. Eastern time. The computer downsizing and re-engineering market
represents a pivotal revenue-generating opportunity for Digital.
This interactive broadcast is tailored to Sales and Sales Support people in
the U.S. and Europe, although all employees are welcome to attend and learn
about this burgeoning market.
Presenters include campaign captain Rich Whitman, who will discuss computer
downsizing in general and the resources available to Sales; Rose Ann
Giordano, vice president, U.S. Marketing, who will talk about the campaign's
rollout to the field; David Berger, account manager, who will tell of a major
win at Yamaichi Bank; Willow Shire, vice president, Health Industries, who
will discuss the importance of downsizing to the health care market, key
health care partners and recent wins; and Bill (B.J.) Johnson, vice president,
Alpha & Corporate Marketing, who will talk about Alpha AXP's involvement in
the computer downsizing market and show why thse systems are a good solution
for customers who want to downsize.
Some of Digital's key business partners in the computer downsizing market
will appear in the program as well.
For information about the showing of this broadcast in Europe, contact
Nick Meyer (SHIRE::MEYER, DTN 821-4172).
Digital - 'Alliance for the Environment' partner receives presidential medal
{Livewire, U.S. News, 21-Jan-93}
New England Electric Systems (NEES), a major power supplier in Westboro,
Massachusetts, has been named a recipient of the 1992 President's
Environment and Conservation Challenge Award. NEES, and the Conservation
Law Foundation received the medal for their "Energy Conservation
Collaborative Effort." Digital has an ongoing environmental alliance with
NEES.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) press release states: "The
unlikely union of an electric utility and environmental group has resulted
in two major achievements: the development of one of the nation's most
successful energy conservation programs and regulatory approval for a utility
earnings incentive. The 'power plant that conservation built' significantly
reduced the utility's air pollutants and the need for new capacity, while
saving consumers and stockholders money."
By pooling their knowledge and expertise, Digital and NEES are sharing
environmental successes and developing ways to continuously improve. The
cornerstone of this alliance is a common interest in energy efficiency. As an
industrial customer served by New England Electric subsidiaries
(Massachusetts Electric in Massachusetts and Granite State Electric in New
Hampshire), Digital can take advantage of the utility's innovative
conservation and load management (C&LM) programs at its work sites.
Additionally, Digital and NEES are sharing ideas about recycling, prevention
of pollution, and land management.
Through this alliance, Digital and NEES are also seeking ways to improve
mutual service. This includes sharing ideas in such areas as improving power
quality, applying new technologies for metering electricity use, and
streamlining daily operations between the two companies.
For more information on this strategic alliance and other Digital
environmental programs, contact Ellie Buford @WMO, DANUBE::BUFORD, DTN
241-4364.
VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH: [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
===================== [Littleton, MA, USA ]
Hitachi Football Scholarships
Hitachi has teamed up with the College Football Association (CFA) to
assist a number of students who wish to pursue a career in teaching.
The $335,000 "Hitachi Promise of Tomorrow" program is the largest
corporate funded scholarship program in college football. It will
offer $5,000 scholarships to students at each of 67 CFA facilities
who hope to enter the teaching profession. Candidates must be men
or women who active in this season's university football program.
{CACM November 1992}
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<><><><><><><><> VNS Edition : 2752 Monday 25-Jan-1993 <><><><><><><><>
History of the VOGON News Service 