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In the 2000th issue, the publisher described the origin of VNS and also outlined the scope of the readership – 33 countries around the world and 31 of the 52 states in the USA. This issue had 7851 readers via email and over 4000 on Digital’s VTX (VideoTeXt) service.

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2000               Friday  9-Feb-1990            Circulation :  7851 

        VNS Announcement ..................................   45 Lines
        VNS COMPUTER NEWS .................................  204   "

        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

VNS Announcement:                          [Marios Cleovoulou, VNS Publications]
=================                          [Valbonne, France                   ]

    Eight and a half years and two thousand issues ago....
    
    The VOGON News Service started after a number of software engineers
    from Reading, England relocated to the Spit Brook Road facility in
    Nashua, NH, USA.  Amongst them were Alan Blannin and myself.  Alan
    asked a friend, Richard De Morgan, still in Reading, to send him the
    test match scores so that Alan could keep up to date on events in his
    favourite sport -- cricket.  Richard sent not only the requested
    results, but also included some small snippets of news.
    
    Alan forwarded this information on to other "expat Brits" in the U.S.
    and the VNS (although it wasn't known as such then) was born!  Issue
    number one was "published" on the 3rd of August, 1981.  Soon after,
    Richard, being at the time on node VOGON::, jokingly titled his MAIL to
    Alan "The VOGON News Service" and the name stuck.
                        
    (A Vogon is an ugly extraterrestrial which enjoys torturing its victims
    by reading his exceptionally bad poetry to them.  For further
    references on Vogons readers should consult "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to
    the Galaxy", by Douglas Adams). 
    
    Alan left DIGITAL at the end of July 1983 and I took over the job of
    "publisher".  Our circulation was then just over the 100 mark and we
    had just taken on a new staff member -- Tracy Talcott [VNS COMPUTER
    NEWS].  Mike Taylor [VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH] joined us at the end of 1983
    and Ken Merrick [VNS UK SPORTS REPORT] enlisted in January, 1989.
                                  
    Andrew Payne [VNS MAIN NEWS] signed up in October, 1989, carrying on
    the tradition of providing news for British expats started by Richard
    De Morgan who had recently left DIGITAL.
                                                
    VNS for the past four years has been "published" in Valbonne, France
    and is distributed to readers in 33 countries:   Australia, Austria,
    Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany,
    Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
    Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal,
    Puerto Rico, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,
    Thailand, and the U.S. of A. (AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN,
    ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VT,
    VA, WA, and WI).

    In addition to the 7800+ MAIL readers, the VNS VideoTeX service 
    ($ VTX VNS) is accessed by circa 4000 readers each day.

    Onwards to the next 1000 issues......:-)

VNS COMPUTER NEWS:                            [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
==================                            [Nashua, NH, USA                 ]

    Thursday's Market
      Quote     Change     Dow Jones    Change      85% of FMV 30-Nov-1989
 DEC   79 3/4	+  5/8	   2644.37	+ 4.28	   $73.25 (85% of $86.187)
 IBM  102 3/4	-  3/8

 Apple - Denies that Jean-Louis Gassee has resigned
	{The Boston Globe, 8-Feb-90, p. 33}
   But a company spokesman said Gassee has "been in discussions with [Apple
 chairman] John Sculley for some time regarding Jean-Louis' future role at
 Apple." The spokesman declined to elaborate.

 Lotus - Offers Realtime, a version of 1-2-3
	{The Boston Globe, 8-Feb-90, p. 40}
   The new software can handle constantly changing numerical information from
 newswires and trading data.

 Hewlett-Packard, Oki Electric - Will build and operate a Puerto Rican plant
	{The Wall Street Journal, 8-Feb-90, p. A8}
   The companies will spend $40 million to construct a 115,000-square-foot
 printed-circuit board manufacturing facility at an HP site in Aguadilla. HP
 will use the boards in its computer products; Oki's portion of the jointly
 manufactured boards will be sold on the open market. Construction is expected
 to be completed next year. The plant, which will be operated as a 50-50 joint
 venture, will employ 200.

 NetWorld90 - Hynes Convention Center, Boston. Feb. 13-15, 10 am - 5 pm
	{The Boston Globe, 8-Feb-90, p. 47}
   Everything from LANs to WANs to Enterprise Networking will be covered during
 the four day seminar program which is geared to every level of professional
 expertise from novice all the way to expert. [The half page ad includes a list
 of seminars and exhibitors - Digital and IBM are among them - TT]. For
 complete tutorial and Seminar information call 1-800-444-EXPO.

 Hackers - Accused of scheme against BellSouth. Legion of Doom group.
	{The Wall Street Journal, 8-Feb-90, p. C20}
   Federal grand juries in Chicago and Atlanta indicted four alleged computer
 hackers in what authorities called a fraud scheme that could potentially
 disrupt emergency "911" telephone service throughout nine Southern states. The
 men, alleged to be part of a closely knit cadre of computer hackers known as
 the Legion of Doom, gained access to the computer system controlling telephone 
 emergency service of BellSouth Corp., the Atlanta-based telecommunications
 giant. The Chicago indictment said members of the Legion of Doom are engaged
 in disrupting telephone service by entering a telephone company's computers
 and changing the routing of telephone calls. The hackers in the group also
 fraudulently obtain money from companies by altering information in their
 computers, the indictment said. The hackers transferred stolen
 telephone-computer information from BellSouth to what prosecutors termed a
 "computer bulletin board system" in Lockport, Ill. In turn, the men planned to
 publish the computer data in a hacker's magazine, the grand jury charged.

 Digital - Manufacturing launches series of meetings open to all employees -
	provides broad picture of the state of the business
	{Livewire, 7-Feb-90}
   This Friday, Feb. 9, Manufacturing is beginning a series of meetings
 intended to provide information about what is going on in the business as a
 whole so people can make informed decisions in their particular jobs. "People
 need to hear about business conditions," explains Bill Hanson, vice president,
 Manufacturing Operations. "Give them information, and they'll do the right
 things." "Times are changing and we need to know how well we are doing and
 where we should put emphasis so we can be more supportive of one another's
 efforts and of the company's overall business objectives," adds Linda StClair, 
 group Personnel manager, Manufacturing. "If we are restricted to our own
 little pieces of the business, we miss the opportunity to work as part of a
 total integrated enterprise. We need the sense of totality." The first part of
 each of these meetings will deal with business data. The rest will consist of
 "feature" presentations on timely topics relating to how Digital is realizing
 its manufacturing visions:
       o developing the best people in the industry,
       o products that never fail,
       o shortest cycle time in the industry,
       o lead in defining competitive manufacturing, and
       o competitiveness independent of volume. 

 The first meeting is scheduled for 8-9 a.m. on Feb. 9, in the General Doriot 
 Conference Room at the Mill in Maynard, Mass. All employees are welcome.  
 Subsequent meetings will be held the second and fourth Friday of each fiscal 
 month (Feb. 9, 23, March 9, 23, April 13, 27, etc.) at the same time and
 place. Plans include broadcasting future meetings using the Digital Video 
 Network (DVN) once the appropriate links are in place.

  Digital - Kanata plant to manufacture MicroVAX 3100 systems
	{Livewire, 7-Feb-90}
   Digital Canada's Kanata manufacturing/engineering facility will manufacture
 MicroVAX and VAXserver 3100 systems, and will start shipping production
 volumes in March to meet the demands of the Canadian market and for export to
 Digital's worldwide operations, excluding Europe. "This supports our strategy
 of positively impacting Canada's balance of trade and maintaining a
 fully-employed, constantly improving manufacturing workforce in Kanata,"
 commented Maurice Tavares, vice president of Manufacturing, Engineering and
 Distribution for Digital Canada. "Since the announcement of the MicroVAX and
 VAXserver 3100 systems last July, demand for these low-cost VAX computers has
 greatly exceeded forecast," added Maurice. No new hiring is anticipated, since
 employees will be shifted to manufacturing the new systems, from products
 whose demands are declining. 

 Fiscal News - Ashton-Tate
 Ashton-Tate - Posts $995,000 loss for fourth quarter
	{The Wall Street Journal, 8-Feb-90, p. A8}
   Ashton-Tate posted a $995,000 loss for its fourth quarter, compared with
 earnings of $13.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue was $62.1 million,
 down from $87.3 million a year ago.The results reflect continuing fallout
 from delays in introducing a new version of the company's much-criticized
 dBASE IV product. In a telephone conference with Edward J. Esber Jr., chairman
 and CEO, declined to say when the company would finish work on the product,
 saying only that "significant progress" has been made toward completion. He
 added that from 300 to 400 customers are now evaluating a test version of the
 product and that Ashton-Tate will release one or two more test versions before
 completing it. Because of the problems with dBASE, Ashton-Tate has been
 troubled by flat sales and excess inventory. Mr. Esber said the company
 continued to reduce inventory. He said cost-cutting moves had also paid off.
 For the year, Ashton-Tate posted a loss of $28.6 million on revenue of $265.3
 million. For the year ended Jan. 31, 1989, the company earned $47.75 million
 on revenue of $307.3 million.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, another 500 issues have gone by, so it must be time for me to say that
"Another 500 issues have gone by."

Here's part of what I wrote in issue 1000:
<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 1000             Thursday  6-Feb-1986            Circulation :  2348 

VNS INDUSTRY REVIEW:                          [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
====================                          [Nashua, NH, USA                 ]

   Here we are, another 500 editions of VNS have gone by and it's time again
 for something out of the ordinary. What follows is my personal opinion,
 flavored to some extent by the articles I've read while writing for VNS these
 last three years.
   In VNS #500 (if I remember correctly), I wrote about the tough times that
 people felt were in the offing for the computer industry. Many people were
 projecting consolidation of smaller, perhaps weaker high tech companies as
 the industry slowed from its blistering pace. The general feeling was correct;
 papers often talked about the "high tech slowdown" or "semiconductor slump".
 I've found it interesting that no article I've read has talked about an
 industry recession or depression. Those adjectives have been used frequently
 when talking about, for instance, the shoe industry in Maine or the U.S.
 lumber industry. Yet over the past months many computer-related companies
 have seen their quarterly revenues plummet by up to 95%, over 7,000 high tech
 employees in Massachusetts were laid off last year, companies had furloughs
 and pay cuts, and interviews with Silicon Valley assembly line workers
 indicated that many felt that the good times were coming to an end and they
 doubted they'd be employed in a year's time. Some companies are currently
 operating in technical default of their loan provisions and others are
 finding it increasingly difficult to secure private and public financing.
 Fewer college freshmen are planning careers in engineering. Times have
 certainly changed from just two or three years ago. [And then I continued
 with several pages concerning the issue of quality - TT]

			........................
 
   Doesn't seem like times have changed much, eh? Layoffs, losses,
 restructurings and early retirements abound. Prices (and profit margins) are
 dropping. Companies tout networking, organizations like OSF, AT&T/Sun, and OSI
 point toward open systems where a company's software will run on multiple
 platforms with software no longer locking customers in to particular hardware,
 and many companies tout their ability to provide integration services.
   So what's to differentiate one company from another? I still believe it's the
 same thing I wrote about in VNS issue 1000 almost exactly five years ago.
 *QUALITY*!!! I still have that Honda I wrote about in issue 1000. It's still a
 darned fine running car, and when it finally gets replaced (by issue 3000??)
 I'll go buy myself another one.
   Everyone I've dealt with at the dealership where I purchased that car has
 treated me well - from the service manager to the people who work in the parts
 department to the accounting people - who take my $$ after I'm done dealing
 with the service and parts departments :-). And it isn't just the regular
 service that's turned out well. We're a 2 Honda family now - I got married
 some time between issues 1500 and 2000. When my wife's new car had a problem
 that the dealership didn't handle, they offered - and we accepted - to elevate
 the problem to their district level. A few days later the district manager
 gave the dealership the okay to fix the problem. No hassles, no delays, no
 red tape. The beauty (and simplicity) of it almost overwhelms me: Our car was
 brand new and broken. They could have easily lost a customer and future sales,
 not to mention (apparently) a mention every 500 or so issues of VNS. But their
 organization - and the people in it - "Did the right thing." I hardly remember
 what was wrong with the car. But I sure remember the corporation and the
 individuals who treated me the way I wanted to be treated as a customer. And
 I'm just a guy who pays $7500 for a car once every 10 years; not someone who
 spent $100 million on hardware, software and support in the last 18 months.
   What I'm asking is that we all think extra hard about our customers.
 Without them our company wouldn't exist. If they don't get the level of
 quality from us that they feel they deserve, they'll go elsewhere. Enough do
 that and the implications for Digital are obvious. More importantly, they
 deserve to get the best we can give them. When they make a purchase from us,
 they're making a statement of their faith of our ability to deliver on our
 commitments and fulfill their needs.
   I've been at Digital in one fashion or another for just a tad under 15
 years. There's lots of you who've been here long enough that folks who started
 when I did must seem like the new kids on the block. And I didn't envisage
 when I started that I'd work with people whose badge numbers are over 300,000!
 Digital certainly has changed over the years. Sometimes it seems we have piles
 of people and organizations to coordinate with, mountains of red tape, endless
 approvals, pre-work/post-work/lunchtime meetings and even
 meetings-preparing-for-other-meetings to attend. You know what needs to be
 done - where to go; and sometimes it's difficult to achieve your goals.
   All I ask is that after you've finished reading VNS today and get started on
 your work, please keep our customers (and your fellow employees who depend on
 what you do) in mind throughout the day. They deserve your best efforts. We
 often talk about "Doing the right thing" at Digital. Such a simple goal. One
 that can be hard to accomplish day in and day out. But one that means so very
 much to all of us.

							Trace


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2000      Friday  9-Feb-1990   <><><><><><><><>

In the tenth anniversary issue on 5th August 1991, Marios Cleovoulou (publisher) reminds readers how VNS started and then describes when the then current VNS staff writers started their respective sections. He also included the very first issue (an email) and the UK news sections from the previous eight anniversaries. These anniversary issues may be seen individually in the archive list.

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2380               Monday  5-Aug-1991            Circulation :  8358 

        VNS Announcement ..................................   44 Lines
        VNS MAIN NEWS .....................................  520   "
        VNS COMPUTER NEWS .................................  157   "
        VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH ..............................   25   "
        VNS UK SPORTS REPORT ..............................  140   "

        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

VNS Announcement:                          [Marios Cleovoulou, VNS Publications]
=================                          [Valbonne, France                   ]

      !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ANNIVERSARY ISSUE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      !                                                                   !
      !       1      0000        Y       Y  EEEEEE    AAA    RRRRRR       !
      !      11     0    0        Y     Y   E        A   A   R     R      !
      !     1 1    0      0        Y   Y    E       A     A  R     R      !
      !       1    0      0         Y Y     E       A     A  R     R      !
      !       1    0      0          Y      EEEE    AAAAAAA  RRRRRR       !
      !       1    0      0          Y      E       A     A  R  R         !
      !       1    0      0          Y      E       A     A  R   R        !
      !       1     0    0           Y      E       A     A  R    R       !
      !     11111    0000            Y      EEEEEE  A     A  R     R      !
      !                                                                   !
      !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ANNIVERSARY ISSUE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                                                       

    Yes!  That's right!  Ten years ago, on Monday the 3rd of August 1981,
    Richard De Morgan sent the cricket score and one line of news to an
    expatriate colleague working in the U. S. of A.;  the message was
    forwarded to a small community of "ex-pat Brits" and The VOGON News
    Service started.
                             
    Not only that, but Tracy Talcott [COMPUTER NEWS] celebrates his eighth
    year of writing for the VNS, his first contribution appearing in VNS
    #388 on Thursday the 4th of August 1983!  

    Mike Taylor [TECHNOLOGY WATCH] has a few months to go until his eighth
    anniversary, having joined the VNS "staff" on the 13th of December of
    the same year.

    Dick Binder started the VOGONBALLS column in July 1985, Ken Merrick 
    has given us the UK SPORTS REPORT from January 1989, and Tom Povey took
    over the job of providing the MAIN NEWS in September 1990.
                                     
    These people make up our regular writing staff;  it is they who provide
    the substance of the VNS and who I believe have, day in, day out, week
    in, week out, year in, year out, have provided us, and continue to
    provide us with a FIRST CLASS service.  And they do it 'cos they want
    to!  With a daily readership of over 13,000 (circa 5000 on our VideoTeX
    service), I can tell these peoples' efforts are appreciated!

    Oh, and as it happens, just the week before Tracy started, eight years
    ago, I took over the job of "publisher", so I'm celebrating too 🙂

VNS MAIN NEWS:                                     [Tom Povey, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                     [Reading, England           ]

    Here is the News at 07:00 BST on Monday 5-August-1991
    -----------------------------------------------------
        
    European News
    -------------

    Fierce fighting continues in Croatia/Yugoslavia. Details are emerging of
    a massacre in a Croatian village last Thursday as it was attacked,
    reportedly without warning, by Serbian rebels.

    The EC peace mission to Yugoslavia has collapsed. Its leader, the Dutch
    foreign minister, has blamed the intransigence of the Serbs whose leaders
    did not attend the final round of talks.

    UK News
    -------
    FT-SE = 2601.7
    Exchange Rate for UK pound = $ 1.6880  = Dm 2.9397
			       = Yn 230.49 = SFr 2.5632 = FFr 9.9930

    The CBI says that pay settlements in the manufacturing industries are
    rising at only 6.5%, down from over 8% last quarter. However, this is
    still higher than the rise in prices. 1 in 7 companies have a pay
    freeze.

    The MoD have confirmed that they plan to cut some 30,000 jobs. Union
    representatives are asking for a package including re-training and
    privatisation of existing services as an alternative to simple
    redundency.

    Authorities are concerned about "rogue" english-language schools who
    bring foreign students to Britain to improve their english and then only
    provide a minimum series of lessons (eg 2 hours a day), leaving the
    students un-supervised and without advice for the rest of the time.
    {report from the European.} 

    World News
    ----------

    US Sec of State, Mr James Baker, continues his tour of arab states in
    and around the Middle East in order to get support for the planned peace
    conference in October. The leader of the PLO has said that
    representatives of East Jerusalem must attend if the conference is to
    have any real affect. One of his aides is quoted as saying that the PLO
    would choose a "moderate" delegation in consideration of the Israeli
    position.

    A cruise liner sank off the eastern coast of South Africa at the
    weekend. 15 people are thought missing and searches are continuing.
    There are reports from passengers that senior crew members were amongst
    the first to leave the sinking ship. A government inquiry is to be held.


    {News courtesy of the BBC}


    Local Weather
    -------------

    Cloudy start with some rain. Should brighten up later. Quite humid. High
    23C/74F.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As part of this 10th aniversary VNS issue, I have extracted parts from
    the main news sections of the previous 9 aniversary editions, or at
    least the edition closest to the aniversary date. I have chosen items
    that fit the main criteria for VNS main news, ie items of likely
    interest to UK ex-pats. I have chosen some that show the style of
    Richard de Morgan, the original main news editor, and also some items
    that are still of relevance today. Apologies in advance for the length,
    456 lines (but then it has been 10 years), and the inclusion of cricket
    news.

    We start with the whole of VNS issue number 1:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VNS No.1
========

1. England won the 4th test match by 19 runs. The Australians required only
   151 runs in their 2nd innings. The last five wickets were taken by Botham
   for only 1 run.

2. 8th IRA hunger striker died. Set new record (73 days).

Cheers, Richard.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the time a year had passed, the VNS main news had acquired a little
more formality and a lot more news. Here is a selection:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VNS No.193
==========

VNS MAIN NEWS: 3-Aug-82		[Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS].
========================

Here is the News at 1330 BST
----------------------------

Lebanon
-------

On the 10th ceasefire at the moment. Over the weekend, Israelis deployed battle
tanks in streets. Habib close to failure; Reagan impatient with Israel. UN
propose sending observers.

Domestic News
-------------

1.25% drop in mortgage interest rate expected.

Industrial and Commercial News
------------------------------

CBI survey shows sharp fall in confidence and industrial output.

De Lorean rescue "still viable" says Official Receiver.

International News
------------------

Falkland Is. soldier found after wandering for 6 weeks with amnesia.

Parliament and European Parliament
----------------------------------

Jonathon (?) Cadbury 36 year old MP for (?) found dead of shotgun wounds with
gun nearby. No foul play. His majority was only a few hundred. Was depressed by
state of economy.

Lord Cockfield (pronounced Coefield) forbids 4 UK companies to comply with
US pipeline embargo.

Local News
----------

Local petrol price war: nearest two stations: now 158.4/gall ****.

Weather: warm, rainy, less humid.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Edition: 387                       3-AUG-1983                      Circ: 107

VNS MAIN NEWS:                            [Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS]
==============

Here is the news at 13.00 BST
_____________________________

International News
------------------

European countries sell dollars to keep down US interest rates.

2 Argie fishing boats shooed off Falkland Is.

Nigeria to buy 18 FR/Brit Jaguars (planes not moggies.)

Peking slow heavy industry development to ease pollution.

Pres Habre of Chad accuses Libya of genocide. US armament to be flown in soon.

Dr Christian Barnard, pioneer of heart transplant surgery to retire due to
ill health. Boy given second double heart after original one fails year
after "piggy back" transplant.

UK News
-------

21 convicted by evidence of "supergrass" in 6 month IRA trial.

2 brothers charged with selling "glue sniffing kits" to children.

Police search for bogus traffic wardens who harass motorists.

Education, Employment, Industrial and Commercial News
-----------------------------------------------------

CBI says higher interest rates could damage recovery.

Building Society incomes double after interest rate increases.

New impetus for French/British rail/road bridge-tunnel-bridge; cost
3,800m at 1980 prices.

Local News
----------

Summer is back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Edition: 628                Friday   3-AUG-1984                   Circ: 698

VNS MAIN NEWS:                            [Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS]
==============                            [Reading, England                    ]

Here is the News at 08.00 BST
_____________________________

International News
------------------

French plane hijacking: hijackers release hostages and surrender, blowing up
cockpit of plane after France refused to release terrorists.

Bomb explosion in left luggage at Madras airport - 9 killed.

Bomb explosion at European Space Agency offices Paris - nobody hurt. Grafitto
indicated work of "Action Direct" a left-wing group.

US News
-------

A man was arrested after driving a car containing bombs behind an Olympic
Athletes' coach. He claimed to be protecting them.

UK News
-------

Whirlwind damaged village near Nottingham; 3' floods.

Jobless up 71,000 to 12.9%.

Education, Employment, Industrial and Commercial News
-----------------------------------------------------

To celebrate the 50th (?) anniversary of Royal Mail, the Post Office ran a
stagecoach on a 17 hour journey from Bristol to London along the old coaching
route, the A4. It arrived an hour or so late because of delays by sightseers.
A TV reporter posted a first class letter in a postbox near by where the stage
started - it was scheduled to be collected 20 mins later - to a shop close to
where the stage was to arrive. Several hours later, there was no sign of the
letter arriving.

Education, Science, Technology, Medicine, and Nature
----------------------------------------------------

Mint to consider new lighter 10p coin and copper 5p coin.

100' 12th century wall discovered near Newark Castle, Notts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition :  879               Friday  2-Aug-1985            Circulation :  1743 

VNS MAIN NEWS:                            [Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS]
==============                            [Reading, England                    ]

    Here is the News at 08.00 BST on 2-Aug-1985
    ___________________________________________

    International News
    ------------------

    Common Market leaders call back ambassadors from S Africa for consultations.
    EEC gives 6 week ultimatum to SA. Rand collapses on foreign markets.
    Black SA goldminers strike.

    Afghan patriots continue to bombard collaborationist positions and take
    hundreds of prisoners. They now have multiple-barelled rockets capable
    of accurate fire up to 7 miles.

    US News
    -------

    Lt Col and 5 others working for Pentagon arrested by FBI for conspiracy
    to ship arms to Iran.

    UK News
    -------

    PM emphasises firm action on football hooligans. Fulham announce ticket
    only game. PM says if FA and League do not not fully collaborate with
    measures for crowd control, govt will take extra powers to ban matches
    where trouble is expected.

    Science, Technology, Medicine, and Nature
    -----------------------------------------

    Research at U of California, Berkely has shown that in old age the human
    brain can develop if stimulated by intellectual activity.
    {I included this because I read about this "discovery" only recently in
     a report from a different group. It's called re-search... tfp}

    Miscellany
    ----------

    Fourth test at Old Trafford:

	Australia 257 all out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 1124               Friday  1-Aug-1986            Circulation :  3289 

VNS MAIN NEWS:                            [Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS]
==============                            [Reading, England                    ]

    Here is the News at 08.00 BST on 1-aug-1986
    ___________________________________________

    International News
    ------------------

    Convicted armed robbers in Nigeria face a slow death by firing squad -
    first shot in the ankles, the shots are aimed higher at 5 minute intervals.

    Reindeer in Norway have been found to have been severly contaminated by
    radiation from Chernobyl.

    Japan backs down over microchip dumping in US - agrees to increase prices.

    US News
    -------

    The would-be mugger who was beaten around the ears by an 87 year old
    British widow in NY on 26 may was sentenced to 2 - 4 years.

    UK News
    -------

    The High Court has banned mass picketing of the Wapping plant of News
    International by the print unions; last night a transport depot of NI was
    attacked by some 40 hooligans who caused considerable damage to transport
    vehicles. The above ru;ing means that only up to 6 pickets at a time will
    be alllowed.

    Miscellany
    ----------

    The ceremonial guard posted at the Gibraltar=Spain border has been removed
    after over 250 years. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 1372               Monday  3-Aug-1987            Circulation :  4570 

VNS MAIN NEWS:                            [Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS]
==============                            [Basingstoke, England                ]

    Here is the News at 08:00 BST on 3-Aug-1987
    -------------------------------------------

    UK News
    -------

    TUC conference next month to consider change of image in the light
    of falling membership.

    BCal says it may collapse if BA merger is deferred. (This is crying "wolf"
    once to often!)

    DoE favour split-up of CEGB before privatization.

    Lord Scarman, a former Lord of Appeal says judgement against papers
    in "Spy Catcher" case was flawed.

    Parliament, European Parliament/EEC, Law and Politics
    -----------------------------------------------------

    "Barmy" Benn reads from "Spy Catcher" at Speakers' Corner, Hyde Park.
    Even Lurch and Toad (the well renowned hecklers) were defeated).

    Education, Employment, Industrial and Commercial News
    -----------------------------------------------------

    Austin Rover to abolish Austin marque.

    Science, Technology, Medicine, and Nature
    -----------------------------------------

    The first condom advertisement appeared on TV on saturday; Mrs Whitehouse
    has lodged a formal complaint.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 1621             Thursday 28-Jul-1988            Circulation :  6072 

VNS MAIN NEWS:                            [Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS]
==============                            [Basingstoke, England                ]

    Here is the News at 07:30 BST on 28-Jul-1988
    --------------------------------------------

    [There will be no Main News tomorrow or monday - RMDeM].

    UK News
    -------

    Current a/c deficit down over another #1bn - heading for #10bn for the
    year.

    The SAS personnel involved in shooting the IRA terrorists in Gibraltar
    may, after all, give evidence at the Gibraltar inquest.

    Parliament, European Parliament/EEC, Law and Politics
    -----------------------------------------------------

    Public Accts Ctte calls for MoD drive to check corruption in defence
    contracts.

    PM Mrs Thatcher yesterday derided a statement on the economic and 
    political union of Europe made by the Pres of the European Commission
    M Delors. 

    Education, Employment, Industrial and Commercial News
    -----------------------------------------------------

    Mercury launched its line of payphones yesterday. One of them has neo-
    Corinthian pillars.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 1873             Thursday  3-Aug-1989            Circulation :  7242 

VNS MAIN NEWS:                            [Richard De Morgan, Chief Editor, VNS]
==============                            [Basingstoke, England                ]

    Here is the News at 07:30 BST on 3-Aug-1989
    -------------------------------------------

    US News
    -------

    A US Federal Jury have found the Korean Airlines crew of the 747 that 
    was shot down by Russians in 1983, in hich 269 people died, guilty
    of deliberately flying into Soviet airspace.

    UK News
    -------

    Parliament, European Parliament/EEC, Law and Politics
    -----------------------------------------------------

    The Govt is to allow water price increases to exceed inflation by up to 
    5% over the next 5 years. In addition, a debt of #1bn is to be written 
    off.

    A Birmingham man has been been ordered to pay #1000 plus a fine after
    his 3 Rotweiller dogs savaged a child. The dogs are to be destroyed.
    He had a previous conviction for attack by one of the dogs.

    One in 7 of Britain's 140,000 police officers were assaulted last year.

    Education, Employment, Industrial and Commercial News
    -----------------------------------------------------

    The dock strike has officialy ended.

    University teaching staff facing dismissal from Aston University,
    Birmingham, have won a court appeal. They can only be dismissed for
    "good causes". [A long-standing joke in university circles is that
    "good causes" means being found in flagrante delicto with the Vice
    Chancellor's wife witnessed by at least two professors].

    Local News and Weather
    ----------------------

    14C, suuny.

    Miscellany
    ----------

    Mike Gatting is to lead to lead a team of 16 cricket players to S 
    Africa. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2121             Thursday  2-Aug-1990            Circulation :  8314 

VNS MAIN NEWS:                                  [Andrew Payne, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                  [Basingstoke, England          ]

    Here is the News at 09:00 GMT on 2-AUG-1990
    --------------------------------------------
    
    International News
    ------------------
    IRAQ CLAIMS KUWAITI GOVERNMENT TOPPLED: Iraq's Revolutionary Command
    Council has said that the government of Kuwait has been overthrown.  It
    said Kuwaiti revolutionaries had overthrown the government and its
    troops had entered the country to help the new rulers.  A statement read
    on Baghdad Radio said Iraq would "turn Kuwait into a graveyard" if
    anyone tried to intervene.  The claim followed confirmation by Kuwait
    state radio of an Iraqi invasion. It called on other Arab states to
    help it repel the attack. 
    
    UN DISCUSSES IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT: The UN Security Council is
    holding an emergency session on the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.  The
    meeting was called by Kuwait and the United States, which has strongly
    condemned the invasion.  A White House spokesman said the US was
    "reviewing all options in its response to the Iraqi aggression".  And
    Secretary of State James Baker has asked the Soviet Union to halt all
    arms delivered to Iraq.

    UK News
    -------               

    Local News and Weather
    ----------------------
    Todays expected high temperature is 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VNS COMPUTER NEWS:                            [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
==================                            [Nashua, NH, USA                 ]

    Friday's Market				   Digital Fair Market Value
      Quote     Change				    3-Dec-1990	 $53.50
 IBM  100 1/4	-1				   31-May-1991	 $68.375
						   85% of lower  $45.50
    Friday's Market	   Dow Jones	Change	    3-Jun-1991	 $68.125
 DEC   69 1/2	-  3/8	   3006.26	-11.41

 Note - I'm on vacation for a week. VNS Computer News may not appear regularly
	until August 12. - TT

 VNS - Marios tells me today's VNS' 10 year anniversary, and it's my eighth
   year writing for VNS. Sounds like a good time to take a week's vacation...
 Those of you who've read Computer News when we tick over every 500th issue
 mark are probably expecting a story about the importance of quality and how
 much Deb and I like our Hondas and how good a job I think they do. Well, we
 still have the cars and still think they do a great job taking care of their
 customers, but I'll spare you that - almost. At least until we get to our next
 500th issue tick.
   I remember 500 or 1000 issues ago writing about tough times in the computer
 industry. It's obvious they're here. I have a habit of checking the VNS
 circulation figure that appears on the first page of every edition, and it's
 hard watching the numbers shrink from month to month, knowing that at least
 some of that drop is due to people being laid off. I've been at Digital one
 way or another for (almost) more years than I can remember; 15 or so as near
 as I can recall. I remember our lab getting its first VAX, interviewing so
 many potential new hires it was sometimes difficult to get work done, and
 watching the stock price go up, up and up some more. Those were some terrific
 times and I wouldn't have missed them for the world.
   Now that we're in the middle of "down-/right-"sizing, layoffs and increasing
 our efficiencies, it's hard to keep your mind off our problems and on our
 customers (and stockholders). I guess it sounds kind of hokey, but I believe
 we have a lot of great stuff - software, hardware, services, support, and most
 of all the people behind all of it. I *really* believe we're _great_ people.
 To me, Digital's always had sort of a magic to it because of its people. I
 still remember 197? when we all got invited down to the lawn at corporate
 headquarters for a advertisement photo shoot. Something about all the people
 who stand behind our products, if I recall correctly. I think it was a bunch
 of people from the RSX group who all showed up wearing T-shirts that read "Who
 says you can't love something that's small and finishes fast?" What an
 off-center thing to do - running around PK3 with those shirts on for a
 national advertising campaign. I suppose that sort of thing happens at other
 big computer companies, but I know it happens here. A company like that has
 energy. A company needs a soul and a vision. And products that embody the
 vision. We've still got those things. And we still have people who care; if
 they didn't they wouldn't be so involved and expressive of their opinions on
 the actions we're taking these days. It's good that we have people
 questioning, pushing back, suggesting alternate ways to do things - willing in
 some cases to go out on a limb. That's the 1990s version of the RSX T-shirt
 team. We've *still* got the energy and the vision, and new products coming out
 every day. The company will never be the same as it was five or ten or twenty
 years ago. That's a good thing - you can't live in the past. But you can use
 the experience of the past to help shape today and tomorrow. Let's work
 together to shape Digital's vision, and keep its soul alive (and at least a
 bit irreverent!). Think about our customers today. I think a lot about how
 Honda treats Deb and I and our small combined $20,000 purchase. If I don't
 treat a $5 million (or $1000 for that matter) customer just as well, I'm not
 doing my job. Give it a try; take a minute at the end of the day today to
 think about what you did and ask yourself if you did the best you could for
 the person who consumes what you produce. See what you can do to make things
 better - get the energy. Get a vision and work to turn it into reality. - TT

 Digital - Sues another Calif. firm
	{The Boston Globe, 2-Aug-91, p. 58}
   Digital sued Lago Systems Inc. of Los Gatos, Calif., in US District Court in
 Boston claiming Lago violated Digital's patents for its proprietary
 technologies for storing and retrieving computer information. Lago is the
 fourth company Digital has sued over these technologies. So far only one
 company, Systems Industries Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., has settled. Another,
 Micro Technology Inc. of Anaheim, Calif, said it plans to fight Digital's
 patent infringement case in court. Lago, like Micro Technology, has rejected
 Digital's request to stop manufacturing infringing products and enter into a
 phase-out program announced by Digital in June. Two companies that have
 avoided Digital's legal actions are Winchester Systems of Woburn and Aviv
 Corp. of Burlington. Both have agreed to stop producing certain products and
 transfer to new technologies in the next 18 months.

 Digital - Book details theft of Digital's core software
	{The Boston Globe, 30-Jul-91, p. 35}
	[This is the entire article - TT]
   In an incident whose embarrassing details were kept quiet for three years,
 two hackers repeatedly penetrated Digitals internal computer network and
 stole a copy of its most valuable software program, according to a new book on
 computer crime.
   The intrusions were reported by the news media in 1988, when one of the
 hackers was arrested in California after the other informed on him to Digital
 and federal law enforcement officials. But Digital never publicly disclosed
 the extent to which its network had been breached or that hackers had pilfered
 the crown jewels of its software.
   However, according to "Cyberpunk: Outlaw and Hackers on the Computer
 Frontier," by Katie Hafner and John Markoff, the hackers roamed freely for
 months through some of Digital's most sensitive computers, where they read
 executives' electronic mail and other confidential files. More importantly, it
 says they obtained a complete copy of VMS, the software that controls most of
 Digital's VAX brand of computers, in a format in which details about VMS
 security could be gleaned.
    "Digital Equipment was compromised in a major way..." Hafner said in an
 interview. "It had no idea who was in its computers." Digital, asked yesterday
 about the book's account of the incident, confirmed that the VMS software had
 been stolen. It said that the episode and other hacker break-ins triggered a
 tightening of its security procedures and new products designed to make its
 computers harder to crack. The disclosure by Hafner, a former BusinessWeek
 reporter, and Markoff, her husband and a reporter for the New York Times, were
 legend in hacker and computer security circles for some time. But publicity
 generated by the book, officially released yesterday, could still embarrass
 Digital and even scare off customers, computer security specialists say.
 Consider these assertions by the authors:
   - The hackers, Kevin D. Mitnick and Leonard DiCicco, exploited weaknesses in
 Digital's security procedures and penetrated computers at its software
 development center in Nashua - with the unwitting help of an employee.
   - While rummaging through the Digital network, Mitnick and DiCicco found a
 program that West German hackers had previously used to steal access passwords
 from VAX computers installed at the National Aeronautics and Space
 Administration. The California hackers used the program to capture passwords
 from computers on Digital's network.
   - Mitnick and DiCicco "downloaded" the VMS program using one of the few
 Digital network computers connected to the outside world via a high-speed
 modem.
   But certainly the most troublesome disclosure is that the hackers made off
 with VMS in a format called source code, in which detailed information on how
 to break into VAX computers could be discovered. Like other computer makers,
 Digital supplies VMS to its customers in a format called machine code, the
 strings of ones and zeros that are easy for the computer to read and are
 nearly indecipherable by humans. Source code is written in computer languages
 that are much easier for programmers to understand.
   "If somebody takes your source code, you don't know what they are going to
 do with it. There is a lot of potential for them to hurt you," said one
 computer security specialist.
   Added Harold Highland, a retired computer science professor and a specialist
 on computer break-ins: A source copy of VMS "gives anybody who really wants to
 break into a [Digital] system the front door key."
   Perhaps the most damaging act a hacker could perpetrate with knowledge
 gained from source code would be to design and plant a program that could
 escape detection and destroy data stored on the computer, the specialists
 said.
   Luckily for Digital, Mitnick and DiCicco had no plans to plant such a
 program or sell pirated copies of VMS, for which Digital charges up to
 $360,000. According to "Cyberpunk," Mitnick, who masterminded the break-ins,
 was motivated by "both the challenge of the hack itself and his intellectual
 curiosity about such a complex and advanced program."
   Nikki Richardson, a Digital spokeswoman, was quick to add that the company
 routinely sells VMS source code, primarily to software developers who use it
 to write programs for the VAX. She said Digital checked each of the millions
 of lines of source code it has to make sure nothing was altered. And Peter
 Neumann, a computer scientist at SRI Internation, a think tank in Menlo Park,
 Calif., noted that hackers can break into a computer and do damage without
 access to the system's source code.
   Yet Hafner believes Digital tried to downplay the incident to limit
 publicity that would make it and its computers look vulnerable to hackers.
 That may explain why Mitnick, who was arrested in December 1988, after DiCicco
 set up a sting operation for the FBI, wad not charged with stealing VMS.
 Instead, he was indicted with the theft of a Digital security program that he
 also found in his travels through the company's network, as well as stealing
 long-distance telephone access codes.
   Also, Hafner said Digital refused to answer questions about the incident for
 the book, and she was told by sources inside the company that a memo was sent
 to employees familiar with the hackers' actions instructing them not to talk to
 her.

VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH:                           [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
=====================                           [Littleton, MA, USA            ]

                      Looking Back in Datamation
                             10 years ago

    In 1981, Data General Corp. was trying to pull itself out of
    a three year downturn. The mini maker was spending $200 million
    to turn itself into a soup to nuts manufacturer of everything
    from semiconductors to software to peripherals. DG president
    Edson de Castro reasoned that "the minicomputer business would
    go the way of the auto industry of the late 1920s ... A few full
    fully integrated concerns would emerge from a lot of companies
    making bits and pieces."
    {Datamation July 15, 1991}

                             30 years ago

    Concerned about inaccuracies about whether automation would cause
    widespread unemployment, Datamation in July 1961 stepped in to
    clarify the issue. "A telephone is not a computer, nor is a
    photocopying machine, a ball point pen, or a machine which gums
    labels... Computers are not likely to replace these office tools
    or  the people who use them." We assured the public that the
    encroachment of EDP into "sausage manufacturing, raisin growing,
    wine  tasting, and stuffing tooth paste into tubes of varying
    dimensions ... should be viewed as threats to national employment."
    {Datamation July 15, 1991}

VNS UK SPORTS REPORT:                             [Ken Merrick, VNS Sports Desk]
=====================                             [Valbonne, France            ]

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

* NOTE * - I will be taking some holiday this month - the next sports desk will 
           be on August 19th.

Today - 10 Years of VNS, Cricket, Cycling, Football, Motor Cycling, Motor Sport
        Rugby Union

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\


[] 10 Years of VNS

   To celebrate 10 years of VNS, here is a brief look at what happened in 
   1981...

  Cricket 
   - Nottinghamshire were Schweppes County Champions. The John Player
     sunday league title went to Essex and Derbyshire (Gillette Cup) and 
     Somerset (Benson and Hedges Cup) took the other trophies. 
     Engalnd beat Australia in a Test Match.
  Cycling 
   - Bernard Hinault won the Tour de France.
  Football                                             
   - In England, Aston Villa were 1980-81 League Champions with Tottenham 
     Hotspur FA Cup holders. Celtic took the Scottish League title, while 
     Rangers won the cup. Liverpool were European Cup winners with Ipswich 
     Town winning the UEFA cup.
   Horse Racing 
    - Shergar, ridden by Walter Swinburn, won the Derby for the Aga Khan.  It
      was a memorable Grand National with Aldaniti, ridden by Bob Champion,
      the winners.
   Motor Sport 
   - Nelson Piquet was world champion.
   Rugby League 
   - Bradford Northern were League Champions. In the Challenge Cup, Widnes were
     the victors.
   Rowing 
   - Oxford won the boat-race by eight lengths.
   Rugby Union 
   - France were Five Nations champions while Northumberland triumphed
     in the Thorn-EMI county Championship.
   Snooker 
   - Steve Davis took his first World Championship and also the UK Professional
     title.
   Tennis 
   - Chris Lloyd and John McEnroe were the Wimbledon singles winners. McEnroe 
     and Peter Fleming won the men's doubles and Martina Navratilova
     with Pam Shriver took the women's title.

[] CRICKET

   Sky Televison have secured exclusive rights for the live British coverage of
   next year's World Cup, which is being played in Australia and New Zealand in
   February and March.

[] CYCLING

   Eric Van Lancker won the Wincanton Classic, the sixth stage of the Perrier
   World Cup over a 234.5 km course near Brighton. Van Lancker was 29 seconds
   ahead of Rolf Golz with Jan Goesens third and Gilles Dellon fourth.

   Giani Bugno is the leader in the Tour de Burgos after yesterdays 181km
   second stage. Pedro Delgado is second with Martin Farfan third.

[] FOOTBALL

   Aston Villa have completed the signing of 22yr-old Steve Staunton.
   Liverpool's Republic of Ireland international, for 1.1 million.

   Paul Parker, the Queen's Park Rangers defender, has joined Manchester United
   for 1.7 million. Another defender moving to Manchester is Keith Curle, who
   has joined Manchester City from Wimbledon.

   Former Reading captain, Martin Hicks, has turned down a new contract and
   is expected to leave the club. Also on the move is Everton midfielder Neil
   McDonald, who has been granted a transfer request.

   Wales will meet from Brazil on 11 September at Cardiff Arms Park in a  match
   to celebrate the new floodlights.

   Former Argentina manager, Cesar Menotti, has been appointed manager of
   Mexico.

   Odense centre-half, Johnny Hansen, has joined Ajax.

[] MOTOR CYCLING

   British Grand Prix, Donnington

   The American rider, Kevin Schwantz, won his third consecutive British Grand
   Prix at Donnington. Schwantz (Suzuki) had set fastest time in
   the last practise session, but it was World Champion Wayne Rainey who led for
   most of the race; Schwantz took the lead twolaps from the end.

   Full result:
   1. Kevin Schwantz (Suzuki) ....... 47'12"182
   2. Wayne Rainey (Yamaha) ......... 47'12"970
   3. Michael Doohan (Honda) ........ 47'31"370
   4. John Kocinski (Yamaha) ........ 47'37"030
   5. Wayne Gardner (Honda) ......... 47'41"790
   6. Eddie Lawson (Cagiva) ......... 47'43"360
   7. Niall MacKenzie (Yamaha) ...... 47'47"530

   Championship placings:
   1. Rainey ....... 185pts
   2. Doohan ....... 175
   3. Schwantz ..... 156
   4. Lawson ....... 118
   5. Gardner ...... 113

[] MOTOR SPORT

   Ayrton Senna has been testing a McLaren-Honda at Silverstone with an
   automatic gearbox.  Gerard Berger is scheduled to continue the testing this
   week. Also at Silverstone, Damon Hill has continued with the active
   suspension Williams-Renault. Active suspension is also beingtested by
   Ferrari at Imola, where Jean Alesi has used the 642 in both normal and active
   set-ups. Alain Prost has continued testing with the 543 fitted with the
   development engine - 291/3. He covered 67 laps (340kms), more than a Grand
   Prix distance, to test reliability, and set a new lap record of 1'26"37 on
   race tyres.

   A Nissan-Skyline GT-R won the 24-hrs race at Spa. The car, driven by Anders
   Olofsson, Naoka Hattori and David Brabham, finished ahead of two Porsche
   911's.

   At Magny-Cours, Footwork continue to have problems withtheir
   Porsche engines. The latest development from the German company broke after
   a Stefan Johansson attempted a qualification-time lap.


[] RUGBY UNION

   The Welsh Rugby Union have appointed the Nottingham coach, Alan Davies, as
   coach. Davis, the former England B coach, will team-up with team manager
   Robert Nortser with the aim of restoring some pride in Welsh Rugby.

   Courage League club Gloucester will play in the annual Boston (US) 
   tournament next year.


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2380      Monday  5-Aug-1991   <><><><><><><><>

The Technology Watch section of this issue contains John C Dvorak’s Great Operating System Quiz from PC Magazine Sept 24, 1991.

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2450            Wednesday 13-Nov-1991            Circulation :  8216 

        VNS MAIN NEWS .....................................   71 Lines
        VNS COMPUTER NEWS .................................   57   "
        VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH ..............................  131   "

        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

VNS MAIN NEWS:                                     [Tom Povey, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                     [Reading, England           ]

    Here is the News at 07:00 GMT on Wednesday 13-November-1991
    -----------------------------------------------------------
        
    UK News
    -------
    FT-SE = 2575.5
    Exchange Rate for UK pound = $ 1.7720  = Dm 2.9035
    Oil = $ 21.45 (Dec) {down from $22+}

    The Government had a comfortable majority of 89 in a vote on the new
    bill to replace the "Poll Tax" by a council tax. Although many
    conservatives voiced objections to details in the bill, none voted
    against. However, 10-12 did abstain.

    Bottles of Lucozade are to be removed from shelves today after police
    report that some may have been contaminated through action by an animal
    rights group seeking publicity. This follows publicity on Monday in
    support of limited drug testing on animals. Monday's publicity was by
    people who are being treated by drugs that could only have been
    developed through a programme including tests on animals.

    A laywer representing the Maxwell family has said that there is evidence
    that Robert Maxwell could have been in the water for some 3-4 hours
    before he died. His heart attack could have been brought on by his
    struggle to survive in the water. This makes his death appear an
    accident or, although said to be unlikely, murder.

    A Church group have written to the General Synod of the Church of
    England saying that it will setup a network of churches if the the C of
    E approve the ordination of women. The group claim the support of one
    third of the C of E.

    Senior civil servants are to appear before a UN committee in geneva
    today to discuss the treatment of prisoners in Northern Ireland. This
    follows a report by Amnesty International that criticised Britain's
    handling of prisoners at a jail in NI.

    European News
    -------------

    Lord Carrington is returning to Yugoslavia to discuss the deployment of
    an international peace-keeping force following requests from both sides.
    The continued fighting and the desctruction of Vukovar and the damage to
    Dubrovnik is said to have turned the opinions of world leaders towards
    being willing to intervene in the affair. A sticking point is where new
    borders should be established: Croats want a return to the old borders
    while Serbs want new borders where the fighting now is.

    World News
    ----------

    Baghdad has offered to lift its blockade of Kurdish northern Iraq if
    Kurdish guerrillas withdraw from the cities. Kurdish leaders say that
    the guerrillas will setup positions outside the cities.


    {News courtesy of the BBC}


    Local Weather
    -------------

    Today is forecast to be a mixture of sunny periods, frequent showers and
    strong winds. High 9C/48F. Show is forecast for hills above 500ft in the
    north and west. Scotland is already having some problems with drifting
    snow. In the storms yesterday, 20 houses in Kendal, Lake District, were
    struck by lightning while a tornado struck a village near Market Raison
    in Cambridgeshire. One person was killed in Lancashire by a falling barn
    gable.

    The weather is to continue cold, wet and windy for a few days.

VNS COMPUTER NEWS:                            [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
==================                            [Nashua, NH, USA                 ]

    Monday's Market                               Digital Fair Market Value
      Quote     Change                              3-Dec-1990   $53.50
 IBM  100 1/8	-  1/8				   31-May-1991   $68.375
                                                   85% of lower  $45.50
    Tuesday's Market	   Dow Jones    Change      3-Jun-1991   $68.125
 DEC   61	+1	   3054.11	+11.85

 Digital, Microsoft - To announce new alliance
	{The Nashua Telegraph, 12-Nov-91, p. 12}
   Digital and Microsoft next week will announce a new alliance that
 analysts say could escalate the feuding among companies atop the computer
 industry. The announcement next Tuesday is expected to combine Microsoft's
 strength in developing software for desktop computers with Digital's expertise
 in linking computers in global networks. Microsoft was once a string ally of
 IBM. But the two have become bitter rivals over the development of operating
 systems for personal computers. Observers say this relationship frayed further
 with IBM forging an alliance this year with onetime rival Apple Computer. But
 by turning to Digital, which is the world's second-largest computer company,
 Microsoft could bolster one of IBM's fiercest competitors, analysts say.
 Alliances have become more common in the computer industry, as companies try
 to compete in a market with shrinking profit margins. IBM, for example, also
 announced alliances this year with Wang Laboratories and Lotus Development.
 Craig Mitchell, a spokesman for Digital, said the Maynard-based company has
 developed a broad range of products to be announced next week. They will be
 teamed with Windows, a hot-selling software product developed by Microsoft
 that allows computer users to manipulate symbols and graphical images on their
 screens, rather than memorizing keyboard commands.

 Computer Associates - Buys some assets of Access Technology Inc.
	{The Boston Globe, 12-Nov-91, p. 44}
   The assets were purchased from H&R Block for an undisclosed amount of cash.
 Access was owned by CompuServe Inc., a unit of H&R Block. The purchased assets
 include stock in Access' European and Australian subsidiaries and 20/20, an
 electronic spreadsheet for Digital Equipment's VAX computers.

 Fibronics - Wins nearly $1 million contract for networks for Wal-Mart Stores
	{The Boston Globe, 12-Nov-91, p. 44}
   Wal-Mart will buy Fibronics' products to improve the speed and control of
 inventory and distribution operations between Wal-Mart's corporate
 headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., and its 18 warehouses across the country.

 WordPerfect - Ships Windows version of its word-processing software
	{The Wall Street Journal, 11-Nov-91, p. B3}
   Willard E. Peterson, WordPerfect's executive vice president, thinks the
 company's new Windows program is well-designed and said retailers have already
 ordered 300,000 copies. "I think we can hold our share of the market," he
 said. Mr. Peterson said he expected WordPerfect to sell $50 million to $75
 million of the new Windows product by year end, bringing the company's 1991
 revenues to nearly $600 million. Richard Shaffer, editor of Computer Letter,
 praises WordPerfect's management but argues that the flexibility of Windows
 makes it unlikely that users will find it as desirable as in the past to
 standardize on a single word processor. This is because newfangled word
 processors don't rely on users typing strings of letters to control their
 documents, meaning customers don't have to memorize kooky command lines.
 Windows programs share the same type of menu systems and allow users to
 control programs by pointing at visual prompts on a screen with a pointing
 device called a mouse.

VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH:                           [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
=====================                           [Littleton, MA, USA            ]

                John C Dvorak's Great Operating System Quiz
                     {PC Magazine Sept 24, 1991 }

    Finding the right operating system is as simple as ordering a pizza
    and  answering some easy questions. 

    In the months (and perhaps years) ahead, many of us will be
    confronted by  a decision: What operating system to choose? DOS?
    Unix? DOS with windows?

    As I watch more and more users choose sides, it's apparent that there
    are aspects of individual personalities that work into the decision. 
    So I did some arduous research to develop one of my famous tests to
    help people determine which operating system is best for them. I
    examine a combination of both computing needs and personal habits. 
    Circle either the DOS, OS/2, W (for Windows), or Unix choice next to
    your favorite answer. Count up the number of answers for each choice. 
    Whichever one dominates should be the right operating system for you. 
    If there is a mismatch of answers, then you should probably wait a year.

    Dvorak's Operating System Quiz

    1. What application do you expect to use the most?
     DOS) spreadsheet
    OS/2) large complex database
       W) solitaire
    Unix) GREP

    2. What is your favorite TV show?
     DOS) "Nova"
    OS/2) "The MacNeil-Lehrer Report"
       W) Woody Woodpecker
    Unix) The 3 A.M. test pattern

    3. What is your favorite hobby?
     DOS) stamp collecting
    OS/2) bird watching
       W) snail racing
    Unix) button collecting

    4. What kind of clothes do you prefer?
     DOS) sports suit, no tie.
    OS/2) suit and tie.
       W) sweater and jeans.
    Unix) Nerdy T-shirt, jeans, and no underpants.

    5. What kind of music do you like?
     DOS) The Beatles
    OS/2) classical
       W) New Age fusion music
    Unix) tuba solos

    6. What's your favorite color?
     DOS) modern beige
    OS/2) blue
       W) stark white
    Unix) pizza-stain red

    7. What's your favorite car?
     DOS) Ford
    OS/2) Lexus
       W) fake Bugatti
    Unix) Borgward

    8. Who is your favorite artist?
     DOS) Rembrandt
    OS/2) Pollack
       W) Dali
    Unix) Gary Larsen

    9. Who is your favorite author?
     DOS) Robert Heinlein
    OS/2) Tom Wolfe
       W) John Madden
    Unix) Walt Disney

    10. Who is your favorite actor?
     DOS) Rod Steiger
    OS/2) John Wayne
       W) Leonard Nimoy
    Unix) Richard Simmons

    11. Who was your favorite president?
     DOS) Abe Lincoln
    OS/2) Ronald Reagan
       W) Jack Kennedy
    Unix) Hubert Humphrey

    12. What's your preferred breakfast food?
     DOS) cereal
    OS/2) steak and eggs
       W) softboiled egg 
    Unix) pizza

    13. If time wasn't important, how would you prefer to travel?
     DOS) walk
    OS/2) steam train
       W) hot air balloon
    Unix) pogo stick

    14. (to be answered by men) If you were stuck on a desert island
        with only one woman, whom would you choose?
     DOS) Kim Basinger
    OS/2) Meryl Streep
       W) Dr. Ruth Westheimer
    Unix) a photo of Kim Basinger

    15. (to be answered by women) If you were stuck on a desert island
        with only one man, whom would you choose?
     DOS) Kevin Costner
    OS/2) Arnold Schwarzenegger
       W) Bill Gates
    Unix) a photo of Kim Basinger

    16. When you get up in the morning, what is the first thing you do?
     DOS) shower
    OS/2) brush teeth
       W) gargle
    Unix) pick off food stuck to body from sleeping with pizza

    17. What's the last thing you do before going to bed?
     DOS) let out cat, turn off lights
    OS/2) brush teeth
       W) pray
    Unix) check to see if there is a pizza in the bed 


    Tally your score and don't waste a minute finding pleasure in the
    operating system that suits you best.  One disclaimer I have to make: 
    Anyone scoring  17 straight "Unix" answers should seek counseling
    immediately.


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2450   Wednesday 13-Nov-1991   <><><><><><><><>

As sent by Craig Cockburn to the newsgroup soc.culture.british.

------- Forwarded mail received on 27-Mar-1992 at 10:03:57 -------
From: DEMO2::52391::CASEE::VNS "The VOGON News Service 27-Mar-1992 1011"

To: VNS-Distribution

Subj: VNS #2544 Fri 27-Mar-1992

<><><><><><><><> T h e V O G O N N e w s S e r v i c e <><><><><><><><>
Edition : 2544 Friday 27-Mar-1992 Circulation : 8158
VNS MAIN NEWS ..................................... 42 Lines

VNS COMPUTER NEWS ................................. 9 
VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH .............................. 15 
VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH .............................. 29 
VNS VOGONBALLS .................................... 90 

Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

VNS 


MAIN NEWS: [Tom Povey, VNS UK News Desk]

============== [Reading, England ]

Here is the News at 07:00 GMT on Friday 27-March-1992

-----------------------------------------------------
UK News

-------

Exchange Rate for UK pound = $ 1.72 = Dm 2.8330

Attention has been diverted from the election itself by controversy 
following Labour's TV broadcast earlier in the week which featured the
 case of a 5 year old girl who needed an operation on the NHS which was
delayed, according to the broadcast, by lack of funds for the NHS. The 
controversy has shifted from issues around the NHS to who leaked the 
name of the girl to the press. A real "whodunnit".

A report shows that pay rises for UK management has dropped to an
average of 7% which is still higher than inflation. It was up at 9-10% a
year ago.

World News

----------
The UN vote on sanctions on Libya has been delayed until Monday, in part 
to give foreign nationals time to leave the country and in part because 
the conditions for lifting the sanctions are not properly defined. The
 Libyan ambassador has repeated that his country is willing to release 
the men concerned to the Arab League, a claim that does not seem to fit 
in with events in Tripoli yesterday when a delagation from the Arab 
League visited the Libyan leader and came away without the men.
The boxer. Mike Tyson, has been sentenced to 6 years in jail following
 his conviction of rape in Indianapolis. He is to appeal but has been 
refused bail.

{News courtesy of the BBC}


Local Weather

-------------
Cold, cloudy and showery. High 9C/48F. The Cockbridge-Tomintoul road in
 the highlands of Scotland is closed this morning due to drifting snow.
This is usually a sign of the onset of winter...



VNS COMPUTER NEWS: [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
================== [Nashua, NH, USA ]
Wednesday's Market Digital Fair Market Value
 
Quote Change 3-Jun-1991 $68.125

IBM Unavailable 29-Nov-1991 $63.125
85% of lower $53.75
Thursday's Market Dow Jones Change 2-Dec-1991 $60.687
DEC 56 3/4 - 5/8 3267.67 + 8.28
Sorry - Regular work's currently taking priority over Computer News; look
for some news Monday. - TT



VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH: [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
===================== [Littleton, MA, USA ]
FAX that Binary File
Binary files sent by FAX to remote users? It may happen soon, according 
to Sterling Wharton, president and CEO of SoftNet Inc., which sells
personal computer fax software. Wharton says inexpensive modems with
fax capability offer an alternative to typical wide area file transfer 
methods. Today, users are faxing text and even image files from their
computers to fax machines. But SoftNet believes that the same easy to
use interfaces can be adapted to occasional file transfer, with modem
 equipped computers the target instead of fax machines. Rather than 
fiddle with communications software parameters, end users could 
designate binary files for "faxing". In reality, the software would
automatically negotiate parameters with the receiving modem and conduct 
a file transfer without extensive involvement of end users.
{Datamation Feb 15, 1992}



VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH: [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
===================== [Littleton, MA, USA ]
Digital announces DEC ACCESSWORKS Servers 
for open multivendor database integration 
{VTX LIVE WIRE, 3/25/92 contributed by Ashu Bhatnagar}
Digital has announced DEC ACCESSWORKS, its new family of Server products 
that provide client platforms with manageable access to multivendor data. 
The servers provide client/server integrated solutions and are based on the 
Network Application Support (NAS) integrated runtime products. Backed by 
Digital's worldwide service and support, ACCESSWORKS Servers offer customers
a complete, enterprise-wide solution for accessing and integrating data.
The ACCESSWORKS family of servers is preconfigured, tested and characterized. 
They include all the software and hardware needed to access remote databases 
such as IBM's DB2, VSAM, Oracle, Rdb, and RMS and other databases running on 
IBM mainframes, VAX or UNIX platforms. Access can be from custom programs or 
packaged applications running on a wide range of PCs and workstations. 
SQL/Services provides a common API (Application Programming Interface) from 
all desktop applications to the ACCESSWORKS Server, maximizing PC application 
portability. SQL/Services is one of the many services packaged with 
ACCESSWORKS Servers.
ACCESSWORKS Servers also feature PATHWORKS, a NAS product, to maximize and 
integrate PCs into an enterprise-wide network, allowing them to share 
information and system resources such as backup and large database support.
---
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

Macintosh and Appletalk are trademarks of Apple Computer Corporation.

ORACLE is a trademark of Oracle Corporation.


VNS VOGONBALLS: [Dick Binder, VNS Humour Editor]
=============== [Nashua, NH, USA ]
"High today will be 30. The current temperature is 32 degrees."
- Unidentified radio reporter
- Pat McMahon (Shrewsbury, MA, USA)
"He was very easy to work with and he did not nickel and dime us one
penny."
- Testimonial for unidentified businessman
- from Stan Shursky (Littleton, MA, USA)
"You can talk yourself blue in the face about protecting the apes,"
Nick says, "but people will listen to photographs."
- National Geographic, March 1992
- from Jim Snider (Portland, OR, USA)
"Fire in the BXB1 main lab on Monday (rescheduled from Friday, 13 March)"
-_Boxborough System News
- from Satish Rege (Boxboro, MA, USA)
"Paying college expenses is harder for families with moderate or
low incomes."
- Monitor Radio report
- from Bruce Collier (Maynard, MA, USA)
"Particularly in an election period, we can't comment on anything
political."
- Welsh Office spokeswoman, Electronics Weekly
- from Iain Gilespie (Ayr, Scotland)
Sen. Rudman: "You were lied to by your own people?"
Gates: "If that statement is correct, that is true."
Sen. Rudman: "This is a very important statement for this hearing."
- Wm Gates Confirmatin hearing transcript
- from Jim Cost (Acton, MA, USA)
*** And here are the biweekly Colemanballs from Private Eye, thanks ***
*** to Nick Hill, Paris, France - two sets of them, actually! ***
"Welsh winger has the ball but Brendan Mullin is breathing down his 
throat."
- Hector MacNeill, BBC TV
"As the ball came over, Speed threw his head at it."
- Unidentified Commentator, BBC Radio 2
Shane Ritchie: "Where did you shoot your video?"
Contestant: "Ibiza."
Shane Ritchie: "Have you been to Ibiza?"
- BBC 1
"The Labour party want to destroy the bottom rung of the escalator."
- Michael Howard, Channel 4
"Who he [Saddam Hussein] kills dies."
- Jeffrey Archer, BBC Radio 2
"They are still faster - although their times are the same."
- *** David Coleman, BBC 2 ***
"This is the window of opportunity for us to step into..."
- Tom King, MP, BBC Radio 4
"There's no job in football I've ever wanted. This is the only job in 
football I've ever wanted."
- Kevin Keegan, BBC 1
"If you can sort that out, you're a better man than me."
- Angela Rippon, LBC
"I've got nothing to prove: I've got to prove to Southampton I can
still score goals."
- Alan Shearer, BBC TV South
*** Send VOGONballs to VORTEX::CALIPH::BINDER, not to VNS ***

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS
Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.
<><><><><><><><> VNS Edition : 2544 Friday 27-Mar-1992 <><><><><><><><>

A typical issue with a full set of five sections.

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2602               Monday 22-Jun-1992            Circulation :  8088 

        VNS MAIN NEWS .....................................   48 Lines
        VNS COMPUTER NEWS .................................  119   "
        VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH ..............................  106   "
        VNS VOGONBALLS ....................................   71   "
        VNS UK SPORTS REPORT ..............................   69   "

        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

VNS MAIN NEWS:                                     [Tom Povey, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                     [Reading, England           ]

     Here is the News at 07:00 BST on Monday 22-June-1992
     ----------------------------------------------------

     UK News
     -------
     FT-SE = 2584.8
     Exchange Rate 1 UK pound = $ 1.8560 = Dm 2.9235
      = Yn 235.97 = SFr 2.6293 = FFr 9.8414

     A new survey suggest that directors of large UK companies gave themselves
     pay rises well above the rate of inflation. Those running smaller
     companies have been showing more restraint.

     Only 1 in 10 of last summers schools leavers (aged 16) have found jobs
     according to a major survey carried out. This is half the number of two
     years ago. 6 in 10 stayed in further education, an increase.

     Two of the BBC officials who organised the general election coverage have
     said that the representation of the people act which controls the
     election coverage was mis-used during the recent election campaign. The
     act seeks to ensure fair coverage on local issues by a rule that says all
     candidates must either agree to appear or waive their right to appear in
     a discussion on local issues before it can go ahead. Some candidates
     refused to appear, thus preventing their opponents from putting their
     views forward.

     European News
     -------------

     The Bosnian capital Sarajevo saw another attack last night from Serbian
     forces that surround it.

     International News
     ------------------

     The South African government has appealed for the ANC not to pull out of
     discussions on the reform process. This follows a significant increase in
     township violance.

     There are reports from Russia that 2000 allied prisoners were held in a
     camp in the soviet union after the 2nd world war.

     {News courtesy of the BBC}

     Local Weather
     -------------

     Mainly dry but cloudier than yesterday. High 21C/70F.

VNS COMPUTER NEWS:                            [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
==================                            [Nashua, NH, USA                 ]

    Friday's Market                               Digital Fair Market Value
      Quote     Change                              2-Dec-1991   $60.6875
 IBM	95	+  1/2				   29-May-1992   $42.4375
                                                   85% of lower  $36.250
    Friday's Market	   Dow Jones    Change      1-Jun-1992   $40.750
 DEC	36 1/8	unch.	   3285.35	+11.23

 Digital - Company veteran picked for chief financial officer post
	{The Boston Globe, 20-Jun-92, p. 11}
   William M. Steul, a 20-year Digital veteran, will be a vice president and
 serve on Digital's executive committee. He will report to Ken Olsen. "It is a
 bit of a surprise that they didn't name an outsider, but if Steul does his job
 well, then Olsen will have proved that he didn't need to go outside the
 company," said Charles Casale, president of Aberdeen Group, a Boston market
 research and consulting firm. "But if he doesn't do well and the deigned pack
 on Wall Street calls for his head, Digital will get an outsider. After all, no
 job at Digital is assured any more," he said. The choice of Steul, say
 analysts, comes as the company is expected to cut costs further, starting next
 month, when Digital's new fiscal year begins. Earlier this month, the company
 announced that 3,700 employees, including some senior managers, left the
 company as part of an early retirement program. "Hiring a guy to cut costs
 just isn't going to solve Digital's problems," said John McCarthy, the
 research chief at Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge. "The loss of key
 people at Digital has some at Digital unsure who they report to. You've also
 got this reorganization-of-the-month scenario, so there is still a lot of
 confusion out there.

 Digital - NAS Advertisement
	{Forbes, 11-May-92, pp. 2-3}
   "		Digital opens new fields for John Deere

		Engine works expands in overseas markets
   "For over 150 years, the John Deere name has stood for the world's highest
 quality farm equipment. When Engine Works looked for new growth areas to
 offset the U.S. farm recession of the 80's, we focused on component sales and
 new markets, both domestic and overseas. For example, we recently started
 producing a marinized diesel engine for use in workboats and fishing vessels.
 Digital has played a major role, helping us maintain our quality level while
 expanding our markets.
   "Digital's expandable line of VAX computers were a natural choice for
 growth. And, with their networking expertise and their Network Application
 Support (NAS) open software, we had the key elements for gathering and
 sharing information from the shop floor to engine testing facilities to all
 parts of the corporate network. All of which makes it easier and quicker for
 our people to make critical business decisions that ensure product quality.
 Likewise, the ability to automate factory-floor functions gives us greater
 control over product tracking and inventory control.
   "And with Digital's COHESION software development environment, we can create
 customized applications faster and at a lower cost than ever before.
   "Combine all that with Digital's flexible support and service programs for
 whatever vendor's equipment we have, and it's easy to see how Digital helps us
 make good on the promise hat 'Nothing runs like a Deere.'"
   - Carlo E. Pensyl, Manager Computer Systems
     John Deere Engine Works
     Deere Power Systems Group
   For more information on how Digital's total solutions approach to
 manufacturing and our NAS open computing products can benefit your business,
 call 1-800-DEC-INFO, ext. 92. Or contact your local Digital sales office.

						d i g i t a l

	DIGITAL.  THE OPEN ADVANTAGE"

 Cabletron - 1st quarter profit estimates
	{The Boston Globe, 20-Jun-92, p. 11}
   Cabletron system will report sharply higher net on a 45% jump in sales for
 the quarter ended May 30, according to Craig Benson, chairman and chief
 operating officer. Benson pegged first quarter net at about $17.5 million on
 sales of about $88 million. In the year-ago quarter, Cabletron reported profit
 of $12.2 million on sales of $60.6 million.

 Intermetrics - Expects to report 1st quarter profits down 15% on flat sales
	{The Wall Street Journal, 19-Jun-92, p. 74}
   Intermetrics, boosting investments in commercial and civilian government
 markets, expects to report lower profits for the 1st quarter ended May 31,
 according to president and CEO Joseph A. Saponaro. In the year ago 1st
 quarter, the software maker reported a new profit of $566,000 on revenue of
 $14.9 million. Saponaro said results for the year should be roughly in line
 with the 1st quarter, with profit down 10% to 15% on revenue of about $60
 million. Intermetrics specializes in software tools and software services for
 the Air Force, Army, Navy, Department of Transportation, the National
 Aeronautics and Space Administration and other government agencies.

 Fiscal News - Adobe Systems
 Adobe Systems - 2nd quarter earnings $15.2 million vs. year-ago $13.2 million
	{The Wall Street Journal, 18-Jun-92, p. C6}

 Digital - Bill Steul elected chief financial officer for Digital
	{Livewire, Worldwide News, 19-Jun-92}
   Digital today announced the election of Bill Steul as vice president and 
 chief financial officer. In this position, he will be a member of the
 Executive Committee reporting to Ken Olsen.
   In his twenty years with Digital, Bill has held a number of Finance and 
 Operations management positions. Most recently he was vice president, Services
 Cluster Applications and Industry Business Units with responsibility for
 Banking, Health Care, Insurance, Media, Retail/Wholesale, Travel and
 Transportation, Utilities, and Professional Services. Previously, he was vice
 president Corporate Systems Group; group manager, Engineering Systems; finance
 manager for the Technical Group; finance manager for the Components Group and
 finance manager for Europe.
   Commenting on the appointment, Ken Olsen said, "As Digital continues its 
 efforts to restore profitability, we need a chief financial officer with 
 knowledge of our operations and our strategy in addition to a strong financial
 background. Bill offers a unique blend of operating and financial experience.
 His career includes international finance, as well as market development and
 product line experience. He understands where Digital is going in our industry
 and knows how to get things done inside the company. He will be a strong link
 between the operating and financial disciplines and will be able to quickly
 implement our business strategies."
   "I'm pleased and excited about this new opportunity," Bill said. "I intend
 to take an aggressive role in the CFO function as a partner to Ken Olsen, the
 operating committees and the business units as they work on the strategy of
 the company for the 1990s and beyond to help the company to return to
 profitability."
   Bill holds both a BSBA and an MBA from the State University of New York. He
 has also completed the MIT Sloan School Senior Executive Program. Prior to
 joining Digital, Bill was with the Carborundum Company for eight years where
 he held positions in finance, manufacturing management and information
 systems.

VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH:                           [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
=====================                           [Littleton, MA, USA            ]

{RISKS-FORUM Digest  Thursday 18 June 1992  V13:59}
     
From: nkraft@bkhouse.cts.com (Norman Kraft)
Newsgroups: alt.privacy
Subject: Privacy alert:San Diego voters on CD
Date: 8 Jun 92 18:31:33 GMT
Organization: Argus Computing, San Diego, CA
 
An article that made the front page of the San Diego Union on Sunday,
June 7, 1992 bore the title: "Technology pits privacy vs. Information
Age". The article starts with these paragraphs:
 
++++++
 
   The morning after Bill Turner voted in last week's election, he picked up a
copy of a local computer magazine and his jaw dropped.  "This ad just jumped
out and hit me in the face," said the 35-year old La Mesa computer programmer.
"It was a severe shock."  There, for sale, were Turner's name, address,
unlisted telephone number, occupation, birthplace, birthdate and political
affiliation.
 
   A list of San Diego County's 1.25 million registered voters containing the
information is available for $99 in a relatively new format [CD-ROM] that
virtually anyone with a personal computer can use. It is the first known such
use of voter registration data in the nation.
 
++++++
 
The CD-ROM is marketed by a San Diego company call Sole Source Systems, a local
computer store.
 
Lists of voter information have always been available, and political campaigns
have had access to the information on data tapes for years.  This is, however,
the first time that such information has been made available to the public at
large, in an easily accessible format (dBase, from what I can gather).
 
Sole Source says that use of the CD is limited to "election purposes,
...election, scholarly or political research, or government purposes."  Sole
Source says that they require ID and the completion of a form before selling
the CD.  Turner responds to this with "What is there to prevent me from going
up there and telling him I'm with the Little Old Ladies Auxilliary 97, and I
want this list to call people up and help arrange transportation to the polls
on Election Day?  It would be a bald-faced lie, but I would get it [the CD]."
 
He may be right, as Conny McCormack, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters
says that the registrar's office does not check to make sure the list is being
used within the law, primarily because "we have no authority in that area."
 
David Banisar, a policy analyst with Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibilities in Washington, DC, said in all likelihood the CD would end up
in the hands of direct marketers. "This is really an unanticipated use of the
data," he said, "You register to vote because you want to feel patriotic and do
your citizen's duty and try to get some good government.  You don't register to
vote so that you can be solicited by every bozo out there with a widget that he
feels he should hock to you."
 
The article goes on to discuss the problems of privacy in the computer age, and
mentions two other CD-ROM databases that are publicly available: PhoneDisc USA,
from a corporation of the same name in Marblehead, Mass., lists 90 million
names, addresses and phone numbers nation wide.  MetroScan CD, from
Transamerica Information Management in Sacramento, is a database containing
housing ownership information, from deed filings, and for a given address
provides the owner's name, address, when the building was purchased, how many
bedrooms and bathrooms it has, how many square feet it has, and it's property
tax assessment.
 
In the article, Ken Smith, from Transamerica Information Magagement,
is quoted as saying: 
 
   "I'm very much in favor of making the information, if it's in the
    public domain, available to a very wide audience, rather than just
    major corporations and government agencies. It's a very, very 
    powerful tool for the little guy."
 
and further:
 
   "I don't think the privace issue has been a concern yet. I can
    see where it might be in the future, but it's not a problem now."
 
Finally the article goes back to Dante Tuccero, from PhoneDisc USA Corp.,
listing such PhoneDisc customers as "the U.S.  Drug Enforcement
Administration, the Navy, the Air Force, the Social Security
Administration, as well as local libraries and law enforcement, public
investigators, geneologists, and even high school and college reunions."
Quoting Tuccero, "There's a company in Langley, Va,. that uses it, I
believe, but wouldn't say so."
 
The last paragraphs of the article point out that "the direct-mail company
that provides PhoneDisc with most of it's data prefers to remain off other
people's lists."
 
"We're not at liberty to share that," Tuccero said, "A lot of data
providers like to be low key."
 
The saddest part of the whole article, in my opinion, is this statement
from Turner: "I have voted in every election since I was 18, and I think
(this) was the last election I'll ever vote in."
 
[For those concerned about the PhoneDisc listings, they will remove your
name from the next release of their CD if you call.  They claim that only
two people have called so far.  I imagine we can change that!  Their
number in Marblehead, Mass. as given by directory assistance, is
617-639-2900.]
 
Norman R. Kraft, Senior Partner, Argus Computing, San Diego, CA 
UUCP : ucsd!crash!bkhouse!nkraft        INET  : nkraft@bkhouse.cts.com

VNS VOGONBALLS:                                 [Dick Binder, VNS Humour Editor]
===============                                 [Nashua, NH, USA               ]

    *** Within the past four weeks 7 people have submitted this item:	 ***
    ***									 ***
    *** "If you are sitting in an exit row and can not read this card... ***
    *** please tell a crew member."					 ***
    ***									 ***
    *** How quickly they forget...  This gem was published in VOGONballs ***
    ***	on 30th August, 1991.						 ***

    "It's all perfectly innocent," Barry Cole '93 said. "In fact I
    tucked in a girl, her boyfriend, and her roommate all together on
    Monday night."

				- Dartmouth College campus newspaper
				- from Andy J. Williams (Hanover, NH, USA)

    "There is nothing better than the traditional glow of a radiator."

				- Australian electric utility advertisement
				- from Mark Kingaby (Sydney, Australia)

    "Government alone cannot do what needs to be done by itself..."

				- U.S. President George Bush
				- from nina Eppes (Nashua, NH, USA)

    "This smaller design is capable of flying faster than the speed of
    sound at speeds exceeding Mach 1."

				- Announcer on PBS show
				- from Brian Wibecan (Nashua, NH, USA)

    *** And of course a crop of Private Eye Colemanballs, from Nick Hill ***
    *** (Paris, France)							 ***

    "We're not the sort of party that does deals behind smoke-filled 
    doors."

				- BRian Gould, ITN

    "The Conservatives fear they may be side-tracked by a storm in an 
    egg-cup."

				- John Cole, BBC1

    Questioner: "Which of these words do you think best sums up your 
    character?"
    Paddy Ashdown: "Er... perhaps 'decisive'?"

					- Channel 4

    "...and now the declaration from Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Britain's most 
    northerly constituency."

				- David Dimbleby, BBC1

    "We said zero, and I think any statistician will tell you that, when 
    you're dealing with very big numbers, zero must mean plus or minus a 
    few."

				- William Waldegrave

    "Let me explain, Nick - it is the key which turns the door in the 
    lock."

				- Paddy Ashdown, Radio 4

    "I was polled on the amount of radio I watched..."

				- Emma Freud, GLR

         *** Send VOGONballs to VORTEX::CALIPH::BINDER, not to VNS ***

VNS UK SPORTS REPORT:                             [Ken Merrick, VNS Sports Desk]
=====================                             [Valbonne, France            ]

::: ATHLETICS
    Carl Lewis failed to qualify for this years Olympics 100m event after
    finishing 6th at the USA olympic trials.

::: BOXING
    Evander Holyfield successfully defended his undisputed world heavyweight
    title with a points win over Larry Holmes.

    The British Boxing Board of Control have refused a licence for actor-turned
     boxer Micky Rourke to meet Karel Bernise in London. 

::: CRICKET
    2nd test, Lord's
    Pakistan beat England on the fourth day of the 2nd test. Wasim Akram was
    man of the match. (I'll try and give full details tomorrow - km).

::: CYCLING
    Olaf Ludwig won the 5th stage of the Tour of Switzerland in a sprint finish
    ahead of Michael Zanoli and Jean-Paul Van Poppel.

    Tony Rominger will not compete in this years Tour of France.

::: FOOTBALL
    European Championships
    Semi-Final : Sweden ......... 2   Germany ....... 3
                  Brolin 65' (pen)     Haessler 12'
                  Andersson 90'        Riedle 59' 89'

::: GOLF
    Tom Kite won the US Open.

::: MOTOR SPORT
    Le Mans 24-Hour 
    Fourteen of the twenty-eight starters were classified at the end of the
    60th Le Mans 24-hour race. Victory went to the favourites, Peugeot, with
    the winning team of Yannick Dalmas, Derick Warwick and Mark Blundell 
    finishing 6 laps ahead the Toyota of Sekiya, Raphanel and Acheson. 

    Full result
    1. Warwick, Dalmas, Blundell (Peugeot 905) completed 352 laps
    2. Sekiya, Raphanel, Acheson (Toyota TS 010)        -  6
    3. Baldi, Alliot, Jabouille (Peugeot 905)           -  7
    4. Herbert, Weidler, Gachot (Mazda)                 - 16
    5. Johannson, Andskar, Fouche (Toyota)              - 16
    6. Wollek, Pescaraolo, Ricci (Cougar Porsche)       - 17

    Championship table:
    Driver - 1. Dalmas      55pts    Teams - 1. Peugeot            55pts
                Warwick                      2. Toyota Team Tom's  35
             3. Ogawa       20               3. Mazdaspeed         23
                Lees                         4. Euro Racing        18
             5. Sandro Sala 15               5. Chamberlin         15
                Herbert
                Acheson
                Raphanel
                                                                     

     F3000
     Andrea Montermini (Baron Rampante Reynard-Judd) won the latest round of
     the world F3000 championships, the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
     Montermini finished 12" ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello with
     Jordi Gene (Pacific Racing Reyard-Mugen) 21" behind in third.
::: RUGBY UNION
    2nd Test: Australia .............. 37   Scotland ............ 13
               5 tries: Horan (2)            2 tries: Lineen
                        Carozza (2)                   Sole
                        Eales                1 conversion and
               1 conversion and              1 penalty : Chalmers
               5 penalties : Lynagh               


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
        Please send subscription and backissue requests to CASEE::VNS

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2602      Monday 22-Jun-1992   <><><><><><><><>

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}


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
        Please send subscription and backissue requests to EXPAT::VNS

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2752      Monday 25-Jan-1993   <><><><><><><><>

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 2980               Friday 17-Dec-1993            Circulation :  6455

        VNS Announcement ..................................   18 Lines
        VNS MAIN NEWS .....................................   56   "
        VNS COMPUTER NEWS .................................  249   "
        VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH ..............................   20   "

  For information on how to subscribe to VNS, ordering backissues, contacting
  VNS staff members, etc, send a mail to EXPAT::EXPAT with a subject of HELP.

VNS Announcement:                                   [Colin Blake, VNS Publisher]
=================                                   [Nashua, NH, USA           ]

I'm sad to say that today is Tom Povey's last day at the VNS UK News
Desk. Tom has been providing us all with the MAIN NEWS section of VNS
since September 1990. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Tom for
the 3+ years of excellent service he's given us. He's done a truly
outstanding job.

Here's an extract from Tom's first VNS (edition 2153, 17th September 1990).
I like this one:

    Officials in Cirencester accepted a cheque for the "Poll Tax" written
    on a banana. They waited for the cheque to clear and then ate the
    banana.
    
Thanks Tom, we'll miss you.

Starting Monday you'll "see" Andy Payne back at the UK News Desk. Andy was
the UK News correspondent for a year before Tom Povey took over, so he's
no stranger to VNS. Welcome back, Andy!

VNS MAIN NEWS:                                     [Tom Povey, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                     [Reading, England           ]

    Here is the News at 07:00 GMT on Friday 17-Dec-1993
    ---------------------------------------------------
    
    UK News
    -------
    FT-SE = 3311.2
    Exchange Rate for UK pound = US$ 1.4880 = Dm 2.5408 = FFr 8.6844
    
    The Lord Chief Justice is expected to give new guidelines today on the
    sentencing of those convicted of causing deaths while driving under the
    influence of drink. This follows criticism after some lenient sentances
    were imposed.
    
    The Head Teachers Association have expressed concern at the number of
    accusations of child abuse levelled at their members and which prove
    false. They are concerned that teachers may be suspended while their
    case is heard and be left with slur on their character even if the case
    is not proven.
    
    The Government is considering an application to admit a group of sick
    children from Bosnia to Britain for treatment. Their doctor has
    experssed concern that Britain is being slow in making a decision.
    Coommuters face further delays getting into work from west sussex this
    morning following the discovery of two more bombs on railway lines. The
    bombs were made safe yesterday morning.
    
    The maximum winnings from Premium Bonds is to be increased to UKL 1M
    from April next year.
    
    European News
    -------------
    
    The Irish Prime Minister is to brief the Irish parliament today on the
    declaration made on Wednesday concerning the basis for solving the
    issues around Northern Ireland. One possible issue may arise over the
    idea of setting up an interim forum for discussion of the political
    future. The opposition party in Ireland have not been consulted on this
    and may raise objections.
    
    World News
    ----------
    
    The King of the Zulus has asked his people to be prepared to lay down
    their lives in support of creating a Zulu homeland. This comes as the
    mainly Zulu Inkatha party appear to be being left out of the political
    negotiations into the future of South Africa.
    
    {News courtesy of the BBC}
    
    Local Weather
    -------------
    
    A wet start, clearing later from the south west. High 10C/50F.

VNS COMPUTER NEWS:                            [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
==================                            [Littleton, NH, USA              ]

    Thursday's Market                             Digital Fair Market Value
      Quote     Change     Dow Jones    Change     28-May-1993   $44.50
 IBM    Unavailable                                30-Nov-1993   $36.812
 HPkd                                              85% of lower  $31.50
 Msft                                               1-Dec-1993   $35.875
 DEC    35 3/8  -  1/8     3726.14      + 9.22

 Note - Still working the kinks out of the automated program to get the daily
        closing stock quotes. The quotes in yesterday's VNS were from a bit
        before the market closed and I didn't get good numbers for anything but
        Digital and the Dow Jones for Thursday's market. - TT
 
 CompUSA - Chairman Nathan Morton quits. Stock drops 9% on news.
        {The Boston Globe, 15-Dec-93, p. 58}
   Nathan Morton, who directed CompUSA's growth into the nation's largest chain
 of computer superstores, quit as chairman and CEO. The news surprised
 investors and CompUSA shares tumbled 9%, closing down 2 1/8 at 20 3/8 on the
 New York Stock Exchange. The company did not explain Morton's departure and
 he did not return phone calls seeking comment. CompUSA's board named
 president James Halpin as CEO and outside director Giles Bateman as chairman.
 The Dallas-based company got its start in 1984 as a small software retailing
 outfit. It began forging itself into a chain in 1988 with the opening of a
 superstore in Atlanta. It now has 66 stores. Morton joined CompUSA in May
 1989, was named presidéht and CEO in January 1990 and became chairman in May.

 IBM - Seen topping Apple as PC seller
        {The Boston Globe, 13-Dec-93, p. 49}
   With three weeks remaining in 1993, IBM is set to reclaim the title of top
 seller of PCs in the US, according to a report to be released today.
 Preliminary year-end figures from research firm International Data Corp. also
 show a dramatic surge in sales this year by the biggest PC makers. The 10
 largest companies will account for 9.5 million of the 14.8 million PCs sold in
 the US this year - or about 64% of the market compared to 52% a year ago.
 "That is a big, big change," said Richard Zwetchkenbaum, chief of PC market
 research at IDC. "A brand name has become important for a number of reasons.
 Those vendors have more marketing muscle, more R&D capability, the ability to
 have multiple brands and an array of distribution channels."
 
 Software - Anticipates a criminal's next move
        {The Nashua Telegraph, 15-Dec-93, p. 6}
   Burglaries in South Tyneside, New Britain, have been slashed 22.5% in the
 first year Northumbria police have used the Crime Pattern Analysis System
 (CPAS). The program, developed by Newcastle University, predicts where crimes
 can be expected in the next 24 hours by analyzing data on offenses in the
 previous 28 days. Its screen displays 'Äúcrime hotspots" as bright green
 clouds on a map

 Supercomputers - Start-ups sputter toward the abyss
        {The Wall Street Journal, 1-Dec-93, p. Bl}
   Cray Computer's cash-on-hand could run out by next May. Closely held
 Thinking Machines pulled the plug on an initial public offering. And Kendall
 Square Research, once a highflier, is trying to explain why it reported sales
 for which it never received money. Just when some of the entrepreneurial
 supercomputer companies were supposed to start thriving, troubles are
 multiplying in this specialized, but technologically crucial, corner of the
 computer industry. "This market will implode," says Debra Goldfarb, who
 follows the industry for market researcher International Data Corp.,
 Framingham, Mass., "Several vendors could be out of the market almost
 immediately" without government aid, she adds. John Carlson, chairman of Cray
 Research Inc., says: "We're in the shakeout period. In the next couple of
 years, you'll see a lot fewer" companies. While applications for
 supercomputers are blossoming, many makers will end up bankrupt, acquired or
 closed. Supercomputers have never had more uses. They are finding oil under
 previously opaque salt domes in the Gulf of Mexico. They are mapping genomes.
 They are poring through news clippings for the National Security Agency. But
 a series of calamities have hammered the industry. The Cold War has ended,
 hurting defense and intelligence agencies' spending on supercomputers. The
 new administration is boosting spending on computer communications for the
 masses at the expense of high-performance computing for the elite.  And the
 plethora of companies has created customer confusion and vicious price
 competition. Almost all are losing money. On top of that 'Äî two big companies
 with vast resources - Cray Research and IBM - have decided to compete
 aggressively in the $2-billion-a-year market. The entrepreneurs and venture
 capitalists who started some innovative supercomputers makers counted on the
 market exploding before the giants entered. Several startups blossomed as
 scientists experimented with the systems and the Defense Department subsidized
 the firms' growth. But now federal spending earmarked to buy supercomputers
 is shrinking. Cray Research said its annual U.S. government sales dropped by
 about $100 million in the past four years, a big hit for a company with
 $797.6 million in revenue last year. Cray unveiled its first
 massively-parallel processing (MPP) computer, the T3D, in September. The
 pricey machine works only with a traditional Cray. Already, Cray has nine
 sales or orders. More surprising to the industry, IBM started shipping its
 first parallel supercomputer in September. Jack Dongarra, an Oak Ridge
 National Laboratory researcher who tests computer speeds, says IBM's
 PowerParallel system with 64 processors "matches performance levels of vendors
 that have been around for years." IBM said it has shipped 35 of its
 PowerParallel systems since September and expects 30 more orders by the end of
 the year - big numbers in an industry with under 500 units shipped in all of
 last year. Most are 16-processor systems that cost about $500,000, but it has
 a few orders for a 128-processor system, costing more than $3 million each.
 IBM can compete effectively for almost every supercomputer job. For example,
 Richard Fishman, president of the MPP pioneer, Thinking Machines of
 Cambridge, Mass., complains that IBM won a big contract for a new Defense
 Department computer on Maui, Hawaii. He says "it was wired" by IBM's
 Washington lobbyists and IBM "virtually bought the business" by slashing
 prices. A spate of well-publicized problems is worrying customers about
 many of the small vendors as well. Thinking Machines is losing money for the
 third straight year and hopes sales will equal last year's $90 million. It
 replaced its chief executive after investment bankers said the company wasn't
 in shape to make an initial public offering. Thinking Machines says it has
 raised enough money from its private investors to keep going, and expects
 profits and a public offering next year. Last month, privately help MasPar
 Computer Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., fired 25% of its work force and brought in
 a new president to find a profitable niche strategy. Cray Computer of
 Colorado Springs, Colo., the company Seymour Cray spun out of Cray Research to
 build a new supercomputer, has yet to sell one. Since Kendall Square
 Research, Waltham, Mass., recently disclosed that it plans to restate
 previously reported results, shareholders are suing, the Securities and
 Exchange Commission is investigating and its stock has plunged. Convex
 Computer Corp., Richardson, Texas, reported a loss last quarter and expects
 continued losses until it starts making money on its first massively parallel
 computers, which will be shipped in volume starting next year.  Companies
 fighting for survival are slashing prices for any sale, providing profitless
 prosperity for the winners. And the market for the most powerful machines has
 dried up. William Lane, the newly named director of the National Science
 Foundation, says, "There is a trend away from big projects totally supported
 by tax money." Making smaller supercomputers isn't foolproof, either.
 Researchers keep figuring out ways to link up workstations in clusters to do
 supercomputer-type work. One potentially huge opportunity looms on the
 horizon - video servers that will store all the movies and television shows
 that will be sent to customers of phone and cable-TV companies who want video
 on demand. MPP supercomputers are uniquely suited to that task. The video
 server "could be our ship coming in," says Ronald Buck, VP of marketing at
 NCube, a Foster City, Calif., maker of MPP machines. "We're in the right spot
 at the right time."

 Mail-order PCs - Once very hot, are cooling off
        {The Wall Street Journal, 1-Dec-93, p. Bl}
   The mail-order computer business - once the hot growth are for computing' s
 up-and-comers - is starting to slow down. Stung by the success of computer
 superstores and a rush of first-time buyers who want to see what they buy,
 mail order's share of the total PC market is expected to inch up only slightly
 next year, setting the stage for a decline that could last through the end of
 the decade. "It's very clear," says computer retail consultant Andy Bose,
 "that the glory days of the mail-order business are over."

 Fiscal News - Dell Computer, Cabletron
 Dell Computer - Posts profit in fiscal third quarter
        {The Wall Street Journal, 1-Dec-93, p. B8}
   Dell showing signs of a turnaround, returned to profitability in the fiscal
 3rd quarter, although earnings were still 58% lower than a year earlier. Dell
 stock rose 12% on the news, up $3 at $27.125 in Nasdaq trading. Dell reported
 net income of $12 million for the quarter ended Oct. 31. Sales rose 33% to
 $757.3 million, thanks to a surge in Government orders in September. 
 Although earnings still were far below the year-earlier $28.6 million, they
 exceeded Wall Street's expectations that Dell would only break even in the 3rd
 quarter. And they appeared to calm investors rattled by a dismal 2nd quarter
 that resulted in Dell's first quarterly loss ever. Dell officials were
 cautious in their forecasts, saying Dell doesn't expect year-to-year profit
 gains in the 4th quarter, and that it won't hit its goal of $3 billion in
 sales for the full fiscal year. "We still have a lot of things that aren't
 fixed," said Chairman Michael Dell. "I think we still have a lot to @o.*

 Cabletron - 3rd quarter net income up 41%
        {The Boston Globe, 15-Dec-93, p. 66}
   Cabletron posted its 19th consecutive record quarterly results, with net
 income up 41% amid continued buoyant demand for its products. Net in the 3rd
 quarter ended Nov. 20 rose to $31.2 million from $22.1 million in the
 year-ago quarter. The 'ß1.10-per-share figure exceeded the mean estimate of
 $1.05 from 14 analysts recently surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.
 Cabletron's shares recently traded down 1 at 112 1/2 on volume of 87,400,
 compared with three-month average daily volume of 204,100. Third quarter
 sales rose 42% to $156.5 million from $110.4 million. The fast-growing
 company makes devices for computer networks. Ed Cortes, manager of investor
 relations, said the company will begin shipping within 90 days a product that
 will permit more users to be added to networks without a commensurate increase
 in the time required to get information. "This will have an impact on our
 future quarters," he said. In fiscal 1993, the company earned $82.5 million
 on sales of $418.2 million. For the nine months, Cabletron posted net income
 of $85.7 million, up 45% from $59 million in the year-ago period. Sales rose
 46% to $429.9 million from $295.2 million.
 
 Digital - Carl Gustin joins PC Business Unit
        {Livewire, Worldwide News, 15-Dec-93}
   Carl E. Gustin, Jr. has joined Digital as vice president, product and
 market strategy of the Personal Computer Business Unit, effective Jan. 3.
   Carl will be responsible for the development of the framework for the
 continued expansion of Digital's Personal Computer business, its penetration
 of the PC marketplace, and its consistent communications image, on a
 worldwide basis. Reporting to Enrico Pesatori, vice president and general
 manager, Personal Computer Business Unit, Carl will develop the longer-term
 strategic direction, based on customer needs, market issues, technology
 trends, and the integration of its PCs with Digital's other products and
 services.
   "Digital's goal is to be a top PC vendor by 1995, and we have put in place a
 world-class organization to meet that short-term goal. Carl's experience in
 the PC industry, his insights, and his broad understanding of PC customer
 needs will help our focus on the future as well," Enrico said.
   "Joining Digital's PC Business Unit offers me broad opportunities and
 challenges that, frankly, are too good to pass up," Carl said.  "Digital not
 only designs and builds great computing and communications products, but also
 is in the mainstream of solving real customer problems. With its renewed
 commitment to marketing and customer needs, and its exceptional engineering,
 Digital has all the tools to be a leader as the industry moves to integration
 of new media and communications technologies, and the client/server computing
 model."
   Carl spent the last five and one-half years in field sales/marketing and
 senior management positions at Apple Computer, Inc. He was executive aide to
 John Sculley while he was chairman and CEO. Most recently, Carl was vice
 president, worldwide communications and marketing support. Prior to joining
 Apple, he spent 14 years in general management at leading marketing and
 advertising companies.
 
 Digital - U.S. Payroll update: Important 1993 W-2 information
        {Livewire, U.S. News, 15-Dec-93}
        (The following message is from U.S. Payroll.)
   Employees' 1993 Form W-2 wage and tax statements will be mailed to their
 home addresses during the first week of January 1994.
   For reference, the home mailing address of record is printed each week on
 your pay statement. If this home mailing address is not correct, contact the
 People Support Network (PSN) at DIN 592-7500 or 1-800-544-9944 to speak with a
 Human Resource Assistant to have it updated as soon as possible. This will
 ensure that your 1993 W-2 is received on time.
 
   To request a reissue of a 1993 W-2
   You should receive your 1993 W-2 by Jan. 31, 1994. If you do not receive
 it, you may request a reissue via PAYEEphone,. U.S. Payroll's telephone
 information system. PAYEEphone is being expanded to. include W-2 assistance.
 To reach W-2 assistance via PAYEEphone, call DIN 223-5555 (outside,
 508-493-5555), and then dial 4 plus the number (#) sign.
   You will need a PAYEEphone security code to request a reissue of your 1993
 W-2. Call PAYEEphone, enter your badge number, then dial 10 plus the number
 (#) sign to request this security code.
   This is the only way you can request a reissue of your 1993 Form W-2 4f it
 is not received or is lost.
 
   For general inquiries about your 1993 W-2
   The IRS has simplified the format of the W-2 for 1993 and provided
 easy-to-understand descriptions of each box. Digital has changed its W-2 to
 conform to the new standard IRS format. This will help you to better
 understand what is included in each box, as the boxes are numbered and
 contain a detailed explanation. Digital will continue to provide additional
 information on Copy C of the W-2 to help answer any other questions you may
 have.
   If you still have a question, use the contacts shown below.
     Relocation Compensation Questions:  DTN 223-4257 or (508) 493-4257
     Fleet Compensation Questions:       DIN 223-9929 or (508) 493-9929
     Stock Compensation Questions:       DIN 223-6000 or (508) 493-6000
 
   Wage Information Questions:*
   For the most efficient service, send inquiries via VAXmail to
 CANON: :PAY_QUESTION or via ALL-IN-1 to PAY_QUESTION @PKO. Include your badge
 number and clearly describe your inquiry (refer to the box number on the W-2).
 Those who do not have access to electronic mail can call DIN 223-5456 or
 (508) 493-5456.
   *Digital will provide assistance only on issues related to salary and
 supplementary payments. For advice about your own tax situation, consult your
personal tax adviser. Digital does not give personal tax advice.

VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH:                           [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
=====================                           [Littleton, NH, USA            ]

                               FAX Recognition

    Deciphering a facsimile can sometimes leave you cross-eyed. If you are
    tired of the double vision that often accompanies such tasks, Calera
    Recognition Systems Inc. claims its WordScan 2.0 can help. The optical
    character recognition (OCR) software is based on its Adaptive Recognition
    Technology (ACT), an intelligent recognition process that adapts itself
    to the unique characteristics of each page.

    By expanding on the company's neural-net approach, ART enables the
    software to draw clues from the context of a document as well as from
    the recognition conclusions it has learned from the labs. The ART was
    specifically designed to address the recognition challenges posed by
    degraded documents, such as FAXs and multiple-generation photocopies.
    In addition, WordScan uses the drag and drop integration capabilities
    of OLE 2.0. It enables integrated FAX conversion and e-mail routing
    capabilities with up to 10 degrees of skew. WordScan is available for
    $295. WordScan Plus 2.0 which offers several processing options and can
    be used on an ad hoc basis, costs $695. For information call 408.720.8300
    {CIO November 15, 1993}
    
    
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
  For information on how to subscribe to VNS, ordering backissues, contacting
  VNS staff members, etc, send a mail to EXPAT::EXPAT with a subject of HELP.

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2980      Friday 17-Dec-1993   <><><><><><><><>

Issue 3000 was published on Monday 17th January 1994. This issue included a repeat (from four years earlier in issue 2000) of his description of the origin of VNS by Marios Cleovoulou which may be viewed here. Colin Blake, who took over as publisher from Marios, then described the publication system. This description may also be read here.

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 3000               Monday 17-Jan-1994            Circulation :  6406

        VNS Announcement ...................................  164 Lines
        VNS MAIN NEWS ......................................   48   "
        VNS COMPUTER NEWS ..................................  139   "
        VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH ...............................   91   "

  For information on how to subscribe to VNS, ordering backissues, contacting
  VNS staff members, etc, send a mail to EXPAT::EXPAT with a subject of HELP.

VNS Announcement:                                   [Colin Blake, VNS Publisher]
=================                                   [Nashua, NH, USA           ]

        **********************************************************
        **    3333     0000     0000     0000   ''              **
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        **     3333   0    0   0    0   0    0  '  tttt  h      **
        **        3   0    0   0    0   0    0     t     hhh    **
        **   3    3   0    0   0    0   0    0     t  t  h  h   **
        **    3333     0000     0000     0000       tt   h  h   **
        **                                                      **
        **      EEEEE  DDDD   III  TTTTT  III   OOO   NN  N     **
        **      E      D   D   I     T     I   O   O  NN  N     **
        **      EEEEE  D   D   I     T     I   O   O  N N N     **
        **      E      D   D   I     T     I   O   O  N  NN     **
        **      EEEEE  DDDD   III  TTTTT  III   OOO   N   N     **
        **********************************************************

    This is edition number 3000. That's right, 3000! VNS has been "printing"
    now for almost twelve and a half years.
    
    In this issue I'd like to take the opportunity to explain two of the
    most frequently asked questions; how did it all start, and how is VNS
    produced.
    
    How it all started is best explained by Marios Cleovoulou, who was the
    publisher of VNS from 1983 to 1993. This is what Marios had to say in
    the 2000'th edition back in February 1990:

        The VOGON News Service started after a number of software
        engineers from Reading, England relocated to the Spit Brook Road
        facility in Nashua, NH, USA. Amongst them were Alan Blannin and
        myself. Alan asked a friend, Richard De Morgan, still in
        Reading, to send him the test match scores so that Alan could
        keep up to date on events in his favourite sport -- cricket.
        Richard sent not only the requested results, but also included
        some small snippets of news.
        
        Alan forwarded this information on to other "expat Brits" in the
        U.S. and the VNS (although it wasn't known as such then) was
        born! Issue number one was "published" on the 3rd of August,
        1981. Soon after, Richard, being at the time on node VOGON::,
        jokingly titled his MAIL to Alan "The VOGON News Service" and
        the name stuck.
        
        (A Vogon is an ugly extraterrestrial which enjoys torturing its
        victims by reading his exceptionally bad poetry to them. For
        further references on Vogons readers should consult "The
        Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy", by Douglas Adams) .
        
        Alan left DIGITAL at the end of July 1983 and I took over the
        job of "publisher". Our circulation was then just over the 100
        mark and we had just taken on a new staff member -- Tracy
        Talcott [VNS COMPUTER NEWS]. Mike Taylor [VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH]
        joined us at the end of 1983 and Ken Merrick [VNS UK SPORTS
        REPORT] enlisted in January, 1989.
        
        Andrew Payne [VNS MAIN NEWS] signed up in October, 1989,
        carrying on the tradition of providing news for British expats
        started by Richard De Morgan who had recently left DIGITAL.

    Marios left Digital at the beginning of 1993, and that was when I took
    over as publisher. After seven years of being produced in Valbonne,
    France (node CASEE), VNS moved to Spit Brook Road in Nashua, New
    Hampshire (node EXPAT). Since so much of the work involved in producing
    an edition of VNS had been automated by Marios, VNS's move across the
    Atlantic went very smoothly and not a single edition was missed (or was
 
    even late!). In fact, most people probably didn't realise that it had
    moved. And this leads me into the second most frequently asked question,
    "How is VNS produced?"
    
    As publisher of VNS I do NOT have to collect all the articles for the
    day's edition (at 4 o'clock in the morning!) and manually assemble them.
    Instead, VNS is produced each morning by a batch job. Yes, it's true!
    And it's been that way for years (I guess Marios didn't like getting up
    early!!!). The batch job, actually a collection of DCL command files
    TPU section files and RMS data files is the VNS publishing system and
    is referred to simply as "VNS".
    
    Articles are sent by the various correspondents to a mail address on
    EXPAT where VNS automatically stores them for inclusion in the next
    edition. Then, each weekday, just after midnight (5am UK time), VNS
    checks to see if it has received the Main News yet. If it has received
    the Main News then it will publish the next edition. If it hasn't
    received the Main News then it will wait and re-check at regular
    intervals and when the Main News does arrive the next edition of VNS
    will be published. If the Main News hasn't arrived by 5am local time
    (10am UK time) then VNS checks to see how many articles it has received
    and it there's sufficient will publish VNS without the Main News.
    
    To publish an edition VNS collects the articles it has received, adds
    the appropriate header to each one, sorts them, creates the main header
    (which contains the contents and circulation information), adds the
    trailer section, and mails it out. This is all totally automated and
    requires no action on my part. VNS also creates the VTX edition and
    sends this out to the appropriate infobases and instructs the relevant
    servers to update these pages.
    
    VNS currently has a circulation of over 6000 readers. In order to keep
    the network traffic down it implements a feature known as "node
    hopping". This significantly reduces the number of mail messages that
    have to be sent and it works as follows.
    
    Nmail is used for VNS distribution. Nmail talks the MAIL-11 protocol and
    deals with the MAIL object at the receiving node directly. There are two
    significant (for VNS) parts of this protocol; (a) there is only one
    message per destination node sent, no matter how many recipients are at
    that node, and, (b) the parsing of the address is done at each stage in
    the delivery. A small example best illustrates the benefit of node
    hopping. Here's an extract from the VNS distribution list:
    
        NM%BONNET::NM%CLARID::JENSEN
        NM%BONNET::NM%CLARID::KING
        NM%BONNET::NM%CLARID::WILSON
        NM%BONNET::NM%VISA::BIJAOUI
        NM%BONNET::NM%VISA::BONGARTZ
        NM%BONNET::NM%VISA::CHURCH
        NM%BONNET::NM%VISA::GENTILI
    
    The first thing that happens is the whole lot gets queued for Nmail
    delivery on node EXPAT. Nmail then delivers ONE copy to BONNET. The
    MAIL object at BONNET sees the "NM%" after BONNET:: and puts it all
    into the Nmail queue on BONNET. Nmail then delivers one copy to each of
    CLARID and VISA where MAIL deals with handing it out to the right
    people. Thus only one copy of the VNS goes from Nashua across the
    Atlantic to Valbonne instead of seven or two. Since the BONNET
    distribution actually has a total of 176 readers on 29 nodes (as of the
    end of December), the reduction in network traffic is considerable.
    
    To further reduce the amount of network traffic the concept of "primary"
    and "secondary" hopper nodes was introduced. The total system works
    like this:

      - Primary hopper nodes get their VNS directly from EXPAT.
      - Secondary hopper nodes get their VNS from their nearest primary
        hopper node.
      - Subscribers get their VNS from their nearest (primary or secondary)
        hopper node.

    There are currently 12 primary hopper nodes and a further 28 secondary
    hopper nodes spread around the world. This means that EXPAT only sends
    12 mail messages when it initiates the distribution of an edition of
    VNS. Each primary hopper node handles the distribution within its area,
    sending both to secondary hopper nodes and regular nodes as appropriate.
    
    Whenever a new subscriber is added, or an existing subscriber changes
    his or her mailing address, VNS automatically determines which
    hopper(s) to use based on the physical location of the subscriber.
    
    Using this technique VNS can efficiently distribute each edition ina
    timely manner. The network certainly has a lot to thank Marios
    Cleovoulou (author of the "node hopping" code) and Dave Porter (author
    of Nmail) for!!!
    
    There's a bit more to "VNS - the system" than what I've described here,
    but I won't bore you with all the gory details today. I'1l save that
    for the 4000'th edition!
    
    To end with I'd like to highlight a couple of VNS ten year anniversaries
    that occurred during 1993. Tracy Talcott [COMPUTER NEWS] celebrated his
    tenth year of ie ates: es vNS in August (his first contribution appeared
    in VNS #388 on Thursday, 4th of August 1983). And Mike Taylor
    [TECHNOLOGY WATCH] also celebrated his tenth anniversary, having joined
    the VNS "staff" on the 13th of December 1983. Tremendous thanks to both
    of you guys for making VNS the success that it is. Here's to the next
    3000!

VNS MAIN NEWS:                                    [Andy Payne, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                    [Fareham, England            ]

    Here is the News at 09:00 GMT on Monday 17th January 1994
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    
    UK News
    -------

    The Prime Minister is due to give evidence to Lord Justice Scott's
    arms-for-Iraq investigation today.
    
    Welsh Secretary John Redwood has denied that right-wingers in the 
    Cabinet are unhappy with John Major.
    
    Seven men have been arrested after a loaded mortar was found in County
    Tyrone.
    
    Tory MP Gary Waller, 48, has admitted he fathered a child in a
    relationship with Commons secretary Fay Stockwell. His disclosure follows
    claims in the People newspaper which he had earlier denied.
    
    World News
    ----------
    
    Syrian President has assured US President Clinton of his commitment to
    peace with Israel. Syria seeks a just and lasting peace, he said after
    more than five hours of talks with Mr Clinton. Mr Assad called on
    Israel to "show courage" and come to terms with the Arabs on all fronts.
    
    The architect of Russia's economic reforms, Yegor Gaidar, has said he
    is leaving the government. He wrote to President Yeltsin to say he was
    declining the post of first deputy prime minister in the new
    administration. US Secretary of State Warren Christopher said he did
    not attach any significance to the news as there were other strong
    reformers.
     
    The Pan Africanist Congress has said its armed wing has suspended its
    struggle against the South African government. PAC president Clarence
    Makwetu said the Azanian People's Liberation Army had declared a
    ceasefire while the PAC pursued negotiations with the government. The
    government has welcomed the move. APLA has been blamed for a series
    of armed attacks on policemen and white people.
     
    Somali clan leaders have signed an agreement aimed at stopping the
    fighting in the capital, Mogadishu. The talks were chaired by an Islamic
    leader and attended by some 200 clan elders who said they were tired of
    war. Gereral Aideed and Ali Mahdi Mohammed, the main faction leaders, did
    not attend the meeting.
    
    {News courtesy of the BBC}

VNS COMPUTER NEWS:                            [Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk]
==================                            [Littleton, NH, USA              ]

    Friday's Market                             Digital Fair Market Value
      Quote     Change     Dow Jones    Change     28-May-1993   $44.50
 IBM    58 5/8  - 1/8                              30-Nov-1993   $36.812
 HPkd   87 1/2  +2                                 85% of lower  $31.50
 Msft   85 5/8 +  1/4                               1-Dec-1993   $35.875
 DEC    37      - 3/8      3867.20      +24.77
 
 VNS - Edition 3000
   Those of you who've been reading VNS for a while may remember that for the
 past several 500th-edition "specials" I carry on about quality and customers
 and what a good job I think Honda does servicing their cars and taking care of
 their customers. The old '85 Honda CRX drove it's last commute with me at the
 wheel some time after issue 2500. New England winters finally got the better
 of its frame and it was time for another car. What to do? Well, knowing that
 edition 3000 was only months away I had only one choice; I purchased a used
 ‘91 CRX (the last year they were manufactured). I looked at a couple of new
 cars, but in the end, as a satisfied customer I went with a product I thought
 I'd be happy with, so you may be hearing about my Honda through (hopefully)
 edition 4000.
   My main message for No. 3000 is pretty short. There are fewer of us at
 Digital than there were a year or two ago, and it sounds like there will be
 fewer still in the months ahead. But we still sell one heck of a lot of
 goods, services and cqmsulting, and have a lot of people out there betting
 their businesses and futures on what we produce. As we work through the
 "right-sizing" and reorganization, it's important to pull together and work as
 a single, cohesive team to give our customers what they need. It isn't
 important to them that we've been re-aligned, re-deployed, or re-anything'd
 else; what counts is doing a quality job and caring about what we do. If we
 can do that, we're well on the way back up the ladder of success. I can
 remember 20+ years ago playing on a flag-football team (players wear flags and
 removing a velcro-attached flag is the equivalent of a tackle). Our official
 name was the Barranca Mesa Bears, but we were known throughout the league as
 Barranca Mesa Bear Nakeds. We scored only one touchdown all season when Neil
 Fraser, playing defense, intercepted a lateral and ran it in for the score.
 Surprised the heck out of everyone, including us. While we had a tough year,
 it was a memorable one. We all gave everything we had and we always stayed
 tight with each other and committed to the team and the idea of winning.
 While we didn't learn much about football, we learned alot about getting going
 when the going was tough. The important thing is that regardless of how well
 or poorly we did on any given game, we never lost sight of our ultimate goal
 of winning. If you lose sight of your goal and spend your time bickering
 amongst yourselves, you're almost guaranteed never to achieve what you set out
 to accomplish. My message for edition 3000 is to try to look past any
 roadblocks you currently face and work with each other as a team to work to
 keep our customers satisfied. Getting bogged down in what's going wrong is
 real easy and in the end gets you nowhere. One other more recent memory I
 have comes from working for Digital in Tewksbury in the late '70s. We were
 having all sorts of problems - the hardware we designed wasn't working, and
 other groups weren't coming through on their commitments, and how were we
 going to do our stuff when someone else wasn't holding up their end, etc. etc.
 etc. Amid all our moaning and groaning, one Ernie Crocker said "I don't want
 problems! I want solutions!!" And son-of-a-gun, if that isn't what we got
 once we concentrated on the goals at hand. So as you work this week, try
 focusing on your goals and the best way to accomplish them, and rather than
 expending energy complaining about roadblocks, work past ‘em and strive to
 keep those customers happy. - TT
 
 Borland - To acquire ReportSmith in stock deal valued at about $18 million
        {The Wall Street Journal, 13-Jan-94, p. Al2}
   RerportSmith is a closely held software maker.  Borland said it will take a
 write-off of at least a majority of the acquisition price in its fiscal 4th
 quarter ending March 31, or its first quarter ending June 30.  Borland said it
 will acquire ReportSmith, which makes software that simplifies tapping into
 corporate databases and creating reports, in exchange for about 1.2 million
 shares of Borland stock. Borland will have about 28 million shares
 outstanding after the acquisition, which it expects to complete in March or
 April.

 IBM - $300 million agreement signed with Unisource Worldwide
        {The Wall Street Journal, 13-Jan-94, p. Al2}
   Alco Standard's Unisource Worldwide unit said it signed a contract valued at
 more than $300 million to outsource its data processing operations to an IBM
 subsidiary. Under the 10-year agreement, IBM's Integrated Systems Solutions
 Corp. will provide hardware and software to service Unisource's core
 distribution service., including improving its national accounts system and
 automating its warehouse system. All 123 of Unisource's data processing
 employees would become employees of Integrated Systems Solutions. Based in
 Valley Forge, Pa., Unisource is a distributor of printing paper and industrial
 products. Integrated Systems Solutions, based in White Planes, N.Y., is a
 provider of information services.
 
 Conner Peripherals - To acquire Quest Development Corp. for cash and stock
        {The Wall Street Journal, 14-Jan-94, p. B8}
   Conner said its new software development unit has agreed to acquire the
 closely held software concern. Conner created Arcada Software Inc. in
 November and transferred its software assets into the unit late last year.
 Under the agreement, Quest shareholders will receive cash and Arcada shares in
 exchange for all Quest stock. Conner wouldn't place a value on the
 acquisition. Conner intends to use Arcada as an "acquisition vehicle" to gain
 muscle in the market for software that manages mass storage of computer data,
 said William J. Schroeder, Arcada's chief executive. Conner "spied what is an
 opening market opportunity in storage-management software," he said, adding
 that "this is the first clear step that shows we're serious about it."
 
 Vice President Al Gore - Mistypes his way through on-line forum
        {The Wall Street Journal, 14-Jan-94, p. B8}
   Only two days after delivering a speech about the so-called "information
 superhighway," Vice President Al Gore last night became one of its roadside
 attractions. CompuServe and U.S. News & World Report sponsored an on-line
 discussion with the vice president, who fielded about 20 questions ranging
 from the superhighway's impact on industry to the war in Bosnia. Nine
 hundred people participated in the 45-minute forum. This is believed to be
 the first time a major political figure participated in a live on-line
 discussion, which allows subscribers to type in a question and receive an
 immediate types response. Typing, apparently, is not one of the vice
 president's fortes, said Josh Harris, an on-line services analyst at Jupiter
 Communications Co. He said Mr. Gore typed about "six accurate words per
 minute." Mr. Harris said, in fairness, that the backspace key wasn't working
 for technical reasons but added, "he's not ready for the secretarial pool."
 While a CompuServe spokesman said "line noise" introduced some extraneous
 screen characters, the vice president seemed to make a few typos of his own.
 For example, he spelled his own former title, senator, with a "K."
 
 Digital - Announces 'òAmericas' area, realigns sales territories
         {Livewire, Worldwide News, 14-Jan-94}
   Digital has realigned two of its major sales geographies to position the
 company to sell effectively in emerging worldwide markets, Ed Lucente, vice
 president, Worldwide Sales and Marketing, announced today.
   Effective immediately, the United States, Canada and the Latin
 American/Caribbean territories will form a new Americas Area. Digital Vice
 President Russ Gullotti has been appointed Americas Area president. The
 Asia/Pacific Area will be headquartered in Singapore under its president,
 Digital Vice President Bobby Choonavala.
   "We see great potential for growing sales and improving operating
 efficiencies by grouping these sales territories. The Asia/Pacific region is
 also poised for growth and requires us to concentrate our efforts there with a
 strong management presence," Ed said.
   Scott Roeth, vice president, has been appointed to lead the U.S. Territory.
 Scott, along with Luis Zuniga, vice president, who heads the Latin
 America/Caribbean (LAC) territory, and Ron Larkin, vice president, who heads
 the Canada territory, will report to Russ.
   Russ will appoint a team to design the Americas Area organization. Until
 that plan is complete, the Asia/Pacific headquarters team in Acton, Mass. will
 continue to support Canada and LAC, as well as the Asian operations.
   "The realignment of these areas, along with reduction of the number of
 European territories from seven to five announced by Vincenzo Damiani,
 president of Digital Europe, give Digital a worldwide sales organization that
 is poised to capitalize on market similarities, regional trade agreements and
 compatible time zones," Ed concluded.

VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH:                           [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent]
=====================                           [Littleton, NH, USA            ]

         VNS: 3000 issues over 10 years for more than 10,000 readers

    From the introduction of the DEC Rainbow, IBM PC, and Apple Mac to the
    DEC Alpha, Microsoft WNT, and Apple Newton, VNS has kept me, and I hope
    you, informed about the world, the industry and new technology. During
    that time I have seen a change in the emphasis and importance of
    technology to the people I meet in the hallway. From discussing:
        
        Project Reality, the next generation 64-bit machine to be built by
        Nintendo and Silicon Graphics, was previewed at the recent Consumer
        Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev.
        
        Japan's NIT, released a color videophone system based on ISDN
        (integrated services digital network) technology that can connect a up
        to 5 locations for videoconferencing. The standard-sized phone has a
        5.6" color TFT (thin film transistor) display that can be folded onto
        the phone when not being used. The screen, refreshed 15 times a second,
        can be divided into 4 small screens, with the user able to switch
        between them. The phone can also be connected with a TV monitor, a VCR,
        a video camera, and a fax machine or printer. A built-in camera is
        attached at the top of the display. The Picsend costs $6,700.
        {Contributed by Alan Maltzman}
    
    to:
        Sequent Computer Systems announced quarterly revenue million for its
        fourth quarter, toping $100 million for the first time, but the company
        also described a restructuring that cuts 5 percent of Sequent jobs
        worldwide.
        
        XEROX announced in December it would cut 10,000 jobs worldwide "to cut
        costs and improve productivity", also closing and consolidating an
        unspecified number of manufacturing plants. According to the New York
        Times_, "Xerox takes its place among financially sound companies
        seeking higher profits through mass layoffs." (12/9/93). NCR, ATT's
        computer division, announced in November it was cutting 7,500 jobs, to
        remain "competitive." In October, NCR offered early retirement to
        5,500 workers aged 50 or older. Italian computer giant OLIVETTI
        threatened to "temporarily" lay off 2,000 workers after negotiations
        with the union representing the workers there broke down. DIGITAL
        EQUIPMENT will continue its job cuts in 1994 ( Wall Street Journal_,
        11/5/93). PC software pioneer SOFTWARE PUBLISHING laid off 140
        workers, or 21% of its workforce last September (_SFE_ 9/17/93) INTEL
        will add about 1,000 jobs to its planned research facility near
        Sacramento, CA, and NEC is adding 250 jobs to its Roseville, CA
        memory-chip plant. Will there be unemployed shanty-towns along
        the information highway?
        
        John Sculley's severance package from Apple included: $1 million, plus
        his $1.5 million in salary and bonuses for 1993; a one-year consulting
        job paying $750,000; purchasing Sculley's upscale Woodside home at
        "fair market value", purchasing Sculley's Lear 55 jet, and paying
        moving costs back to Greenwich, Conn. Apple also agreed to let Sculley
        exercise his stock options valued at $2.42 million. (_SFE_)
        {CPU: Working in the Computer Industry #7} 

    resulting in:

        "There are residual costs [to layoffs] in worker trauma and, some say,
        lost productivity and efficiency, at least over the short haul,"
        according to a Reuters story (_SFE_ (12/9/93). Dubbed "layoff survivor
        sickness" by management consultant David Noer, "survivors of layoffs
        hunker down in trenches and do not take risks... And once stress
        reaches a certain level, they shut down and are not as productive. The
        consequence is that American companies are fielding wounded players on
        the global economic playing field." According to an American Management
        Association survey, half of all American companies had gone through
        downsizing in the past year, and expected the pace of reductions to
        continue in 1994. 80 percent of companies that downsized saw company
        morale decline, and only 44% saw profits rise after the cuts.
        {CPU: Working in the Computer Industry #7}
    
    How the work is done has also changed:

       "... [W]ay back 15 years ago, a hacker could sit down and write an
       entire piece of software by himself. Now, that's no longer possible.
       Software comes out of factories, and hackers are, to a greater or
       lesser extent, assembly-line workers. Worse yet, they may be managers
       who never get to write any code themselves."
       {CPU #7 attributed to Neal Stephenson, _Snow Crash_}

    Summary:

       "What's ahead for the next six years? When we look ahead at the types
       of products that might be in volume in the next six years, it is
       apparent that technology revolutions are unneeded. What is needed is
       cost-effective evolution of current technologies. ... Execution rather
       than creation will be the guiding principle to the year 2000."
       {PACKAGING TO THE YEAR 2000 by Dr. Eric Bogatin,
        Surface Mount Technology, December 1993}

    Thank you for your continuing interest.

 
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
  For information on how to subscribe to VNS, ordering backissues, contacting
  VNS staff members, etc, send a mail to EXPAT::EXPAT with a subject of HELP.

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 3000      Monday 17-Jan-1994   <><><><><><><><>

Until recently (23 Jan 2024), this was the last known issue of VNS because it was posted on the news group soc.culture.british on 9th January 1995, with the title “VNS: Mon 9-Jan-1995 : *** LAST CHANCE TO SEE ***”.
Link: soc.culture.british

Gwyn Evans, who posted this issue, explained

“Just to expand on the header, VNS as forwarded by me, will shortly be stopping.  Looking back, I’ve been forwarding it for over two years now but recently, there are two problems that I can’t do anything about.

  The first is that the news just isn’t getting through to me, which is why it’s been patchy/non-existant for the last few months and the second is that the group to I work for in Digital has been sold off to MTI, so very shortly I’ll not have access to VNS nor the rest of the Digital network… 

      Bye for now,
Gwyn”

This is the issue copied from the newsgroup:

This is the first issue retrieved from an email archive. It contains the Main News and both UK and US Sports News.

<><><><><><><><>  T h e   V O G O N   N e w s   S e r v i c e  <><><><><><><><>

 Edition : 3303               Monday  1-May-1995            Circulation :  4801 

        VNS MAIN NEWS .....................................   39 Lines
        VNS SPORTS REPORT .................................   56   "
        VNS UK SPORTS NEWS ................................   64   "

    For information on subscribing to VNS, backissues, contacting VNS staff
    members, etc, access our Web service at http://expat.zko.dec.com/vns/ or
    send a mail to EXPAT::EXPAT with a subject of HELP.

VNS MAIN NEWS:                                    [Andy Payne, VNS UK News Desk]
==============                                    [Fareham, England            ]

    Here is the News at 09:00 BST on Monday 1st May 1995
    ----------------------------------------------------

    UK News
    -------
    [Blair lays down the law to unions]
    Tony Blair, the Labour leader, made swift use last night of the
    authority gained from his overwhelming victory on Clause 4, telling the
    unions they would not be able to push him around in Government. After
    party members voted 9-1 in favour of dropping the party's commitment to
    wholesale nationalization, Mr Blair served notice that he was stepping
    up the pace of reform to place Labour closer to the political centre.
    {The Daily Telegraph}

    [Bill for security guards at M11 extension could top 26m pounds]
    Up to 26 million pounds could be spent on private security guards
    protecting the four mile M11 extension in north London from
    demonstrators, an inquiry has revealed. The National Audit office has
    found that more than 16 million pounds has already been spent, 60 per
    cent more than the figure given in a parliamentary answer last month.
    {The Daily Telegraph}

    [Two die after boats collide]
    A husband and wife were killed and another couple rescued when two
    pleasure boats collided on the Norfolk Broads yesterday. All four were
    flown to hospital at Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, where the couple,
    in their 50s and from Yorkshire, were pronounced dead.
    {The Daily Telegraph}

    [Hill victory]
    Damon hill won the San Marino Grand Prix, putting him six points ahead
    of Michael Schumacher in the drivers' championship.
    {The Daily Telegraph}

    [Hendry pockets 450,000 pounds]
    Stephen Hendry won a record successive Embassy world snooker
    championship and his fifth in all when he beat Nigel Bond 18-9 last
    night at the Crucible, Sheffield.
    {The Daily Telegraph}

VNS SPORTS REPORT:                                 [Don Canney, VNS Sports Desk]
==================                                 [Merrimack, NH, USA         ]

BASEBALL:

The Toronto Blue Jays, as the result of a provincial law prohibiting replacement
workers, may have to move their games to the United States.  Locked-out umpires
want replacement players barred from the Skydome, citing that law.  Baseball
lawyers argue the law doesn't apply becasue umpires are not employed by a 
Canadien company, but by the American League, an unincorporated association
based in New York.

Thursday's Scores:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 7		Oakland 1
Cleveland @ Texas	(late)
Baltimore @ Minnesota	(late)
Milwaukee @ Chicago	(late)
Detroit @ Seattle	(late)

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chicago 6		Cincinnati 5 (11 innings)
Philadelphia 6		St. Louis 2
Atlanta 6		San Francisco 4
Montreal 2		Pittsburgh 1
Colorado 8		New York 7
San Diego 13		Houston 1

BASKETBALL: 

NBA

The "second season" began last night (Thursday) as teams began their quest 
for the ultimate prize in the National Basketball Association.  The best of 
five opening rounds continue tonight (Friday).

Thursday's Scores:

Indiana 90		Atlanta 82
New York 103		Cleveland 79

(Indiana & New York lead their series 1-0)

HOCKEY:

NHL

Adam Graves of the New York Rangers scored two third period goals as the Rangers
came back from a 3-1 defecit to beat Tampa Bay 6-4 on Wednesday.

Thursdays Scores:

Ottawa 6		Tampa Bay 1
Chicago 5		Dallas 1
Detroit @ Winnipeg	(late)
St. Louis @ Edmonton	(late)

[Nashua Telegraph]

VNS UK SPORTS NEWS:                                           [Tom Povey       ]
===================                                           [Reading, England]

Snooker
-------

Stephen Hendry won the World Professional Snooker championship yet again
on Sunday by beating Nigel Bond 18 frames to 9. This is his 5th
successive victory and extends his unbeaten run of matches at the Crucible 
Theatre, Sheffield to 20. He also beat Jimmy White in the semi-finals
and made a maximum break of 147 in the process. 

Rugby
-----

Leicester are the new club champions in Rugby Union with Bath, the winners of
the last 4 seasons, finishing second.

Hockey
------

Reading's men came second in the national league while the clubs women's
team won promotion to the national league.

Cricket
-------

Mike Atherton has been confirmed as captain for at least the first 3
test matches against the West Indies.

In Jamaica, the 4th and final test between the West Indies and
Australia is underway. WI batted first and reached 265 with Richardson 
scoring 100. Australia are now 192 for 3 with the Waugh brothers both not 
out with 72 and 51. Rain stopped play at tea on the second day (Sunday).

Motor Racing
------------

Damon Hill won the San Marino Formula One Grand Prix at Imola in an
eventful race. The race began in damp conditions. Michael Shumacher spun
off after changing to dry tyres around lap 10. The Ferraris of Alesi and 
Berger were second and third respectively. David Coulthard could perhaps 
have been second but for a spin from which he recovered to come 4th. All
others finishers had been lapped. Nigel Mansell came 10th in his first
race for Maclaren.

Tennis
------

Briton's Men's Davis Cup team suffered a 5-0 defeat by Slovakia and now
have to face Egypt to avoid relegation.

Football (soccer)
-----------------

West Ham beat Blackburn 2-0 to ease the Hammer's relegation worries and
help keep the title chase alive for Manchester United who play tomorrow
(Monday). United are 8 points behind Blackburn with a game in hand and 
four games left to play.

Reading won 2-1 to keep in with a hope of promotion to the Premier
League.

In the Women's FA Cup final, Arsenal came from behind to beat Liverpool
by 2 goals to 1.

{Sources: BBC TV and Radio. Radio 210. Sunday Times. 30th April 1995 }


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
    For information on subscribing to VNS, backissues, contacting VNS staff
    members, etc, access our Web service at http://expat.zko.dec.com/vns/ or
    send a mail to EXPAT::EXPAT with a subject of HELP.

    Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P)
    provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the
    VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy.

<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 3303      Monday  1-May-1995   <><><><><><><><>