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Text File | 1995-01-01 | 9.4 KB | 320 lines

    Seagate, Sony Making New Kind Of
Disk Drive 01/27/95 SCOTTS VALLEY,
CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 JAN 27 (NB)
-- Proposing to improve storage
capacity, simplify manufacturing and
reduce manufacturing costs of disk
drives, Seagate (NYSE:SEG) and Sony
(NYSE:SNE) have agreed to develop and
market a new disk drive based on Pre-
Embossed Rigid Magnetic (PERM) media.
The new plastic-based disk will be
combined with new head and channel
technology.

    Speaking to Dave Webb, Seagate's
manager of public relations,
Newsbytes learned this joint
announcement is a technology
announcement as opposed to a product
announcement. Webb said, "We are
talking about a technology brought to
us by Sony for joint development. At
this time, there is no product and we
do not expect to see a prototype in
less than two years."

    When PERM disks are produced on a
"plastic-like" disk, they "will have
a permanently embossed embedded servo
as opposed to the way servo
information is currently laid down in
the magnetic layer. This new process
will involve a type of etching which
will mark the new media," said Webb.
He continued, "I can only say,
'plastic-like' because we have not
created the actual disk."

    While the new technology does
involve magnetic drive technology,
its specifications are being kept
secret. Webb responded to questions
about access and transfer rates
saying, "Since there is no product at
this time, we are not able to comment
on any definitive performance
increases which might come from this
technology. We obviously are
investigating a new technology which
we feel will produce enhanced hard
disk performance."

    Newsbytes further pursued the
announcement with questions about
whether this new product would
compete or replace existing hard
drive products, but Seagate won't
talk about any more details. Webb did
say, "The technological advances in
magnetic drives over the past few
years have been phenomenal and
continue to keep far ahead of optical
technology. This latest announcement
is another step towards extending
that advantage. Seagate is committed
to producing products which increase
performance and at the same time
consider cost."

    In a press release, Dr. Hossein
Moghadam, senior vice president and
chief technical officer at Seagate,
is quoted, "The PERM technology, used
in conjunction with new head and
channel technologies, could allow us
to develop high-quality, high-
capacity, disk drives that are easier
and cheaper to build." Specific
storage volume was also not available
at this time, but it would not be
surprising to see this technology
significantly increase the amount of
data stored in the same area.

    (Patrick McKenna/19950119/Press
Contact: Julie Still, Seagate, tel
408- 439-2276)


    Businesses Must Keep Up Or Drop
Out, Says Dell CEO 02/01/95 AUSTIN,
TEXAS, U.S.A., 1995 FEB 1 (NB) --
According to Michael Dell, Dell
Computer Corp. (NASDAQ: DELL)
chairman and chief executive officer,
companies need to use technology as
fast as it evolves in order to
succeed. Failure to do so can leave
your company in the dust, the
executive told a recent gathering of
150 leading business people.

    Dell's remarks were made at a San
Francisco meeting of the Commonwealth
Club of California where he talked
about technology's impact on the
global economy.

    The executive told his audience
the advantages of developed nations,
and their companies, will be lost
unless both are quick to understand
and apply new technologies as they
evolve. He also believes companies
must be focused to understand, on a
day-to-day basis, what they do better
than anyone else in the world. "The
global economy is evolving faster
today than most people realize," said
Dell. "The speed of this evolution
will be driven by radical
advancements in computers."

    Dell said many companies are
already having to struggle to keep
up. "The market leaders of the past
have seen their stock values plummet
over the past 10 years. At the same
time, the stocks of new, faster
moving companies have appreciated in
value -- in some cases more than
3,900 percent," said Dell. He pointed
out that the value of Dell's stock
has appreciated by more than 700
percent since the first initial
public offering in 1988. Dell stock
opened in June 1988 at 6-1/4. Today
it is trading at 42.

    Dell used Taiwan and China as
examples of countries that are
quickly coming into the information
age. "Taiwan today has 150,000
information technology engineers and
makes 60 percent of the personal
computer system boards for US
computer makers. China plans to spend
$100 billion over the rest of the
decade on telecommunications
equipment."

    Dell predicts the current rate of
technological advancement will drive
three areas of development: advances
in the man-to-machine interface; the
move toward an infinite expansion of
the computer's ability to transmit
information; and the evolution of
mobile communication and information
devices. He believes future computers
will be able to communicate in a more
human-like fashion. "Personal
computers will no longer communicate
with cryptic messages such as 'error'
or 'bad command.' PCs will evolve
into interpreting the human voice,"
according to Dell.

    He also predicts a substantial
increase in bandwidth to handle new
communications. And if you think
electronic-mail was revolutionary,
Dell sees it as becoming pass by the
year 2000. "By the end of the decade,
devices like video telephones will be
commonplace and point-to-point video
communications will take the place of
electronic mail."

    (Jim Mallory/19950131/Press
contact: Ann Fenimore, Dell Computer,
512-728-4100)


    Sony & Philips Seek To Avert
Digital Video Disk War 02/08/95
TOKYO, JAPAN, 1995 FEB 8 (NB) -- Sony
and Philips are beginning top-level
discussions with Toshiba, one of
their chief competitors, to try to
agree a common strategy for the
development of digital video disks
(DVD).

    The video disk, which combines
the function of video cassettes and
audio compact disks, is seen as one
of the most promising new electronic
products.

    Like any other electronics
product, it can realize its full
potential only if the industry backs
a single standard. Toshiba dealt a
blow recently to the hopes of Sony
and Philips of establishing their
version of the video disk as an
industry standard by announcing that
it had secured the support of
Matsushita, the world's largest
electronics group, and a number of
other companies for its rival disk.

    Sony and Philips have now decided
to open discussions with Toshiba to
try to avert a repetition of the
damage done in the 1970s, when Sony
failed to establish its Betamax
format as the industry standard
against Matsushita's VHS.

    (Terry Silveria/19950208)


    Pioneer To Offer Mac Clone This
Summer 02/15/95 CUPERTINO,
CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1995 FEB 15 (NB)
-- After reaching a licensing
agreement with Apple Computer
(NASDAQ:AAPL), Pioneer Electronics
(NYSE:PIO) has revealed plans to
market a Mac clone under its own
label. Unlike other companies who
have announced Mac operating
licensing agreements, Pioneer says it
will create a computer series for the
home entertainment market which will
integrate Pioneer's expertise with
audio/video (A/V) and high-end
storage products.  Previous
announcements from clone
manufacturers of Apple's Mac
computers have said they would target
specific high-end and specialized
markets. Pioneer is the first to say
it will design and market its clone
for home entertainment use.  The
agreement must have been fairly well
sealed before today's announcement,
as Pioneer says it will demonstrate
prototypes of its Mac clones at
Macworld Expo/Japan on February 25
and ship retail products in the
Japanese market this summer.

    Price and shipping volumes are
not being revealed, but the company
has outlined two models, a MPC-GX1
and a MPC-LX100. Both models are
described as an A/V personal computer
with 3D speakers and 4.4x-speed CD-
ROM drives. The GX1 is to be powered
by a 66 megahertz (MHz) Power PC 601
processor and Pioneer plans the LX-
100 to have a Motorola 33MHz, 68LC040
processor. A 15-inch or 17-inch
monitor will be optional, along with
a Pioneer CLD player (CLD-PC 10)
which allows users to play both CDs
and laser disks (LD).

    Joni Saphir, spokesperson for
Pioneer, told Newsbytes, "Company
officials in Japan have been taken by
surprise this morning by the interest
in this announcement and are not
prepared to respond to all of the
questions just yet. We are putting
together more information as quickly
as possible." Newsbytes did learn
Pioneer has not defined any marketing
plans outside of Japan at this time
and as it stands now these two new
models are being targeted only to the
Japanese market. Newsbytes did learn
the cloned computers will be built
around a concept of home
entertainment which provides a
complete merging of television, laser
disks, the computer desktop,
multimedia technology, and quality
sound reproduction.

    The definition of a "CLD Player"
is not available from the company,
but Saphir indicated it could be an
external device which will play both
CDs and standard laser disks or a
device which may be internal and
incorporate digital video disk (DVD)
technology which offers movies on a
CD-sized disk.

    Technical specifications as
simple as the amount of RAM and
storage capabilities on the clones
have not been issued, but Pioneer
promises more information as the
prototypes are developed.

    (Patrick McKenna/19950215/Press
Contact: Joni Saphir, Pioneer
Electronics, 310-952-2507)