COLE'S NEWSWIRE, Jan. 15, 1997

Jan. 15, 1997
Vol. 3, No. 2

The NEWSWIRE is a weekly distribution of information about the sales and installations of publishing technology and the latest news on new products developed by suppliers to the industry.

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ASSOCIATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL INC.
AISI, a systems integrator based in Auburn, Calif., has announced two recent sales:

-- HUTCHINSON (Kan.) NEWS (38k morning): integration of publishing software from Advanced Publishing Technologies Inc. of Burbank, Calif., into a standards-based network architecture, replacing a Dewar/Disc Net System II. AISI installed 200 MHz Intel Pentium NT/SQL mirrored servers to provide editorial and classified pagination.

-- THE HAWK EYE, Burlington, Iowa (17k morning): Dewar/Disc Net system replaced with APT publishing software for classified.

ATEX MEDIA SOLUTIONS INC.
Atex Media Solutions Inc., a publishing systems supplier based in Bedford, Mass., has announced that it formally was separated from the Sysdeco Group ASA in a unanimous vote at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in Oslo, Norway in early January.

The next step in financing the company, the share issue, is scheduled for Jan. 27. Financing is guaranteed by a group of investors, including many Sysdeco investors, as well as from management of Atex Media Solutions. In anticipation of a favorable shareholder action to split the media division from Sysdeco, a "guarantee consortium" of financial and institutional investors was put in place in mid-December 1996 to insure that the planned new share issue will be completed on Jan. 27.

Management plans to begin operation as Atex Media Solutions Inc. on Feb. 1 with nearly $US25 million in cash, including about $US19 million raised in financing from new shares and additional cash transferred from the Sysdeco media operation.

4-SIGHT
4-Sight, a software provider based in Woburn, Mass., has introduced an entry level ISDN client pack to enable connectivity to its flagship product, 4-Sight iSDN Manager. The iSDN Manager client pack, 4-Sight iSDN Assistant, is able to send and receive to all 40,000 compatible sites worldwide.

4-Sight iSDN Assistant is intended for users who want to connect multiple customers to their existing digital service. Supplied in packs of two or five, 4-Sight iSDN Assistant will include the hardware and software needed to exchange files at almost 1 megabyte per minute.

The client pack will retail at $2795 for a two-pack and $5495 for a five-pack, which brings the cost of connecting to less than 50 percent of the existing iSDN Manager solution.

LINOTYPE-HELL CO.
Linotype-Hell, a publishing systems supplier based in Germany with U.S. offices in Hauppauge, N.Y., has announced that its new parent, Heidelberg, has decided to continue its Publishing Group, including the North American group, as an independent subsidiary.

Wolfgang Weber, director of international sales and marketing, reported that more than 100 people worldwide support Linotype-Hell's LinoPress Publishing System. LinoPress sales generated $30 million in 1996 revenues. Recent North American contracts include two systems for unspecified Gannett newspapers and a 150-user system for the HALIFAX HERALD in Nova Scotia, Canada (97k morning).

NATURAL INTELLIGENCE INC.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Natural Intelligence has announced that it will spin off its Roaster Products Division to create Roaster Technologies, a newly formed company specializing in Java Development Tools. John Dhabolt will be president and CEO of the new company.

Roaster is an integrated development environment for Java on the Macintosh. Roaster Technologies may be visited on the World-Wide Web at http://www.roaster.com/. Natural Intelligence's web site is http://www.natural.com.

PROJECT COOL
A site on the World-Wide Web devoted to linking surfers to exceptional web sites, Project Cool marked its first birthday on Jan. 1, 1997. In celebration, Project Cool has established http://www.projectcool.com/happynewyear, where there are links to a tutorial that may be downloaded and used to learn how to make splashy effects work on any web site.

Mac, Windows and Unix versions of these free JavaScript archives are available. A copy of Netscape Navigator 3.0 is required.

Project Cool also recently published THE PROJECT COOL GUIDE TO HTML. Links at its web site help readers explore the printed guide, which is available through national bookstore chains.

SOFTLOGIK PUBLISHING
St. Louis-based SoftLogik has announced that PageStream 3.2 for Macintosh is now shipping. Owners of PageStream 3.1 may download a free update from SoftLogik's web site at http://www.softlogik.com or order new disks for a nominal fee.

PageStream is a desktop publishing program for the Macintosh that can be used to set type, draw objects and place graphics. It differs from other Macintosh DTP programs in that it has most of the drawing features of an illustration program.

SoftLogik said that because the user manual is not finished, it is giving version 3.2 free to owners of PageStream 3.1. Any Mac user may order PageStream 3.2 from SoftLogik for $50 plus $5 shipping. When the manual is ready, upgrades to a new version with the manual will range from $40 for owners of PageStream 3 for Amiga, to $125 for new customers. The suggested retail price for the full package with the manual will be $595.

UMI
UMI, an on-line content provider based in Ann Arbor, Mich., is accepting nominations for its annual Library Technology Award. Librarians who have developed innovative information systems may be eligible for the cash award of $1500 and recognition at this year's National Online Conference May 13-15 in New York.

The award presented by UMI, a subsidiary of the Bell & Howell Co., honors librarians who develop systems that make it easier for patrons to find and use information. The award was established in 1991 in cooperation with Information Today Inc., publisher of information industry journals and sponsor of the National Online meeting.

Individuals may nominate themselves or someone else by writing a one- or two-page essay. The essay must include the name of the librarian and a description of his or her achievements. A special entry form is not needed. Entries must focus on any library technology, established in 1996, that directly benefits public, academic or corporate library patrons.

Entries must be postmarked before March 1, 1997, and mailed to the attention of Jerry Mastey, 1997 Library Technology award, UMI, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103.

Additional information about UMI is available on the World-Wide Web at http://www.umi.com/.

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COLE'S NEWSWIRE is compiled by Pete Wetmore and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS, COLE'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING SYSTEMS and consultants to newspapers and magazines worldwide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

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