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To: David Lawrence who wrote (16796)	7/24/1998 12:24:00 AM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

Industry Leaders Unite for Mobile PC Standards; Mobile Advisory Council Attracts Leading Mobile Computing Vendors to Jointly Address Mobile Specifications - 05:02 p.m Jul 23, 1998 Eastern SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 1998--Leaders in the mobile industry today announced the formation of the Mobile Advisory Council, an open consortium of mobile computing and peripherals vendors that functions as an advocate for mobile design requirements to existing standards bodies. Mobile Advisory Council Members The Mobile Advisory Council includes the following leading mobile PC and peripheral vendors: 3Com, Acer, Adaptec, Award Software, Compaq, Dell Computer Corporation, Fujitsu PC Corporation, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard Company, Hitachi, IBM, Phoenix Technologies, SystemSoft, TDK, Texas Instruments, Toshiba Corporation and Xircom. The Mobile Advisory Council is open to mobile PC and peripheral vendors, and expects additional members to join over time. The Mobile Advisory Council was founded by 3Com Corporation and Compaq Computer Corporation, who are current acting chairs. guide-p.infoseek.com o~~~ O

To: David Lawrence who wrote (16796)	7/24/1998 3:48:00 PM
From: Scrapps	Respond to of 22053

The ASCII Group Calls for the Federal Government to Suspend Restrictions on And Investigation of Microsoft BETHESDA, Md., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The ASCII Group, representing more than 1000 US independent value-added computer resellers (VARs) and systems integrators, has issued a position paper calling for the suspension of The Judiciary Committee's hearings on Microsoft's business practices. As the largest organization representing the VARs, ASCII sees no reason, at this time, to hold further hearings, investigations or judicial requirements for technical restrictions on Microsoft's product development or offerings. Alan Weinberger, CEO and founder stated, ''We have not always agreed with Microsoft in the past, and we sometimes bargain back and forth over its business practices. But whatever misgivings we have about Microsoft are minor compared with our fear of the effect that increased government regulation would have on the high technology industry and its customers. At the end of the day, the likely outcome of a successful assault on Microsoft would be higher prices, conflicting standards, slower innovation and less room for independents of all types.'' The market for Personal Computers, software, related products and services is projected to be $85 billion in 1998 and independent resellers will represent approximately 80% of these sales while manufacturers will only sell 20%. This makes VARs a major economic driver in the US today as an employer and productivity enhancer for small to mid-size businesses. Small and mid-size businesses look to their respective VARs to provide them with working information systems and not just PCs. VARs will therefore consistently recommend products that will be the most cost-effective, and provide the greatest benefit to their customers. ''A company holding a monopoly, by definition, must have such a stranglehold on a market that the organization in question is in a position to raise prices with impunity and customers must still buy its products. If Microsoft raised its prices substantially, resellers would turn to other alternatives and developers would respond by producing more competing products. VARs are, by their nature, independent and are beholden to no particular vendor. VARs must, however, add value to computer systems for their customers, or they will quickly be out of business. ''It is hard to see any possible benefits to consumers or resellers from greater government interference in the software industry. The industry has grown to be the economic engine driving the US and world-wide economy by adding productivity. To tamper with the free wheeling and open competitive and innovative environment where the best products at the best value win, is courting disaster,'' concluded Weinberger. The ASCII Group, founded in 1984, provides members with a variety programs to increase sales and reduce costs including: Distributor and Business Services; Advocacy; and Sales Conferences. The ASCII Group is headquartered in Bethesda, MD and can be reached at 301-718-2600 or on the World Wide Web at: www.ascii.com