NEWS IN BRIEF

A small scout team of NeXT developers, including three representatives of Talus Imaging, is in Moscow this month to donate two NeXT computers to the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and to attend Komtek '92, the Russian version of Comdex. Talus President Steve Sarich has received a request for up to 2500 NeXT machines to be delivered to the Russian government. In addition, NeXT Computer Germany has agreed to donate a NeXTstation Turbo Color and printer to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. ANDI, the newly formed developers group, will obtain the necessary U.S. export documentation and install the machine. U.S. export laws impose restrictions on technology to be exported to any former region of the Soviet Union; in NeXT's case, the law allows the export of 25MHz machines, but a Turbo requires a special license. NeXTSTEP 3.0, with its sophisticated encryption technology, would also require special paperwork.

Versant Object Technology, of Menlo Park, California, said it will port its Versant ODBMS to the NeXT under a contract with Williams Telecommunications. The database will be released as a commercial product and join a growing number of databases for the NeXT. Versant: 415/329-7500.

The Western Publications Association honored NeXTWORLD with its Maggie Award for best cover on a consumer magazine for the Fall 1991 "Plunging Into Color" issue. NeXTWORLD was also a finalist in the year's best new magazine category.

Keith Ohlfs, designer of much of the NeXT interface, resigned in March from NeXT Computer in order to develop software independently. He is credited with designing Appsoft's Pixelist pixel editor and the animation program Oscar. Prior to joining NeXT in 1987, Ohlfs designed software at Adobe Systems.

Adobe Systems is shipping Adobe Illustrator 3.0.1, a maintenance release that fixes bugs in Version 3.0. The company has also added 21 Type 1 fonts to the update, including Adobe Garamond, Gill Sans 1, and Copperplate Gothic. Adobe TouchType 2.1.1 also now includes 12 additional fonts, including Franklin Gothic Roman #2, Cooper Black, VAG Rounded Bold, and Trajan Regular. Adobe: 415/961-4400.

NeXT Computer is offering free audio tapes touting the benefits of NeXT and NeXTSTEP for corporate and small-business users. The new tapes are titled "What's NeXT in Business: Keeping the Competitive Edge" and "What's NeXT in Business: Phibro Energy." To order, call 800/879-6398.

Paget Press announced an agreement with Atherton Software to distribute Atherton's Engage Dock extender. Under the terms of the agreement, Paget will sell to end users and Atherton will manage site licenses and sales to user groups. The price is $99. Paget: 800/733-2031.

Word Perfect Corporation recently announced the resignation of Executive Vice-President W.P. "Pete" Peterson. Rather than replace Peterson directly, the Orem, UtahÐbased company plans to distribute his responsibilities among other executives. The departure has led to a reorganization of the company's board of directors.