From: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn)
Subject: VNS: Mon 14-Sep-92
Organization: Digital Equipment Co. Ltd., Reading, England
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 16:22:24 GMT


I usually remove the TECHNOLOGY section from VNS, but as I found today's quite
interesting, I'm leaving it in.

 ------- Forwarded mail received on 14-Sep-1992 at 11:12:19 -------

From:	FORTY2::LEROUF::CASEE::VNS "The VOGON News Service  14-Sep-1992 1109"
To:	VNS-Distribution
Subj:	VNS #2661  Mon 14-Sep-1992

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

 Edition : 2661               Monday 14-Sep-1992            Circulation :  7757 

        VNS MAIN NEWS .....................................   39 Lines
        VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH ..............................  337   "
        VNS UK SPORTS REPORT ..............................  152   "

        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 14-September-1992
    ---------------------------------------------------------

    UK News
    -------
    FT-SE = 2370.9
    Exchange Rate for UK pound = $ 1.9205  = Dm 2.7911
	= Yn 238.89 = SFr 2.4755 = FFr 9.4854

    The main teachers union have put forward a composite pay claim of
    16.5%. Last week, the government asked for a maximum of 2% pay increase
    in public sector pay.

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

    The EC finance committee met last night and have announced a major
    realignment of the exchange rate mechanism. The Italian Lire has been
    devalued by 7.5%. Germany is expected to announce a cut in interest
    rates today and both France and the Netherlands may follow. There is
    discussion in the UK on whether to devalue the pound. Pressure for the
    realignment came in part from next weekends referendum in France on the
    Maastricht treaty.

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

    There have been major floods in Pakistan with relief operations put on a
    war footing. Areas hit are in the mountainous north, Kashmir and Punjab.


    {News courtesy of the BBC}


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

    A bright start. A band of rain is moving south but this will clear this
    evening. High 17C/61F.

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

                            YOUR DIGITAL FUTURE
          By Kathy Rebello, Richard Brandt, Peter Coy, Mark Lewyn
                     {Business Week September 7, 1992}

  Soon, A Host Of Gadgets Will Alter Work And Play And Reshape Familiar
  Industries

  George's family is home for the night. The office won't need to know his
  whereabouts, so George unpins the "active badge" that tells his employer's
  computer network where to reach him. In the family room, he settles in to
  watch Terminator 6, which the kids have programmed the high-definition
  "Compu-TV" to fetch over the 500-channel cable system. George hollers to his
  son, Elroy, to join him, but he has a midterm tomorrow and is hunched over
  his "electronic book," tapping the screen to get video clips of the body's
  inner workings as he reads an anatomy text.

  George's wife, Jane, is busy, too. After a day of sales calls, she's back in
  her home office. She grabs her notepad-size "personal digital assistant" and
  with the push of one button zaps all the day's sales data, contacts, and
  "to-do" items into her computer. Writing instructions on a screen embedded
  in her desk, she checks off the tasks she has completed. She then speaks to
  the computer, telling it to collect all her electronic mail and memos from
  the office. Now, if she really hustles, she might finish that multimedia
  sales report in time to join George for a 30-minute "virtual trip" down the
  Nile. With earphones, special glasses, and motion seats, the Compu-TV will
  whisk the couple away.

  COMING SOON. This home of the future may sound like something torn from an
  Isaac Asimov novel, and certainly nothing close to it exists today. But five
  years or so from now, George and Jane's home may be the one next door.
  Seriously. While many folks are still fretting over whether to trust
  automated teller machines, a new wave of technology is building that has the
  potential to alter fundamentally the ways in which we entertain ourselves,
  educate our children, and get our work done.

  The catalyst: digitization. Just as vinyl LPs gave way to digital compact
  disks in the 1980s, in the 1990s more and more of the information around us
  will be converted to digital bits, the 0's and 1's that are the language of
  computers. Everything from the analog waves of telephone calls, radio, and
  television to the images of movies, photos, and paintings is going digital.
  Once all this information has been converted to bits, it  can be manipulated
  just like data in a computer.

  It's far from clear how this digital flood will be harnessed. But the
  prospect already portends a dramatic reordering of the computer, consumer
  electronics, entertainment, and information industries.

  MATING DANCE. As information is mixed and matched, some industries will
  overlap. If they don't overlap, they'll collide. Old industrial empires may
  topple, and new ones may rise. Says Ron Sommer, president of Sony Corp. of
  America: "Where a company comes from is less important than where it is
  going. As boundaries are erased, corporate birth certificates won't count
  for much." With grounding in consumer electronics, video equipment, and
  entertainment, Sony is naturally one of the most enthusiastic promoters of
  the new order (page 64).

  But everyone is scrambling to shape the digital future. The computer and
  consumer-electronics industries are already locked in a mating dance to
  create the boxes that will manage the digital flow. Will they be like TVs?
  Personal computers? Video games? Game kings Sega Enterprises Inc. and
  Nintendo Co. are trying to get an edge on the PC crowd with new video-game
  systems that use CD-ROM disks (page 34), offering stereo sound and
  movie-like video of real actors. "We and Nintendo really are the players,"
  boasts Thomas Kalinske, president of Sega of America Inc. "And the rest of
  them aren't."

  Meanwhile, local phone companies, cable TV operators direct-satellite
  broadcasters, cellular phone companies, and even water and gas utilities are
  battling to be the digital highways into homes, schools, and offices.
  Publishers, movie studios, and broadcasters are seeing dollar signs in
  converting vast libraries of books, reference works, films, and video
  footage into digital cash cows.

  But to get at the cash, they must first overcome some major technical and
  marketing barriers. For instance there's no standard format for digitizing
  and manipulating all this information. Given the difficulties of forging
  standards within any one of these industries says Intel Corp. President
  Andrew S. Grove, the idea of easily creating a lingua franca for the digital
  world is "naive beyond belief."

  Even if you can solve that one, the compression technology needed to squeeze
  those bits onto the digital highways is still evolving. Then there are the
  most fundamental questions: Who's going to buy this stuff? Why? When? For
  how much?

  BEST GUESSES. O. K., so there are a few wrinkles to be ironed out. But
  that's not stopping anybody from trying to lay claim to this Brave New
  Digital World. The motivations are clear: Profits in many of these
  industries, especially consumer electronics and computers, are dwindling.

  The opportunity could be huge. Apple Computer Inc. Chairman John Sculley
  estimates the size of the digital market at more than $3 trillion by the
  year 2000. Sculley's tempting vision is based on the assumption that
  computers, consumer electronics, telecommunications, and entertainment will
  overlap as they go digital, giving old players new markets. "What's
  motivating all of us is greed," says Intel's Grove.

  So the greedy are charging ahead with their best guesses about the digital
  future. Time Warner Inc. sees interactive supercable systems that offer 500
  channels. Apple, says Sculley, sees a chance to become the software king in
  a market of new consumer gadgets-a sort of Microsoft Corp. of the digital
  world. Hewlett-Packard Co. is looking at ways to get into the Compu-TV
  business. And Sony is laying plans for products that use computing to
  entertain.

  "The '9Os are going to be a very confusing period with a lot of silly,
  distracting, important products being introduced," says Paul L. Saffo, a
  research fellow at the nonprofit Institute for the Future, a research
  foundation. "It may be that the winning industries at the end of the 1990s
  are none of the ones that dominate today."

  TEAMING UP. It may also be that no single industry-or nation-will dominate
  the digital world. Since the risks are high and the territory uncharted,
  companies all over the globe are racing into alliances. Computer makers, for
  instance, need help in building low-cost, compact consumer electronics.
  Inevitably, that pushes them into deals with Japan's electronics companies.
  The Japanese companies need the knack for digital programming the Americans
  have.

  Even with Japanese partners, computer makers face tough challenges in
  consumer markets. There are different sales channels, cost structures,
  design principles, and advertising methods. "I'm very skeptical about the PC
  guys," says Stephen Reynolds, an analyst with market researcher Link
  Resources Corp.

  So everybody's dealing.  Apple has teamed up with Sharp Electronics Corp.
  and Toshiba Corp. to build consumer products.  Tandy has clinched a deal
  with Casio and GeoWorks, a maker of software. For many months, IBM has been
  negotiating with Time Warner to collaborate on advanced digital cable-TV
  technology and is now talking to Tele-Communications Inc. the largest U. S.
  cable operator, to develop a two-way information system. 

  Those who have  not put ink to paper are talking about it. In the digital
  world, everyone is out to lunch-talking deals. Sculley spends gobs of time
  in Hollywood with entertainment types, shuttles to New York for meetings
  with publishing executives, and flies to Tokyo to negotiate with
  consumer-electronics companies. Executives from Tele-Communications recently
  spent hours urging Sony Chairman Akio Morita and other Japanese executives
  to bet on cable as the ideal conduit for digital programming. Sega says
  every U. S. computer maker has knocked on its door. And Microsoft Chairman
  William H. Gates III is everywhere-talking with phone companies, cable
  companies Hollywood studios, and video-game makers. Says Gates: "We buy a
  lot of very nice hot lunches."

  Short term, all these lunches may do little more than drive up Bromo Seltzer
  sales. But while the dealmaking continues, the first products of the digital
  revolution are emerging.  There are multimedia PCs that  combine data,
  graphics, sound, and primitive video. Eastman Kodak Co.'s Photo CD system
  turns your old snapshots into digital images that are stored on CD-ROM disks
  and can be viewed on TVs and computers. Philips sells a $799 system called
  the Imagination Machine, a CD-ROM player that hooks into a TV set to display
  interactive games and educational programs that mix sound, graphics, photos,
  text, and, eventually, video. By Christmas, competition will be on the way
  starting with Tandy Corp.'s $699 Video Information System. And by mid-1993,
  the Apple-Toshiba joint venture is expected to produce a multimedia player
  being developed under the code name Sweet Pea.

  HANDHELD OFFICE. More intriguing, perhaps, is a new category of gadgets
  called Personal Digital Assistants, or PDAs. These handheld PCs are a
  hybrid: electronic datebook, Rolodex, notepad and fax machine.

  Apple has staked out the PDA turf with a product called Newton. The
  6-by-8-inch device, to be built by Sharp, will do calculations, list phone
  numbers, and maintain schedules and to-do lists. It will also communicate
  via modem to send and receive faxes or collect data from computers back at
  the office.

  Newton's chief virtue is software that makes it easy for even computerphobes
  to use. There are no computer files codes, or even a keyboard. The user just
  writes plain English commands on Newton's screen. Write "Fax to Mary," and
  the device automatically looks up her fax number and sends the message.

  By the time Newton ships - Apple says in early 1993 - there may be all sorts
  of PDAs. This fall, IBM plans to demonstrate one that will use radio or
  cellular-phone networks to pick up stock quotes, the latest news, and other
  data. Sony says it plans one. Tandy, Casio, and GeoWorks are teamed up to
  build a "personal information processor." American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
  and Go Corp., a maker of handwriting-recognition software, are working on a
  "personal communicator" that lets you send written notes. Hewlett-Packard is
  planning a new version of its 95LX handheld computer that "reads" hand
  printing.

  Other PDAs on the horizon: travel guides that contain maps, restaurant
  guides, and foreign-language translation, and "My First PDA" for learning
  math, spelling, and penmanship.

  While PDAs are being positioned largely as consumer products, these handheld
  information tools have obvious business applications, too. Would-be PDA
  makers are already noodling with job-specific PDAs, such as one under
  development in Apple's labs that would put all the specs for a Boeing
  747-paper documents that take up 10 feet of shelf space-in an airline
  maintenance worker's hands. The manual would always be up to date, thanks to
  periodic updates via telecommunications.

  Even books are being transformed by the new digital technologies (page 61).
  Several electronic book players are due out late this year or early in 1993.
  These machines will use the huge storage capacity of CD-ROM disks to pack
  digitized encyclopedia sets, novels, and textbooks into handheld machines.
  The idea is to have a handy little player that gives instant access to text,
  illustrations, and, one day, video clips.

  The first such product, Sony's $549.95

  Data Discman, never caught on with consumers in the U. S. But Sony will try
  again in September with a machine known internally as Bookman. In addition
  to presenting text, graphics, and sound stored on standard CD-ROM disks the
  machine plays audio disks. And when hooked up to a TV, it can display stored
  images in 256 colors.

  Books are just the first in a series of familiar objects that are candidates
  for a techno-makeover. Phones, TVs, and even the art on your walls will
  undergo a digital metamorphosis. AT&T has been working for years on
  souped-up phones containing microprocessors, memory chips, and software that
  will give them the power of personal computers. The first such product, due
  out next year, is the AT&T Smart Phone, which includes a touch screen and
  programmable keys for functions such as checking your bank balance.
  Digitization could also perk up your tired decor. By decade's end, there
  could be large-format flat-panel screens that hang on the wall, says Stephen
  D. Arnold, president of Interactive Home Systems Inc., a Redmond (Wash.)
  company that Microsoft's Gates is backing with his own money. When not being
  used to beam in those 500 cable channels, the screens could bring art to the
  masses. With the flick of a few buttons, digitized renderings of  famous
  paintings could be summoned. Depressed? Try a Van Gogh. Or perhaps a
  soothing nature video. Interactive Home is working on such a system, and
  Gates plans to use a 46,000-square-foot home he is building as a test bed.
  "This will be in some homes at the end of the decade," Gates says. "It will
  be in my home a lot sooner."

  BACKBONES. But even billionaire Gates can't buy all these futuristic gizmos
  until some foundations are laid. The most important is a high-speed digital
  pathway to zap all this information to homes and offices. The coaxial cable
  that now carries TV signals may give cable companies the edge in laying new
  digital highways. Cable has the capacity (bandwidth, the experts call it) to
  move 1 billion bits of data a second-enough to transmit the entire
  Encyclopedia Britannica in about two seconds. To send that same material
  over regular phone lines takes 17 minutes. Cable companies have also spent
  millions of dollars installing fiber-optic "backbone" networks between
  regional transmission centers. These networks are able to move huge amounts
  of data at even higher speeds to neighborhood switches, where the signal is
  redirected over coaxial wiring.

  But don't count the local phone companies out. For starters, the cable
  companies lack the kind of computerized network monitoring and billing
  systems that all phone companies have. Cable operators also have little
  experience with two-way communications. And a decade of expansion that has
  eaten up 15 of their capital budgets in recent years leaves them in no
  financial position to lay fiber that last mile into the home.

  In addition to having the right kind of billing systems, network monitors,
  and switches, the phone companies have deep pockets. Their problem is that
  their only connection to the home is "twisted pair" copper wiring, which is
  woefully low-capacity. Even using special chips and software to compress the
  data, copper wires can transmit only the equivalent of 1 million bits of
  information a second-not enough for digital video. The Baby Bells have
  estimated that it would cost more than $300 billion to rewire the local
  phone networks with high-capacity fiber-optic cable.

  'INNATE DISTRUST.' One solution would be collaboration between cable TV and
  local phone companies. Such a union, says Robert L. Barada, vice-president
  for corporate strategy at Pacific Telesis Group, would combine the two-way
  capability of the phone system with the broadband capacity of cable.
  However,  Barada notes, regulatory restrictions on the Bell operating
  companies rule out such linkups now. Moreover, he warns, the two industries
  are unlikely to ally, since they're already eyeing each other's basic
  business. "There is a very deeply felt, innate distrust " he notes.

  Another hurdle is compression technology. A Compu-TV won't be practical
  until video can be compressed by at least seven times the size it now
  requires. Today's compression still comes up short, but many companies,
  including Intel and Philips, are working on improving the quality and
  cutting the cost. E. Jane White, director of educational services for ABC
  Interactive News, predicts important compression breakthroughs within three
  years.

  So once you have a Compu-TV, what will you do with it? Interact. Forget
  couch potatoes. Digitization lets you take charge. Trip Hawkins, president
  of SMSG, a joint venture between computergame maker Electronic Arts and Time
  Warner, describes how you could, for example, enjoy an interactive version
  of Wild Kingdom. Interested in lions? Zoom in, and get a video clip of the
  lion hunting. Maybe you would like to see the jungle from the lion's
  perspective. A click on the button, and the camera angle changes to give you
  a lion's view.

  Or try shopping. Tap into a fashion channel, narrow your choices, then
  replace the model on the screen with an image of yourself to see if that new
  Armani suit really is "you." If it is, use the remote control to order it.
  The cable system and your Compu-TV will work out the details. Says analyst
  Lee S. Isgur of Volpe, Welty & Co.: "Interactivity will result in profound
  changes in our lives. It will be akin to Rip Van Winkle awakening after a
  long sleep."

  SELECTIVE SOFTWARE. Of course, navigating through hundreds of channels of
  interactive TV could make programming your VCR seem simple. That's where
  computer and software makers see their entree into the home-a market where
  their traditional wares have yet to make a big impact. Apple and Microsoft
  are both developing software that would aid in sorting through the channels
  and would come up with just what you want.

  For an early glimpse of the power of Compu-TV, check out today's multimedia
  PCs, which combine text, video, photos and sound. Multimedia is still the
  province of computer aficionados-only 3 % of PCs are equipped with CD-ROM
  drives for multimedia software. But new titles are being published daily,
  and the cost of CD-ROM drives has dropped to about $300, from $700 two years
  ago. 

  Hollywood is intrigued by the new technology. There are dozens of projects
  under way to crank out glitzy multimedia titles for entertainment,
  education, and the hybrid "edutainment." Says actress-producer Shelley
  Duvall: "This is the equivalent of the Golden Age of television. And the
  early bird gets the worm." Duvall, working with a Canadian company,
  Sanctuary Woods, is producing an interactive kids' game called "It's a
  Bird's Life." Click on a parrot, and a box appears describing its natural
  habitat or how it got from the Amazon jungle to Los Angeles. Star Wars
  producer George Lucas is converting the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV
  series to digital format so he can create multimedia spin-offs such as games
  and educational programs.

  Hollywood's music industry is also in on the act. Teen music stars Kriss
  Kross and C&C Music Factory have helped Sony develop a CD game that lets you
  make your own music videos. Songwriter Allee Willis, who is working on
  interactive CDS, says Hollywood will save multimedia from death by boredom.
  "This needs to have that warmth and feeling," she says. "And I think it's
  going to come from artists."

  The truth is, no one really knows which person, company, or industry will
  shape he new digital world. The vision is information anytime, anywhere-the
  George-and-Jane lifestyle with a Compu-TV in the home, a PDA in the pocket,
  and an office where computers are as easy to use as phones. But will it
  really materialize before 2000? Says Dave Nagel, head of Apple's Advanced
  Technology Group: "Right now, the industry is throwing lots of things
  against the wall. What will stick isn't clear." The only thing that is clear
  is that this digital revolution will be televised.

  By Kathy Rebello in San Francisco, with Richard Brandt in San Francisco,
  Peter Coy in New York, Mark Lewyn in Washington, and Bureau Reports.

  {BW Sept 7, 1992, Contributed by someone on the network}



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

AMERICAN FOOTBALL
=========================                              
        Buffalo 	34 - 31 San Francisco 	
        Cincinnati 	24 - 21	LA Raiders 	(ot)
	Dallas 		34 - 28 NY Giants 	
        Denver 		21 - 13 San Diego 		
        Detroit 	31 - 17 Minnesota 	
        Houston 	20 - 10 Indianapolis 	
        Kansas City 	26 -  7 Seattle		 
        LA Rams 	14 -  0 New England	         
        New Orleans 	28 -  6 Chicago		 
        Philadelphia 	31 - 14 Phoenix 	
        Pittsburgh 	27 - 10 NY Jets 	
        Tampa Bay 	31 -  3 Green Bay 	 
        Washington 	24 - 17 Atlanta 	

ATHLETICS
=========================
   The German Athletics Federation is to ask the IAAF to ban Katrin Krabbe for
   four years after she failed a dope test. Krabbe recently admitted using the
   banned substance, Clenbuterol.

CRICKET
=========================
   The ANC has approved India's tour to South Africa, starting next month.
   India will play four Tests and seven one-day internationals in the 10 week 
   tour.


FOOTBALL
=========================

    News
    ----
    Dean Saunders has completed a 2.3 million pound move from Liverpool to
    Aston Villa.

    A double transfer of Mark Bright from Crystal Palace to Sheffield Wednesday
    and Paul Williams move from Wednesday to Palace has been completed for
    around 1 million.

    Graham Souness is hoping to sign Danish international Torben Piechnik.

    Results
    -------

    FA Premier League                                 
    -----------------
    Arsenal ............. 0  Blackburn Rovers ....... 1
    Chelsea ............. 2  Norwich City ........... 3
    Crystal Palace ...... 2  Oldham Athletic ........ 2
    Everton ............. 0  Manchester United ...... 2
    Ipswich Town ........ 2  Wimbledon .............. 1
    Leeds United ........ 1  Aston Villa ............ 1
    Manchester City ..... 0  Middlesbrough .......... 1
    Nottingham Forest ... 1  Sheffield Wednesday .... 2
    Sheffield United .... 1  Liverpool .............. 0
    Southampton ......... 1  Queens Park Rangers .... 2

    [playing monday: Coventry v Tottenham]


    Barclays League First Division          Barclays League Second Division
    ------------------------------          -------------------------------
    Brentford ..... 0  Luton Town .. 2      Bournemeouth .. 2 Fulham .......1
    Bristol City .. 0  Southend Utd  1      Brighton ...... 2 Huddersfield  1
    Barnsley ...... 1  Derby County  1      Leyton Orient . 4 Chester City  3
    Charlton Ath... 0  Cambridge Utd 0      Mansfield Town  5 Bradford City 2
    Leicester City  0  Wolves ...... 0      Plymouth Argyle 1 Stoke City ...1
    Millwall ....   0  Birmingham C. 0      Port Vale ..... 2 Exeter City . 2
    Newcastle Utd . 3  Portsmouth .. 1      Preston N. E. . 2 Burnley ..... 0
    Oxford United . 0  Sunderland .. 1      Rotherham Utd . 2 Bolton ...... 1
    Peterborough .. 1  West Ham Utd  3      Stockport ..... 5 Hull City ... 3  
    Swindon Town .. 2  Bristol Rvrs  2      Swansea City .. 3 Blackpool ... 0
    Tranmere Rvrs . 1  Grimsby Town  1      Wigan ......... 2 Hartlepool .. 2
    Watford ....... 1  Notts County  3


    B&Q Premier Division                            
    --------------------
    Airdrieonians ..... 1  Dundee United ........ 2
    Celtic ............ 2  Hibernian ............ 3
    Dundee ............ 2  Motherwell ........... 1
    Heart of Midlothian 1  Aberdeen ............. 0
    Partick Thistle ... 1  Rangers .............. 4
    St Johnstone ...... 3  Falkirk .............. 2


    B&Q First Division                        B&Q Second Division
    ------------------                        -------------------
    Ayr United  ... 0  Cowdenbeath .. 1       Albion Rovers 2   Montrose .... 2
    Hamilton ...... 3  Dumbarton .... 2       Alloa Ath. .. 0   Arbroath .... 2
    Meadowbank .... 1  Clydebank .... 0       Brechin City  1   Stranraer ... 1
    Raith Rovers .. 2  Morton ....... 1       East Fife ... 2   East Stirling 2
    St Mirren ..... 2  Dunfermline .. 1       Forfar ...... 3   Stenhousemuir 1
    Stirling Albion 0  Kilmarnock ... 1       Q. of South . 1   Berwick ..... 0
                                              Queen's Park  1   Clyde ....... 6


    TNT Gold Cup  - Sectional matches:                           
    ------------
    Ards ......... 1  Glenavon ...... 1
    Ballyclare ... 0  Glentoran ..... 2
    Carrick ...... 1  Ballymena ..... 3
    Distillery ... 2  Coleraine ..... 0
    Larne ........ 0  Crusaders ..... 0
    Linfield ..... 1  Bangor ........ 1
    Omagh Town ... 0  Newry ......... 0
    Portadown .... 0  Cliftonville .. 0


    Pools News: Dividends very good.   
    -------------------------
    9 Score draws: 3, 15, 16, 22, 23, 38, 54, 56, 57
    4 No Score:  10, 12, 29, 33


MOTOR SPORT
=========================

    Former Lotus engineer John Davis has joined the Ligier-Renault R&D team
    under Gerard Ducarouge.

    Honda have confirmed that they will withdraw from F1 after the end of this
    season.

    J-M Balestre will challenge Max Moseley for presidency of FISA in October. 

    New World Champion, Nigel Mansell, has announced that he will retire from
    F1 after the end of this season. He quoted difficulties with negotiations
    between him, Williams and its sponsors.

    F! Grand Prix, Monza. Result:
    1. Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Honda)
    2. Martin Brundle (Benetton-Ford)
    3. Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford)
    4. Gerghard Berger (McLaren Honda)
    5. Riccardo Patrese (Williams-Renault)
    6. Andrea de Caesaris (Tyrell-Ilmor)

RUGBY UNION
=========================

     Heineken Welsh League
     Cardiff     37- 3 Pontypridd
     Maesteg      6-35   Swansea
     Neath       37-16   Pontypool
     Newbridge   19-21   Aberavon
     S.W. Police  0-42   Newport

     Curry Cup
     Natal       14-13   Transval


<><><><><><><><>   VNS Edition : 2661      Monday 14-Sep-1992   <><><><><><><><>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Craig Cockburn, Digital Equipment Co. Ltd, Reading, England.     Suas
  Internet: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com                           leis
  UUCP:..!decwrl!edieng.enet.dec.com!cockburn                      a'
                                                                   Gha\idhlig!
  Views here are my own, and are not necessarily those of Digital