News Briefs
| Date | 01 March 1982 |
| Pages | 33-33 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057246 |
| Published date | 01 March 1982 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
News Briefs
Integrated Office Systems on Show
The Office Automation Show and Conference dedicated to
information systems for today's business needs is being
held at London's newly completed Barbican Centre 15-17
June.
Sessions will include how to select and use integrated
word and data processing systems and evaluations of ma-
jor developments such as electronic funds transfer (EFT),
electronic mail, financial modelling and local area net-
works. The conference will cover the use of integrated
systems in specific business areas such as banking, law ar-
chitecture, estate management, stock and commodity
banking. The organisers are Clapp & Poliak Ltd, 232 Ac-
ton Lane, London W4 5DL (Tel: 01-747 3131).
Avoiding Repeating Early Computing Mistakes
In developing countries, unplanned growth of computing,
with ad hoc activities sponsored for short term commercial
or political reasons, would result in expensive mistakes. It
would waste resources through duplication of the kind of
mistakes previously experienced in more technologically
advanced countries, and, perhaps more importantly, slow
down the rate of development. This view was expressed
recently in Sri Lanka by Julian Bogod, Director of The UK
Council for Computing Development, chairing the Second
National Seminar on Computer Use held in Sri Lanka
under the auspices of the International Labour Organisa-
tion.
"The developing countries need help to enable them to
take advantage of world wide computing advancements.
They should not try to re-invent the wheel," Mr Bogod
said. "During the latter half of the 1970s the world of com-
puting in some developing countries changed dramatically.
The growing importance of software relative to hardware
is particularly significant for the Third World. Given the
necessary intellectual capacity, software skills can be
learnt, provided that skilled and knowledgeable education
and training are available. Some countries have been able
to develop their software competence to the point where
they are exporting software products and services. India,
in particular, has been especially successful in this. What is
very often missing, however, is the opportunity for local
staff to gain experience or to be formally trained in the
latest techniques and methods".
The Datapoint 8600 Computer
A new computer has been unveiled by Datapoint (UK) Ltd.
The 8600 system, a major addition to the Datapoint pro-
duct range, is a low-priced, desk-top computer especially
designed for office environments. It is fully compatible
with Datapoint's ARC (Attached Resource Computer)
local network, and can also be used as a stand-alone
system.
Built into a compact cabinet with an optional tilt-and-
rotate base, the 8600 features a large amber screen, a
powerful central processor, and a memory capacity of up
to 256K bytes. Ergonomics has played an important part in
the design of the 8600. The designers have been conscious
that because workers spend longer at their visual display
unit workstations, special features need to be built into the
equipment to reduce fatigue and make the working en-
vironment as comfortable as possible. The large, high-
resolution screen, with a diagonal width of 12 inches,
displays the characters in a pleasant amber shade on a dark
brown background. The intensity of the screen, which
displays 24 lines each of 80 columns, can be controlled
from the keyboard, with 16 levels of brightness. The
display characters are programmable.
The processor is available with an optional tilt-rotate
base,
plus a compact low-profile keyboard that is not at-
tached to the processor housing — a design that makes it
easy to configure a comfortable workstation to the user's
specifications. The keyboard is connected to the processor
by a coiled cable that can be extended to a length of one
metre.
Further details are available from Datapoint (UK) Ltd,
Ventek House, 400 North Circular Road, Neasden, Lon-
don NW10 0JG. (Tel: 01-459 1222).
Barclays Bank International OCR Financial System
Barclays Bank International have completed installation of
a second OCR ScanData financial system at Poole, Dorset.
The two 1,200 document per minute systems, each with 14
sort pockets, 33 MB disc store, 9 track 1600 bpi tape drive
and a 900 1pm printer, are now operational with 16 VDUs,
eight of which are switchable for use on either system. The
total system value is around £500,000.
The current systems application comprises two phases.
Phase one, which went live on the first system installed in
February 1980, comprises travellers cheques processing in-
cluding production of magnetic tapes for the Bank's IBM
mainframe processing. The second phase is the production
of credit advices to the Correspondent Banks which is now
live on the second system. Each system scanner is equipped
with front and rear end endorsing which prints the Bank
sort code and address. Maximum document acceptance is
achieved by automatic MICR/OCR compare, each docu-
ment being read magnetically with OCR clarification.
Published by MCB Publications Ltd, 198/200 Keighley Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD9 4JQ. Telephone: Bradford (0274) 499821
© 1982 MCB Publications. Printed by Joseph Ward & Co. (Printers) Dewsbury Ltd. Price for 6 copies paid: United Kingdom
&
Northern Ireland £29.95. Rest of the World JUS89.95. USA circulation en-
quiries should be sent to Subscription Department, MCB Publications Limited. Subscribers are invited to take advantage of any help and advice which the editorial staff can offer concerning news and pro-
ducts featured in the journal. Enquiries to Editorial Advisory Department, Industrial Management & Data Systems, 198/200 Keighley Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD9 4JQ.
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