TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Network Computer President Named: Database software maker Oracle Corp. has appointed company veteran Jerry Baker as president of the new subsidiary it has formed to design low-cost computers for accessing the Internet. Network Computer Inc. will design $500 personal computers for browsing the Internet as well as software for the new devices that it will license to others to manufacture. The venture will be announced at a news conference today in San Francisco by Oracle, IBM and workstation manufacturer Sun Microsystems Inc. The three will be joined by other computer, consumer electronics and phone companies that intend to make Internet PCs, among them Apple Computer Inc., Japan’s Mitsubishi, Taiwan’s Acer Inc., Italy’s Olivetti and South Korea’s Gold Star, although not all will use Oracle’s design.