May 25, 1994

The Microsoft Corporation said yesterday that it had signed a letter of intent with Rogers Cablesystems Ltd., Canada's largest cable television company, to provide software for an interactive cable system that will be deployed in the first half of 1996. The agreement is a significant victory for Microsoft, which had been negotiating with big cable and telephone companies for more than a year to try to stake out its turf in an emerging national system to provide digital video, home shopping and other interactive services through telephone and cable networks.

It is historical fact that nearly every inch of Coney Island has burned to the ground at one time or another. The amusement rides, rows of shops on the avenues, a few of the antique hotels and long stretches of the Boardwalk have disappeared. And then they have risen again, reassuring old-timers that Coney Island's magic is somehow invincible, yet making them wistful for the way things once were. It has always been this way on the tiny peninsula: danger mixed with a cool breeze off the ocean, hurly-burly mingled with the gentle sands, an odd, teetering feeling that leaves many just the slightest bit on edge.

The four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center were sentenced yesterday to prison terms that assure they will remain in custody for the rest of their lives. To do that, Judge Kevin T. Duffy imposed the extraordinary sentence of 240 years on each of the men -- Mohammed A. Salameh, Nidal A. Ayyad, Mahmud Abouhalima and Ahmad M. Ajaj -- and said they would have no possibility of parole. The sentence means that unless the rules of the court change or the verdicts are reversed on appeal, there is virtually no chance that any of them will ever spend another day free.

The Economy The decision by the United States and Japan to resume stalled trade talks was driven by an overriding concern: The nations learned that they could not live without each other. News Analysis. [ Page D1. ]

The financial performance of the Chalone Wine Group, a publicly owned company, has not exactly been remarkable in recent years. So there was some concern among the 1,200 stockholders who had gathered here on Saturday when William Hamilton, the chief financial officer, rose to speak. "Oysters," Mr. Hamilton said, "remain unchanged, at 2,500, despite a 25 percent decline in shuckers."