April 26, 1999

Apple Computer Inc has had remarkable resurrection, after being all but given up for dead just few years ago; company recently exceeded analysts' estimates in reporting its sixth consecutive profitable quarter; secret to Steven P Jobs's successful return to Apple is small manufacturing and design team and highly disciplined engineering process put in place in last two years by Jon Rubinstein, who leads manufacturing team; that team is responsible for popular iMac machines Apple began shipping last August, for critically acclaimed G3 desktop and portable machines that updated Apple's moribund Macintosh and Powerbook lines, and for new low-priced portable to be introduced in next few months; some in industry wonder whether introductions of two successful computers necessarily mean Apple can sustain its comeback in highly volatile PC industry; photo; graph (M)

Deutsche Telekom Seen As a Suitor for One 2 One Deutsche Telekom, which is in the midst of an $80-billion-plus attempted merger with Telecom Italia, may also have its sights on a major mobile telephone acquisition in Britain. People close to Telekom said it was interested in acquiring One 2 One, a joint venture between Cable and Wireless and Mediaone Group. One 2 One's parents put it up for sale last month, and the company has drawn intense interest throughout the European telecommunications industry. It is unclear whether Telekom has made a firm offer. [Page C2.]

Pokemon, video game from Nintendo Corp, is shaping up as biggest ever produced by company; has grown into international industry with variety of spinoffs since introduction in Japan three years ago with sales of nearly $5 billion; more than 2.5 million games have been sold in US since introduction in September 1998, or more than any other hand-held Nintendo in such short span; at least 40 licensing deals have been struck, with revenues already exceeding $200 million; game is one of hottest fads of 1990's among pre-teenage set; photos (M)

Two start-up companies, Sandpiper Networks Inc and Akamai Technologies Inc, have pioneered way to distribute material over Internet that avoids much of congestion that can make Web search frustrating; Sandpiper and Akamai distribute contents of Web site to server computers dispersed throughout Internet, so information does not always have to wend its way through network from single site; Sandpiper is expected to announce that America Online has made small investment in company and will incorporate Sandpiper's technology into its network; other investors in Sandpiper include two customers: Times Mirror Corp and NBC, as well as Inktomi Corp; Akamai has hired as its president and chief executive George H Conrades, former executive at GTE Corp and IBM; photo (M)

NHK Symphony Orchestra of Japan, led by Charles Dutoit, will appear at Carnegie Hall, in first United States tour in 20 years; Festival of Flanders, including hundreds of concerts through year in abbeys, cathedrals and city halls through that region of Belgium, will be in Limburg and Kortrijk this week; Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis, will celebrate 100th anniversary of birth of Duke Ellington at Avery Fisher Hall; Bang on a Can new music festival will begin on May 2 at Henry Street Settlement; photo (M)