PLUGGED IN : NEWS BYTES.

IT'S ALL IN THE NAME: Texas Instruments will announce a brand name for its line of notebook computer accessories this week in a marketing effort aimed at improving the company's image with consumers, a top executive says. TI's Livegear line will debut Tuesday at the PC Expo computer trade show in New York.

PC BY SONY: Seven months after announcing its intention to enter the personal computer business, the Sony Corp. is expected to introduce its first two machines today, designed and built in the United States for the domestic consumer market. The ``PC by Sony'' will cost $2,000 to $3,000, depending on features, and will be available in August, people familiar with Sony's plans said. Given all its features, the PC would seem to offer Sony razor-thin profit margins, if any at all. Indeed, Sony executives acknowledge that the product had lower margins than they were used to, but they said the double-digit growth of the PC business made it an attractive one, and the convergence of computers, communications and entertainment was an event Sony could not afford to miss.

NO LONGER ON HOLD: A Silicon Valley start-up company plans to introduce Monday a small computerized system intended to deliver on the languishing promise of the digital telephone system known as Integrated Service Digital Network, or ISDN, for voice calls. Jetstream Communications of San Jose is planning to tap in to a rapidly growing market of independent business people and corporate workers who do not have the services of a personal secretary. The $1,395 Front Desk system offers a range of features that allow people to screen calls, store messages, give personalized greetings, have up to 16 phone numbers, store and forward faxes, have calls automatically forwarded to multiple remote locations and provide simultaneous high-speed Internet service.

WEB LINKS HOME WORK: It's not everyday that you'll find a great piece of CD-ROM software while shopping for a hammer and nails, but it happened to me the other day. I picked up a CD-ROM called The Home Depot's Home Improvement 1-2-3. The title could have been a little more catchy, but I was struck more by the price: just $15. With full color images and lots of graphics, Home Improvement 1-2-3 is as entertaining as it is informative. Buy it and you'll learn all about everything from building a patio to remodeling your kitchen.

RANDOM ACCESS FORUM: The Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum is hosting ``Business Frontiers on the Internet,'' featuring new products for use on the Internet, case studies of companies already operating profitable businesses on line and a line-up of new growth segments in cyberspace commerce. The monthly business forum meeting begins with breakfast at 7:15 a.m., followed by the program from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the California Institute of Technology, Baxter Lecture Hall, Pasadena. Cost is $35. For reservations, or to be placed on the mailing list for future events, call [phone], send e-mail to entforcco.caltech.edu, or visit the Enterprise Forum's World Wide Web page at http://www.caltech.edu/(TILDE)entforum/.