Issue No. 66
A.- Y2K CLEARINGHOUSE WEB SITE
B.- NEW LISTING OF OPERATING SYSTEMS FOR SPARC BASED SYSTEMS
C.- CAMINTONN CORPORATION OF IRVINE, CA HAS BEEN AWARDED THE SPARC VERIFIED(R) LOGO
G.- RAVE SYSTEMS DESKTOP-U2 AND RACKMOUNT-U2 NOW FEATURE ULTRASPARC(R) II 400MHZ MICROPROCESSOR
H.- EMPRESS TRIPLES SQL OPERATIONS SPEED, BROADENS PROGRAMMING ENVIRONMENT IN VERSION 8.20 RELEASE
II. SCD CERTIFIED AND VERIFIED TESTING ADDITIONS IN MARCH
I. SPARC News
I. A. – Y2K CLEARINGHOUSE WEB SITE
Santa Clara, CA–March 26, 1999– SPARC International, A Year 2000 (Y2K) clearinghouse web site has been created to assist SPARC product users where to seek assistance in resolving possible Y2K problem(s) associated with their systems.
The following companies are now included in this site: Aries, Auspex, Bridgepoint, Force, Hardware Canada, Sun Microsystems, Tadpole-RDI and Tatung. A list of known products or product families are listed. SI welcomes any submission of information to info@sparc.com.
I. B. – NEW LISTING OF OPERATING SYSTEMS FOR SPARC BASED SYSTEMS
Santa Clara, CA–March 23, 1999– SPARC International, A web site has been initiated by SPARC International to inform its visitors of the choices of operating systems which can run on the SPARC Architectures V7, V8 and V9.
You will find these operating systems listed in four categories – commercial, commercial real-time/embedded, public domain, and public domain real-time. Solaris(R) from Sun Microsystems is leading the way for commercial operating systems, but public domain operating systems such as Red Hat’s Linux 5.2 for SPARC are also gaining more and more momentum every day. VxWorks from Wind River Systems is leading in the real-time operating system category.
You can visit this page by going to: www.sparc.com/standards/sparc.os.shtml .
If your favorite SPARC architecture operating system is not listed, please drop us a note at info@sparc.org.
I. C. – CAMINTONN CORPORATION OF IRVINE, CA HAS BEEN AWARDED THE SPARC VERIFIED(R) LOGO
Santa Clara, CA–March 15, 1999– Cammintonn Corporation of Irvine, CA has been awarded the SPARC Verified(R) logo for Memory Modules which passed the Peripheral Verification Test (PVT) process. These include the following product series – ULTRA1, ULTRA2, ULTRA10 and Enterprise450. Camintonn Corporation has specialized in the design and manufacturing of Windows NT and UNIX systems memory for Compaq/Digital, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Silicon Graphics and Sun Microsystems since 1981. Camintonn’s commitment to precision and reliability ensures all products to be 100% compatible and free from defect. We invite you to visit them on the world wide web at www.camintonn.com .
I. D. – INSIGNIA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH SUN MICROSYSTEMS JEODE TECHNOLOGY TO BE CERTIFIED FOR EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Chicago, IL–March 3, 1999– Insignia Solutions(R) announced today at the Embedded Systems Conference that it has finalized an agreement with Sun Microsystems to establish Insignia as a Sun authorized certified Virtual Machine provider. This agreement paves the way for testing and official Sun compliance certification of Insignia’s Jeode(TM) technology and its Embedded Virtual Machine(TM) (EVM(TM)), Insignia’s implementation of Sun’s Java technology for embedded systems.
The agreement authorizes immediate access to the Java(TM) compatibility test suite and the Java technology source code. The agreement includes technology sharing and compatibility verification, and may accelerate and expand market acceptance for both Jeode and Java technologies.
“We are pleased with our enhanced relationship with Sun,” said Richard Noling, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insignia Solutions, upon completion of the agreement. “The progress we have made in furthering the market acceptance of our Jeode technology will help extend the interest in Java technology for embedded systems. Our Jeode technology, which has been in beta test since November, has won consistently good reviews from our customers, and remains on track for official product shipment by the end of March,” he continued.
Alan Baratz, President of Java Software at Sun Microsystems, added, “We are excited to welcome Insignia as a key player in helping make the Java platform the de facto industry standard for embedded systems. This agreement reflects the commitment by both companies to the Java platform and the Jeode technology. Sun has been working closely with Insignia since last fall and we are very impressed with their Jeode technology.”
For additional information on Insignia and its products, call 1 800 848-7677 in the United States and +44 (0)1628 539 570 in Europe, or visit the Company’s Web site at www.insignia.com.
I. E. – DYAN DYER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF COMMAND SOFTWARE SYSTEMS WINS “WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR-TRAILBLAZER” AWARD
Jupiter, FL–March 19, 1999– Dyan Dyer, Chairman and CEO of Command Software Systems, Inc. and its subsidiary GEAR Software, is the first to win the “Woman Entrepreneur-Trailblazer” award, presented at the “Women’s Executive Ball – The 1999 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year” gala. This first annual award ceremony, co-chaired by the Boca/Delray Chapter of “National Women Business Owners” (NAWBO) and “The Small Office Home Office Association” (SOHO Station) honored women entrepreneurs in Palm Beach County, Florida who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements in their respective businesses and who exemplify dedication to helping others by sharing their expertise.
Nominees for the Woman Entrepreneur-Trailblazer award were required to have been in business for at least five years and had to have acquired substantial revenues over time. Ms. Dyer’s success story has been built on her abiding commitment to develop best of breed products and superior customer service and support. Ms. Dyer’s “Just Do It” attitude, her unwavering determination to meet all challenges head-on, and her commitment to hiring quality people, create the foundation of her companies.
Command Software’s subsidiary, GEAR Software, brings to market today’s most robust CD-R and DVD-R technology for audio, video, and data recording, plus a multimedia version for Windows and UNIX platforms. The GEAR consumer family of products includes GEAR(tm) CD-R Suite which bundles GEAR(tm) Audio (allows users to mix music and audio onto one CD from multiple sources), GEAR(tm) Replicator (allows users to create flawless duplication of any CD), and WebGrabber(tm) (allows users to copy Web content onto CD). GEAR PRO for Windows and GEAR PRO for UNIX make up GEAR’s professional product line and includes cutting-edge features that multimedia title developers, CD publishers and audio houses demand.
For more information about Command Software and GEAR Software, visit their Web site at www.commandcom.com.
I. F. – RAVE COMPUTER ASSOCIATION, INC. ANNOUNCES NEW ULTRASPARC IIi PROCESSOR AVAILABLE FOR RAVE SYSTEMS RACKMOUNT-AXI AND RAVE SYSTEMS TOWER-AXI
Sterling Heights, MI–March 17, 1999– Rave Computer Association, Inc., a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Sun Microsystems, announces the release of the latest processor available for Rave Systems RackMount-AXi and Tower-AXi, the UltraSPARC(R) IIi 360MHz with 2MB external cache.
Both Rave Systems RackMount-AXi (RM-AXi) and Tower-AXi (T-AXi) utilize Sun’s Ultra(tm) AXi motherboard which provides robust standard features such as UltraSPARC-IIi ungradable processor modules with processing speeds up to 360MHz, integrated dual-channel Ultra wide SCSI, six 33MHz/32 bit PCI slots, and supports up to 1GB of memory and Suns Creator Series (FFB2) graphics.
The Rave Systems Rackmount-AXi features Sun’s Ultra AXi motherboard integrated into an attractive 19″ rackmount 5U enclosure that offers many flexible configurations. The chassis can be configured with shock-mounted drive canisters, hot-swap fans, hot-swap capable disk drives, and hot-swap power supplies.
The system also offers an option of being integrated with an intelligent system control board which provides both audible and visual warnings should a fault occur with temperature, power supplies, or fans in conjunction with Raves’ newest product development, Pagemate. Pagemate is a remote error notification system designed exclusively to interface with Rave Systems RackMount-AXi. Pagemate works in tandem with Raves’ optional intelligent system control board integrated into Rave Systems rackmount chassis, and Pagemate continuously monitors the status of power supplies, cooling fans, and internal chassis temperature, all independent of the system motherboard. When an error is detected, an integral 2400 baud modem dials out immediately, informing key personnel. A detailed text message, giving the system address and error notification is sent to an alphanumeric pager.
Rave Systems Tower-AXi features Sun’s Ultra AXi motherboard integrated into a mid-tower chassis that is configured with three 5.25, two 3.5 exposed bays and 300 Watt power supply.
More information about Rave Computer Association, Inc. can be found on their web site at: www.rave.com or by calling 1-800-966-7283.
I. G. – RAVE SYSTEMS DESKTOP-U2 AND RACKMOUNT-U2 NOW FEATURE ULTRASPARC(R) II 400MHZ MICROPROCESSOR
Sterling Heights, MI–March 17, 1999– Rave Computer Association, Inc. leading Sun authorized system integrator introduces two Rave Systems powered up to 400MHz UltraSPARC-II(R) processor with 2MB of external cache.
Rave Systems Desktop U2 (DT-U2) is a multi-processing 64 bit UltraSPARC II powered system designed to meet the requirements for the most sophisicated graphic, technical, and business applications. The DT-U2 is integrated with original Suns single or dual UltraSPARC II chip set that supports up to 400MHz processing speeds with 2MB of external cache. The system also can be configured with up to 2GB of memory and pre-loaded with Solaris 2.6 or later. The DT-U2 comes standard with 100-BaseT Ethernet interface; two serial ports; one parallel port and four SBus expansion slots, 32 bit or 64 bit data bus width. The Rave Systems DT-U2 supports Creator 3D graphics technology and provides disk storage capacity of up to 18GB.
Rave Systems RackMount U2 (RM-U2) is a 64 bit multi-processing rackmount featuring all original Sun components integrated into a standard 19″ EIA rack. The RM-U2 also features Sun’s single or dual UltraSPARC II chip set with up to 400MHz processing power with 2MB external cache. The RackMount-U2 comes standard with 100-BaseT Ethernet interface; two serial ports; one parallel port and four SBus expansion slots, 32 bit or 64 bit data bus width. The system can be pre-loaded with Solaris 2.6 or later, and configured with up 2GB of memory with hard disk storage capacity of up to 18GB. The Rave Systems RM-U2 is designed to provide the best solution for an entry level server and high performance embedded applications.
More information about Rave Computer Association, Inc. can be found on their web site at www.rave.com or by calling 1-800-966-7283.
I. H. – EMPRESS TRIPLES SQL OPERATIONS SPEED, BROADENS PROGRAMMING ENVIRONMENT IN VERSION 8.20 RELEASE
Greenbelt, MD–March 12, 1999– Empress announces the immediate availability of EMPRESS RDBMS V8.20, now with the fastest ever Dynamic SQL and ODBC-based SQL operations, plus a host of new features for the embedded systems marketplace. The new EMPRESS capabilities include: 300+% speed increases for Dynamic SQL and ODBC-based repetitive SQL operations Database Internet object technologies such as Data Streaming and a Pure Java Client thread safe environment for invoking Empress routines in multi-threaded applications fork safe environment that allows execution of subsequent initialization procedures in complex autonomous, fire-and-forget embedded applications Open connectivity with wider array of third-party software.
A recent breakthrough in Empress technology now allows looped SQL operations, invoked through Empress interfaces for Dynamic SQL or the Empress ODBC Interface, to run at significantly greater speeds than ever before. Speed increases range from 300% for repeated Deletes, to over 1000% for Inserts.
Data Streaming allows large amounts of text or large binary objects (BLObs, bulk data) to be manipulated in small streams and within a greatly reduced memory space. Now a massive stream of data can be updated easily without loading or transferring the entire object, resulting in 2 times to 3 times throughput increases in LAN-based bulk data operations.
EMPRESS RDBMS V8.20 has broadened its operations into multiple development programming environments. For those who wish to write portable Java programs, Empress JDBC Interface Pure Java Client enables applications to run on any OS that has a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Empress-based applets can run inside any browser that conforms to the Javasoft specification for JVM. The Threadsafe feature enables developers to safely and transparently use Empress routines in multi-threaded programming. The Forksafe feature provides the capability to reinitialize Empress related resources between parent and child process; this allows parallel or asynchronous programming.
EMPRESS RDBMS V8.20 also offers connectivity with major third-party tools. These include Adobe FrameMaker, Allaire’s ColdFusion, Borland Delphi, MS FoxPro, MS Office (Access, Excel, Word), MS Query, MS Visual Basic, MS Visual C++, Rogue Wave DBTools.h++, Sybase PowerBuilder, and Sybase PowerDesigner (formerly S-Designor).
Empress Software develops and supports the EMPRESS Relational Database Management System. The EMPRESS RDBMS V8.20 is one of the most powerful and costeffective databases designed especially for embedded systems developers working with UNIX, Windows or real-time environments. Empress is used successfully in many fields, including image and voice management, telecommunications, medical systems, telephony systems, multimedia applications, geographical information systems and network management.
For more information about Empress, please call 301-220-1919. Check our web site at www.empress.com or send email to info@empress.com. You can write to us at Empress Software, 6401 Golden Triangle Drive, Greenbelt, MD, 20770.
II. – SCD CERTIFIED AND VERIFIED TESTING ADDITIONS IN MARCH
The SPARC Compliant brand, awarded by SPARC International, assures end users that systems so branded will work with any other product branded to the same level of the “SPARC Compliant Definition (SCD).” This list, updated monthly, includes changes made to the master list of SPARC Compliant products.
ADDITIONS (System Products):
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The SPARC Verified brand, awarded by SPARC International, assures end users that the peripherals they want to use will work on the SPARC Compliant systems they target. This list, updated monthly, includes changes made to the master list of SPARC Verified products.
ADDITIONS (Peripheral Verification Tested Products):
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III. SPARCSHOP
SPARC-related documents are available through SPARC International’s bookstore, SPARCSHOP. Access to SPARCSHOP is available several ways,
- email sparcshop@sparc.org
- phone us at 1-408-748-9111 x240
Currently available
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– Managing Editor –
Cheryl Hostetler
Direct Inquiries To – sparc-flash-request@sparc.org
SPARC International promotes the design, development and application of SPARC to computer and peripheral products; establishes hardware and software standards; enables compatibility across SPARC-branded products; and provides, promotes and protects SPARC and SPARC-related brand names.
SPARC International has verified to the best of its ability all of the product information contained in this newsletter. Information in this newsletter has been provided by the vendors. SPARC International has not reviewed claims made about product features or functions, and is not responsible for the accuracy of such claims. Users may want to obtain references, documentation, and/or demonstrations before purchasing any products or services. No vendor is authorized to act as an agent of SPARC International, or to make any representations or warranties on SPARC International’s behalf.
The following are Registered® Trademarks of SPARC International, Inc.:
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Other Trademarks that are in use or Pending Registration include:
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Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. All other product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.