Issue No. 63
D.- EMPRESS ACHIEVES FASTER PERFORMANCE WITH IN-MEMORY SPEEDUP
E.- GEAR’S UNIX MULTIMEDIA IS “MAKIN’ TRACKS” IN THE PROFESSIONAL CD-R MULTIMEDIA INDUSTRY
F.- SOUTHLAND MICRO SYSTEMS OF IRVINE, CA HAS BEEN AWARDED THE SPARC VERIFIED(R) LOGO
II. SCD 1.1/2.1 TESTING ADDITIONS, DELETIONS AND PRODUCTS IN PROCESS
III. V8/V9 SCD TESTING ADDITIONS, DELETIONS AND PRODUCTS IN PROCESS
IV. PVT SPARC VERIFIED ADDITIONS, DELETIONS AND PRODUCTS IN PROCESS
I. A. – TATUNG EXPANDS ENTRY-LEVEL, PCI-BASED WORKSTATION-LINE WITH NEW 360 MHZ ULTRA 10-COMPATIBLE SYSTEMS
Milpitas, CA–December 8, 1998– Tatung Science & Technology, Inc. (TSTI), celebrating more than ten years of commitment to the SPARC(R) systems market, today introduced the COMPstation U10-360, a new line of entry-level desktop workstations powered by the recently released 360 MHz UltraSPARC(R)-IIi microprocessor from Sun Microsystems. The U10-360 delivers more power at a more affordable price than the COMPstation U10-333, a 333 MHz Ultra 10-compatible system that Tatung released this past July. Tatung is further leveraging the 360 MHz UltraSPARC-IIi processor in a new series of rack-mountable systems that the company also introduced today. Designed to suit the needs of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), OEMs and industrial and communications applications, the COMPstation U10-360RM servers feature a compact, 19-inch rack-mountable chassis design. Tatung’s Highest Performing Ultra 10-Compatible.
With 2MB of external cache, the 360 MHz UltraSPARC-IIi microprocessor propels the COMPstation U10-360 system performance to a SPECint95 rating of 15.2* and a SPECfp95 rating of 19.9*.
“The COMPstation U10-360 is the highest performing of our Ultra 10-compatible systems, yet it also maintains tremendous configuration flexibility with the availability of both tower and rack-mountable systems,” said Kam Chan, president of TSTI.
The 64-bit processor supports five 32-bit PCI devices at 33 MHz to provide further flexibility. An additional 64-bit UPA slot is designed for vertical add-ons such as Creator and Elite 3D graphics cards. While incorporating the PCI I/O bus to offer users access to a host of peripherals, the COMPstation U10-360 also maintains full binary compatibility with the application software customers now use with their existing, SBus-based SPARC systems. No application changes are required in order for customers to continue to use the thousands of software programs available for the SPARC platform.
With industry standard components, the COMPstation U10-360 is designed so that memory and peripherals expansion is both easy and cost-effective. This suits the changing needs of users as well as OEMs. Supports Creator3D and Elite3D Graphics; Comes Pre-Installed With Solaris 7.
The COMPstation U10-360 is affordably priced yet also supports Creator3D and Elite3D graphics technology to meet the complex needs of today’s MCAD, EDA, animation, oil exploration, software development, and high-end financial services markets. It is ideal for cost-conscious users of these sophisticated 3D applications.
The system comes pre-installed with the recently announced Solaris 7 operating system from Sun. This new 64-bit operating environment offers full binary compatibility with previous releases of Solaris software but delivers enhanced performance and scalability. The COMPstation U10-360 gives users easy access to high performance and high functionality graphics and imaging APIs including Sun’s XIL, an imaging API for delivering powerful VIS (Visual Instruction Set) accelerated imaging and video functionality to applications and application developers. Users can also take advantage of OpenGL, the popular 3D graphics API for advanced graphics visualization applications. Five Drive Bays Support Diverse Peripheral Requirements.
The new rack-mountable, Ultra 10-compatible systems are designed to meet the needs of ISPs, OEMs and industrial and communications applications. The new COMPstation U10-360RM features a 360 MHz UltraSPARC-IIi CPU and is available in a 19-inch rack-mountable chassis design that fits into existing ISP server banks and adapts easily to OEM configurations. With a footprint that is 7″ high x 17.25″ wide x 18″ deep, the system’s space-saving design allows for easy vertical stacking. Front panel access to CD-ROM and floppy drives enables administrators to simplify upgrades and routine maintenance tasks.
The system features five drive bays suitable for two, standard 3-1/2″ hard drives (one inch thick); a 5-1/4″ CD-ROM drive; a 4- or 8mm tape drive; and a 3-1/2″ floppy drive. Optional Rack-Mountable RAID Storage Subsystem Boosts Disk Capacity up to 126 GB.
An add-on disk array storage subsystem available from Tatung as an option boosts hard disk capacity up to 126 GB and makes the COMPstation U10-360RM servers robust enough to support departmental or small enterprise Internet or Intranet applications.
Both the COMPstation U10-360 and the COMPstation U10-360RM are now available.
For more information, contact Tatung Science & Technology, Inc., 1840 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035, USA. Toll Free: +800-659-5902; e-mail: mkt@tsti.com; Web site www.tsti.com.
I. B. – INSIGNIA SIGNS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH SUN MICROSYSTEMS TO EXTEND DEPLOYMENT OF JAVA IN EMBEDDED SYSTEMS MARKET
San Jose, CA–December 9, 1998– Insignia Solutions(R) (Nasdaq: INSGY), a leading provider of virtual machine technology, today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sun Microsystems. The two companies will work towards an agreement giving Insignia immediate access to Sun’s source code for the Java(TM) platform, as well as set the stage for an official certification of the Embedded Virtual Machine(TM) (EVM(TM)), and JENE(TM), Insignia’s implementation of Java for embedded systems. Insignia will also include some key Java technologies from Sun, including certain Java class libraries, with JENE to help ensure compatibility. Official certification of JENE and EVM with Sun, coupled with a new level of technology sharing and compatibility assurance, will help expand JENE’s acceptance by a broader customer base and help extend the market for Java-based embedded systems.
“We are sharing our source code with companies and individuals committed to compatible implementations of the Java platform,” said Alan Baratz, president of Java Software at Sun Microsystems, Inc. “Insignia’s Embedded Virtual Machine(TM) and JENE development system provide a compliant implementation of the Java techonology for embedded systems development that will help Sun extend its presence in the embedded systems marketplace. The heart and soul of Sun’s new licensing model is to foster just this type of industry participation and innovation that will help make the Java platform the de facto industry computing standard.”
“This high level of cooperation with Sun means Insignia will be able to respond even faster to changes and innovations in the Java platform, as well as to changing customer needs,” said Richard Noling, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insignia Solutions. “Sun is to be applauded for this new licensing model, which provides a new level of compatibility within many different segments of the marketplace. Moreover, it puts Insignia in a better position to bring the benefits of our leading-edge EVM technology to the embedded systems marketplace sooner, and should mean greater revenue realization for both companies.”
Insignia Solutions is a leading provider of virtual machine technology that dynamically optimizes the use of available system resources. JENE, Insignia’s implementation of Java specifically designed for embedded systems, allows developers to create reliable, efficient and predictable embedded devices that are enabled by the Company’s Embedded Virtual Machine. The Company’s PC virtual machines, SoftWindows(TM) and RealPC(TM), enable Windows(R) and DOS applications to run on Macintosh(R) and UNIX(R) desktops. The publicly held Company’s US headquarters are in Fremont, California, and its main R&D facilities are in High Wycombe, England. Sales and Marketing departments are located in Fremont and High Wycombe.
I. C.- INSIGNIA’S IMPLEMENTATION OF JAVA FOR EMBEDDED BETA TESTERS INCLUDE FORTUNE 500 ELECTRONICS COMPANIES
San Jose, CA–December 1, 1998– Insignia Solutions(R) (Nasdaq: INSGY), a leading provider of virtual machine technology, today announced the initial market focus of its beta program that allows developers to begin testing JENE(TM), its implementation of Java(TM) for embedded systems. The company has signed developers of embedded devices ranging from networking equipment, PDAs, mass storage systems, and color printers. JENE and the Embedded Virtual Machine(TM) (EVM(TM)) offer potential benefits specific to many different industries represented in the Insignia beta program.
“We know there is a huge interest among developers for an implementation of Java that is suitable for embedded applications, and our beta testers are proving just how far this technology can reach,” said Richard Noling, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insignia Solutions. “The beta testers we’ve initially signed include Fortune 500 electronics companies that represent an extremely wide range of applications for embedded devices. So far, we have signed beta agreements with vendors of networking equipment, PDAs, mass storage systems, color printers, and various consumer electronics devices. This initial round bears out our belief that there is a huge pent-up demand by device makers to be able to use and take advantage of Java. And that’s what JENE offers them.”
Additional beta testers include manufacturers of color printers, scanners, copiers, fax machines, and various consumer electronics devices.
For additional information on Insignia and its products, call 1-800-848-7677 in the United States and +44 1429 855 020 in Europe, or visit the Company’s Web site at www.insignia.com.
I. D. -EMPRESS ACHIEVES FASTER PERFORMANCE WITH IN-MEMORY SPEEDUP
Greenbelt, MD–December 1, 1998– The EMPRESS RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) allows users to intermix main memory and disk storage mechanisms for all data management functions. Users have the ability to utilize EMPRESS completely in main-memory; or, users can select exactly which components of their Empress database they wish to store in memory and which they would like to store on disk depending on their own unique needs.
For developers of real-time applications who need to process information rapidly, working with EMPRESS in memory is ideal. Users can choose to put a whole Empress database, including all its tables and indices, in memory. In addition, applications, the database engine, utilities and libraries can reside entirely in memory. Via this method, information can be readily made available and manipulated in less time since access to information via in-memory is much faster than disk.
Alternatively, certain Empress components needed to perform specific processes can be placed in memory while others are accessed through disk. For example, relational database processing in EMPRESS can take place in memory while operations for data backup and recovery can be stored on disk. Through this method, database processing is quicker, but recovery of data, should the particular workstation fail or crash, is still well protected.
“Utilizing in-memory can be the key to optimizing performance and increasing speed within real-time applications which must process up-to-the minute data” states Empress Software President and CEO, John Kornatowski.
EMPRESS also features a small, compact database engine which requires less than 1MB of RAM itself for real-time developers. This small footprint, combined with the ability to operate totally in memory, delivers the necessary speed for an application managing time-critical information.
For more information about Empress, please call 1-301-220-1919. Check our web site at www.empress.com or send e-mail to info@empress.com. You can write to us at Empress Software, 6401 Golden Triangle Drive, Greenbelt, MD, 20770.
I. E. – GEAR’S UNIX MULTIMEDIA IS “MAKIN’ TRACKS” IN THE PROFESSIONAL CD-R MULTIMEDIA INDUSTRY
Jupiter, FL–December 9, 1998– GEAR Software, Inc. announces a revision to its professional leading-edge multimedia UNIX software package, upgrading it to a category of advanced mastering of CD-R technology to be marketed under the brand name “Makin’ Tracks Pro(tm)”. The upgraded UNIX Multimedia 3.51 version of GEAR’s Makin’ Tracks Pro line of products will ship January 1, 1999. Product enhancements include disc at once writing support for HP, Philips, Sony recorders and OEM’s; high reading speeds greater than 16 to support many new drives; and a “copy track” operation to read audio tracks as wave files.
A Windows Multimedia 4.4 version of Makin’ Tracks Pro is planned to join today’s announced UNIX version in mid-January 1999. This dual platform Makin’ Tracks Pro set will prove to be the most comprehensive CD-R software package for professionals. Makin’ Tracks Pro incorporates the latest CD-Recordable technology for Imaging, Mission Critical Archiving, CAD/CAM and Graphics Storage, Title Development, and Pre-master Testing. It will feature multiple recording capabilities, allowing the recording of multiple CDs onto one and will include plug-ins that will enable the user to download software, modify the existing program and copy multiple CDs at once. Both the UNIX and Windows platforms are Y2K compliant, and UNIX platform users can write to ISO 9660, ISO 9660 with RockRidge extensions, plus audio and video CDs.
GEAR Software will debut another product, Makin’ Tracks Suite for desktop customers in early 1999. The Makin’ Tracks Suite will bundle three of GEAR’s most popular products, GEAR(tm) Audio, GEAR(tm) Replicator and WebGrabber(tm) with a new archival product, GEAR(tm) Data. All GEAR products are bundled with a free trial version of Command AntiVirus(tm) (formerly F-PROT Professional), Command Software System’s cutting-edge anti-virus solution, best known for its virus detection and disinfection capabilities. NEATO MediaFace(tm) from NEATO LLC is also bundled with Makin’ Tracks Suite, enabling users to design customized, professional labels for their CD-R and replications.
For more information about GEAR Software and our Makin’ Tracks Pro and Makin’ Tracks Suite products, please visit our new Web site at www.gearcdr.com or you can reach us by telephone at 1-800-423-9147. Find out more about how GEAR is Makin’ Tracks!
I. F. – SOUTHLAND MICRO SYSTEMS OF IRVINE, CA HAS BEEN AWARDED THE SPARC VERIFIED® LOGO
Santa Clara, CA–December 23, 1998– Southland Micro Systems of Irvine, CA has been awarded the SPARC Verified® logo for Memory Modules which passed the Peripheral Verification Test (PVT) process. These include Models SMS 64MB-AXI and SMS 128MB-AXI for Sun SPARCengine Ultra AXi computers and compatibles. The DIMMS were tested under Solaris 7. Southland Micro Systems designs, manufactures and markets memory upgrades under rigorous ISO 9001 standards.
II. – SCD 1.1/2.1 TESTING ADDITIONS, DELETIONS AND PRODUCTS IN PROCESS
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. To view the master list, please access our web site at www.sparc.org or send email to info@sparc.org.
ADDITIONS (System Products):
|
DELETIONS: None at this time
SYSTEMS IN PROCESS: None at this time
III. – V8/V9 SCD TESTING ADDITIONS, DELETIONS AND PRODUCTS IN PROCESS
ADDITIONS: None at this time.
DELETIONS: None at this time.
SEMI-CONDUCTOR IN PROCESS: None at this time.
NOTE: At times, unannounced systems (“in process” or “certified”) may not be included in this report at the request of the vendor.
IV. – PVT SPARC VERIFIED ADDITIONS, DELETIONS AND PRODUCTS IN PROCESS
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:
|
DELETIONS: None at this time
IN PROCESS: None at this time
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
|
– 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.:
|
Other Trademarks that are in use or Pending Registration include:
|
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.