WBD.TYM%OFFICE-2@sri-unix.UUCP (12/19/83)
From: William Daul - Tymshare Inc. Cupertino CA <WBD.TYM@OFFICE-2> IBM's Federal Systems Division demonstrated a working model of a preciously unannounced version of the company's best-selling PC -- an RFI/EMI-resistant model reconfigured to meet TEMPEST specifications -- at this year's Association of Old Crows annual meeting in Virginia Beach, Va. The new machine is identical to the low-end consumer model PC exvept it meets NACSIM specification 5100A. Although the machine had not been formally announced, IBM booth personnel at AOC said they are ready to take orders. Price is at least $6,975, twice that of a conventional PC; delivery is quoted at 30 days after receipt of order. The 16-bit computer is produced by IBM Entry Systems Division, Boca Raton, Fl., and shipped intact to Federal Systems Decision's facility in Gaithersburg, Md., where a special RFI/EMI enclosure and shielded cables are attached. Fiber optic cabling was considered, but rejected. Marketing is limited to government agencies through FSD's natinal federal marketing managers in Gaithersburg or through IBM FSD representatives. Booth personnel said evaluation units had been sent to unnamed government agencies (probably including NSA), but no orders had been received. The TEMPEST model PC is not on the GSA catalog at IBM's request, they added, but officials said they expected it to be on NSA's next preferred product list. The heart of the computer is five cards: two for asynchronous data transmission (including one for a serial printer, although IBM is not offering such a printer), one for system network architecture/synchronous data line control (SNA/SDLC), one for the monochromatic-only display, and one to control the floppy disk drives. The computer contains 192K bytes of RAM expandable to 256K bytes, and runs on all IBM PC software, according to booth personnel. This PC is smaller than the enhanced versions of the IBM PC announced in October, and is likely aimed at applications in local area networks (LANs) tied in to large mainframe computers to handel highly classified data. FROM: DEFENSE ELECTRONICS Dec. 1983