mikeh@lupine.ncd.com (Mike Harrigan) (02/16/91)
NEW SOFTWARE SUITE FOR NCD X TERMINAL FAMILY INCLUDES LOCAL WINDOW MANAGER, ENHANCED SECURITUY, REMOTE RESET DALLAS, January 22, 1991 -- Network Computing Devices, Inc., has developed a window manager with the appearance and behavior of OSF/MOTIF that runs locally on its X terminals -- rather than on a host computer across the network -- saving network resources and allowing X terminals to be used with hosts that do not support the X Window System. The new NCDwm window manager is part of NCDware 2.3, the latest release of software for the firm's X terminal family, which also includes improved security features and a remote reset capability. Local Window Manager a Tenth the Size of OSF/MOTIF Window Manager The X terminal-resident NCDwm window manager is identical in functionality to the OSF/MOTIF window manager, defining the appearance and behavior of windows (e.g., how to open and close them, their borders, icons and menus), and managing mouse-driven events, such as moving and resizing windows. However, it uses only 100 kilobytes of memory space -- about one-tenth the one megabyte consumed by OSF/MOTIF running on a networked host computer. "Having the window manager run on the X terminal instead of on the host means significant savings on CPU bandwidth and memory," said Judy Estrin, NCD executive vice president. "Because every X terminal requires a window manager, these savings can be dramatic in larger installations, for example, or in VAX-based networks where hosts are often underpowered. Furthermore, local processing of muse-driven events reduces network traffic and results in improved response time for window manipulations." Eight Local Terminal Emulations Estrin added that the new NCDware 2.3 also increases from four to eight the number of local terminal emulations supported simultaneously. The user can intermix windows communicating with non-X applications via DEC LAT, TCP/IP Telnet or the X terminal's local serial port. "Because NCD X terminals now run both portions of the X Window System software -- not only the X "server" but also the X "client" functions of window manager and terminal emulation which normally reside on the host -- they can be fully functional in environments where no hosts support X," Estrin said. "Users on DEC VMS networks without DECwindows or Data General AOS networks, for example, gain immediate access to a powerful multi-window graphical user interface." The NCDwm local window manager does not preclude the accessing of other window managers or any ICCCM-compliant applications from the NCD products. System Administrators Need Never Move Again While NCD X terminals have always permitted software to be downloaded from a central management site, a new remote reset feature of NCDware 2.3 allows the units to be centrally restarted and downloaded with new software and new configuration parameters as well. Performed using NCD's SNMP agent features, this capability is especially useful in large installations where the X terminals are widely dispersed. NCDware 2.3 also offers improved security using the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 protocol. The protocol provides a user authentication capability that determines whether a given X terminal user is allowed access to a given host. NCDware 2.3 will be shipped with all new NCD X terminals beginning in March. Upgrades to existing units are free under NCD's software support program, or $500 per sit otherwise. Network Computing Devices Inc., formed in February 1988, is a leading supplier of network display stations providing users simultaneous access to multi-vendor computers on a network via the industry-standard X Window System. The NCD16, NCD16e, NCD19, NCD19b and NCD15b monochrome units, and the NCD17c and NCD14c color units, offer workstation-style multi-user interfaces for users in UNIX, VMS and ULTRIX operating system environments. NCD is privately held. Company Contact: Judy Estrin Network Computing Devices, Inc. Phone: (415) 694-0650 email: info@ncd.com FAX: (415) 961-7711 Agency Contacts: William Orrange Janis Ulevich Ulevich & Orrange 415/329-1590