mikeh@lupine.UU.NET (Mike Harrigan) (08/03/89)
Network Computing Devices, Inc. introduces the NCD19 X Window Display Station. The NCD19 has a 19" screen, 1280 x 1024 resolution, a 68020 processor and 2 MB of standard memory which is expandable to 8 MB. Below is the press release. For more information contact NCD at info@ncd.com or (415) 694-0650. Company contact: Judy Estrin Network Computing Devices, Inc. (415) 694-0650 info@ncd.com Agency contacts: William Orrange Janis Ulevich Ulevich & Orrange, Inc. (415) 329-1590 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NETWORK COMPUTING DEVICES ADDS HIGH-END 19-INCH UNIT TO FAMILY OF X WINDOW NETWORK DISPLAY STATIONS MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 10, 1989 -- A high-resolution X Window-based network display station with a 19-inch-diagonal screen -- the size used with most popular workstations -- has been introduced by Network Computing Devices, Inc. The new NCD19 Network Display Station joins the firm's 16-inch NCD16, introduced in January as the first of a line of NCD displays running the X Window System, the industry de facto standard for high-performance windowing applications. The NCD19, in addition to its larger "landscape" format display, offers screen resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels -- compared to the NCD16's 1024 by 1024 -- and higher performance made possible by the use of a 32-bit MC68020 processor rather than a 68000. Two Full Pages Displayed Judy Estrin, NCD Executive Vice President, said the NCD19 is designed for applications characterized by extensive graphics processing and/or the need for a large number of simultaneously viewed windows. "Desktop publishing applications, such as newspaper publishing or technical manual development, can use the NCD19 to display two full pages of text and graphics side by side," Estrin said. "Software developers may want to view many windows at once to access data on various hosts. CAD/CAM users who work with large, complex models and schematics, and CASE users who create and manipulate detailed flow charts, require a large viewing space. Even transaction processing users will benefit from the NCD19's high resolution and speed in their extensive use of menus and intense manipulation of data." She added that the 19-inch "landscape" (horizontal) screen format also has "the appeal of long-term familiarity to the many workstation users who have grown up with a large display." Triple a Workstation's Speed Running X Like the earlier NCD16, the NCD19 is designed specifically for network computing environments, dedicated to display and communications functions rather than applications processing. It can simultaneously access multiple hosts running the UNIX, VMS or ULTRIX operating systems, communicating the data for each session to the user through a separate display window. "Unlike a workstation, however, the NCD19 is optimized to run the X server software," Estrin said, "so it operates about three times faster than a diskless workstation -- the Sun-3/50, for example -- running X." Like the NCD16, with which it is fully compatible, the NCD19 supports Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) with the TCP/IP or optional DECnet protocols for network communication. In addition to X applications, the display station supports DECwindows and terminal-oriented applications. It works with any X graphical user interface, including OSF/Motif, OPENLOOK or Xview. Fast Text, Windowing, 2D Graphics The NCD19 includes a monochrome monitor, single-board electronics located in the monitor's base, keyboard, mouse, software and a communications interface. Fast text, windowing and two-dimensional graphics are driven by the unit's 15-MHz MC68020 32-bit processor with optimized graphics software. Its standard 2 MB of memory is field- upgradable to 4-MB, 5-MB and 8-MB configurations using single in-line memory modules (SIMMs). A separate frame buffer increases performance while freeing main memory for non- screen-oriented tasks. The processor board provides a socket for a graphics co- processor which can be inserted to support future X Window extensions (e.g, PEX for 3D graphics, Display PostScript) as they become available. Ergonomically oriented, the NCD19 maintains the NCD16's 13- inch-square base to minimize occupied desk space, while providing higher 1280 by 1024-pixel, 100-dot-per-inch-resolution. A 70-Hz non-interlaced refresh rate produces flicker-free images. And an internal convection cooling system eliminates the need for a fan and its associated noise. Modular Network Interfaces The NCD 19 comes with an asynchronous RS232 serial interface and selectable AUI or thin Ethernet interface. As on the NCD16, the interface is housed on a removable module that can be replaced later as new interface types (e.g, ISDN, FDDI, Token Ring) are developed. The serial port supports SLIP communications or ANSI terminal emulation at speeds up to 38.4 Kbps. Standard interfaces used with the NCD19 -- a PS/2 keyboard interface and a serial mouse interface -- can be replaced by the user with his preferred devices if desired. Software is downloaded into the NCD19 from any networked host that supports the TFTP file-transfer protocol, or optionally from on- board PROM. A menu-driven configuration/setup utility is included. Pricing/Availability Available 60 days after receipt of order, the NCD19 is priced starting at $3,750 with monitor, base (with 2 MB of RAM), keyboard, mouse, software, one RS232 serial port and one Ethernet port. Discounts are available to educational institutions. Network Computing Devices was formed in February 1988 by executives from Ridge Computers, and later joined by the co- founders of Bridge Communications. The company makes and markets network display stations allowing users simultaneous access to multi-vendor networked computers; the industry- standard X Window System is used to provide a high-resolution, multi-window, workstation-style user interface. NCD has shipped more than 1,000 display stations, and has been awarded OEM contracts by Tektronix, Pyramid, Stellar and MIPS. The company has raised $17 million in two round of venture financing. NCD19, NCD16 and NCD are trademarks of Network Computing Devices, Inc. X Window System and X are trademarks of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. VMS, ULTRIX, DECnet and DECwindows are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corp. Xview is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark and OPENLOOK is a trademark of AT&T. OSF/Motif is a trademark of Open Software Foundation. PS/2 is a trademark of IBM. PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.