mikeh@lupine.UUCP (Mike Harrigan) (01/26/89)
X WINDOW DISPLAY STATION FROM NETWORK COMPUTING DEVICES COMBINES WORKSTATION-STYLE GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE WITH TERMINAL ERGONOMICS AND AFFORDABLE PRICING MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 23, 1989 -- A new type of network peripheral that provides workstation-like display capability -- including a windowed interface, high resolution and advanced communications -- for about $2,500, or half the entry price of a typical workstation, has been introduced by Network Computing Devices, Inc. The NCD16 Network Display Station, the year-old firm's first product, is a compact desktop unit based on the X Window System, the de facto industry standard for high-performance windowing applications. It offers a sophisticated yet affordable user interface to networks of computers supporting X, including those running the UNIX and VMS operating systems. Running the industry-standard TCP/IP communication protocols, the NCD16 is a general-purpose product suited for a wide variety of engineering, scientific and professional applications, such as software development; computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering; information retrieval; transaction processing; and computer-aided publishing. Filling the Terminal-Workstation Gap The NCD16 "defines a new category of product designed specifically for network computing environments, where an ASCII terminal doesn't do enough and a workstation is overkill," said Judy Estrin, NCD executive vice president. "Network users, particularly in the engineering and scientific community, typically run complex applications on UNIX- or VMS-based hosts and need a sophisticated display function at their desks to output the results of those applications," Estrin said. "To get a display with multiple windows and high resolution, these users have had to buy PCs -- and add high-resolution monitors -- or diskless workstations at $5,000 and up. But a large part of what they're paying for is the machine's application processing power, which often goes unused." Dedicated to display and communications functions rather than application, the NCD16 fills this gap between the low-function terminal and the high-priced workstation, she said. Its workstation-style user interface can access multiple hosts and maintain multiple active sessions, communicating the data for each session to the user through a separate display window. A Graphics Front End for Minicomputers "An ideal application for the NCD16," Estrin said, "is as a graphics front end to VAXes or other minicomputers, which have suffered from lack of the windowing capability usually associated with workstations. The NCD16 lets users protect and leverage large installed bases of minis without making costly investments in workstations and PCs." The NCD16 Network Display Station includes a monochrome monitor, single-board electronics located in the monitor's base, keyboard, mouse, software and two communications interfaces. The unit's unique 16-inch diagonal, square-format monitor offers 1024- by 1024-pixel, 105-dot-per-inch resolution. "You get the same million-pixel functionality as on the 19-inch monitors typically used with workstations," Estrin said. "But with a footprint of only 13 by 13 inches for the monitor and base, the NCD16 take up only about half the space on the desktop." Incorporating the latest ergonomic standards in monitor technology, the NCD16 has a fast 70-Hz refresh rate for flicker-free operation, and supports and "overscan" features which eliminates the distracting black border that surrounds the image on most displays. Quiet Fan-Less Operation Because the NCD16 is a compact product dedicated to display functions, without the PC or workstation's requirements for internal expansion space, it can use a convection cooling system, eliminating the need for a fan and ensuring noiseless operation. The NCD16 is based on a 12.5-MHz MC68000 microprocessor which runs the X Window System software and the TCP/IP protocols. A graphics co-processor assists in display functions. The board also contains 1 to 4.5 megabytes of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). Modular Network Interface for Future Upgrades The NCD16 comes with one asynchronous RS232 serial interface, and offers the user a choice of an Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) and thin Ethernet interface, or alternatively a second RS232/RS422 port. Both interfaces are contained on a removable module that plugs into the NCD16 processor board and can be exchanged later as interfaces to other network technologies (e.g., ISDN, FDDI, Token Ring) are made available. The RS232 port support SLIP communications at speeds up to 38.4 Kbps. The NCD16 supports both the TCP/IP Domain and IEN 116 Name Servers, which permit access to networked devices by name rather than numerical address. The use of standard input device interfaces -- a PS/2 interface for the NCD16 keyboard and a serial interface for the mouse -- ensures that the user can easily substitute preferred devices if desired. X Window Server Software The X Window System standard, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and supported by more than 35 major computer vendors, permits the division of an application program into two parts: user interaction (or display server) and computation. Dedicated solely to display functions, the NCD16 supports the display server portion of the software, which enables it to provide display services for any networked host that supports X Window System applications. NCD has optimized the software for performance on the NCD platform. Software is downloaded into the NCD16 from any networked host that supports the TFTP file-transfer protocol, facilitating fast and efficient software updating; a PROM-loading option also is available. A configuration and setup utility is included with the unit. Pricing/Availability Available 60 days after receipt of order, the NCD16 is priced starting at $2,550 with monitor, base, keyboard, mouse, software, one RS232 serial port and one Ethernet interface. Estrin said the NCD16 is the first member of a family of network display stations. Later versions will feature different screen sizes, color graphics and increased performance. Network Computing Devices was formed in February 1988 by three former executives from Ridge Computers; the founding team was joined in July by William Carrico, president, and Judith Estrin, executive vice president, co-founders of Bridge Communications and later executives of 3Com Corporation. The company has raised $5 million in startup financing from four venture capital firms. Company contact: Judy Estrin Network Computing Devices (415) 694-0650 or lupine!info@uunet.uu.net