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February 23, 2005
Sun Price Drop on Sun Ray
 Sun Microsystems Announces Lower Pricing Model, New Features for Sun Ray(TM) Ultra-Thin Client Environment for Education and Research Market |
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16 -- Worldwide Education and Research Conference -- Feb. 16 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW) today announced that it plans to offer a new, lower pricing model and enhanced features for the Sun Ray(TM) Server Software 3 and the Sun Ray 170 ultra-thin client for education and research institutions.
Interest in the Sun Ray ultra-thin client computing environment for the education and research market has been growing significantly, and the user group (Sun Ray Users' Group at www.sun-rays.org) has grown to more than 500 members. The site, built by users, for users, is hosted on Sun technology at the Santa Clara, California County Office of Education.
The Sun Ray's low cost of computing and ease of deployment make it an ideal solution for budget-conscious institutions who want to deploy a secure, flexible network without the hefty price tag for professional services.
Sun Ray Server Software 3 Highlights:
The Sun Ray Server Software now provides cross-platform support for both the Solaris(TM) and Linux Operating Systems, so customers seeking to expand their Linux environments onto the desktop will be able to use the Sun Ray ultra-thin client. The software and client will support Sun Java(TM) Desktop System, release 2, Red Hat Advanced Server 3 (32-bit) and SuSe SLES 8 (32-bit).
The product also helps enables more-secure computing, adding a privacy mode function that encrypts traffic between the Sun Ray Server software and the Sun Ray ultra-thin client. This can block casual hacking attempts that use packet sniffing or snooping software to view sessions or pick out keystroke data for a replay attack.
Other enhancements include expanded peripheral support on the Solaris(TM) Operating System, Sun Ray ultra-thin client LAN deployment capability that helps customers mix client devices on the same network and improved performance capabilities that can reduce the minimum bandwidth requirement for a single client session by 50 percent.
In line with its mission to help education and research institutions reduce the cost and complexity of their networks, Sun is now offering the Sun Server Software for just $99 per twenty seat license or $2400 per site license.
Sun Ray 170 Ultra-Thin Client Highlights:
Sun Ray ultra-thin clients provide education and research customers with an interoperable desktop computing solution that reduces the maintenance, upgrading and operational costs associated with most "fat" PC clients. The stateless nature of Sun Ray ultra-thin clients allows for complete session mobility, improves workflow and helps ensure the protection of data.
Increasingly, universities and research facilities are becoming a unified global network where students, administrators, teachers and researchers share information and best practices. As the network grows, the need for secure flexible access will become critical. The Sun Ray ultra-thin client leverages the smart card reader to offer badged users this level of access and support.
"As we build out the global digital campus, the Sun Ray environment is becoming key to helping institutions maintain the integrity of their networks, and at the same time, have secure access to the network of things and information at the drop of a hat," said Kim Jones, vice president of Global Education and Research at Sun.
For a limited time, Sun is offering special promotional pricing on a select configuration of the Sun Ray 170 ultra-thin client for the education and research market. The Sun Ray 170 ultra-thin client is just $750 (USD) per system. (This discount will vary outside of the United States).
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer(TM)" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com/ .
NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Java, Solaris, Sun Ray and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
The hardware promotion on the Sun Ray 170 is for a limited time period -- ending March 31, 2005 for Sun Global Education and Research customers. All prices are U.S. list price. All prices quoted are in U.S. Dollars.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Karen Kahn
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
415-297-5035
karen.kahn@sun.com
Jennifer Farrior
Alexander Ogilvy PR for Sun Microsystems, Inc.
415-677-2719
jennifer.farrior@ogilvypr.com
Posted by editor at 03:24 PM
Wireless Thin Clients Emerging
Thin clients were once as chained to the corporate desktop as full-blown PCs. But that's changing now as wireless LANs and 3G cellular networks become more common.
Using both types of wireless networks, end users can have a relatively simple, diskless notebook-style or handheld device that connects securely, often via a Web interface, to their full suite of enterprise applications running on centrally managed server farms.
The benefits are extensive:
* Minimal or no application development for mobile computing.
* Data remains on servers, not on clients that can be lost or stolen.
* Software updates are made on a few servers, not on many clients.
* Real-time access to enterprise data for mobile workers.
* A number of recent developments, besides better wireless connections, are fueling interest in wireless thin clients. One is the growing use of operating systems tailored for thin-client devices, especially Windows XP Embedded (XPE ). But lightweight Linux variants also are cropping up.
Other developments include: the growing sophistication of display technology; the ease with which a growing number of peripherals can be used by thin clients, via USB and other high-performance interfaces; a new breed of thin clients designed for wireless deployments, including products from HP, Maxspeed, Neoware, Wyse Technologies and, most recently, Motion Computing.
Motion executives discovered that some of the healthcare customers for the company's line of tablet PCs, running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, were configuring the devices as thin clients - with no local data storage - linking to Citrix servers.
"The evolution of wireless nets was now allowing the bandwidth for thin-client sessions to work efficiently," says Peter Hunt, vice president of the value-added products division for the Austin, Texas company. "So we thought of using the existing hardware platform but using Windows XP Embedded as the operating system, freezing the software image of the device into a much smaller footprint and using a flash RAM drive instead of a spinning hard drive."
Motion released the M1400TC Table Client in January, priced at about $1,650. The tablet boasts handwriting support, a wide viewing-angle display screen and a built-in fingerprint reader. It has a 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet interface, a PC Card slot, two USB ports and an 802.11g/b WLAN adapter.
Familiar middleware
If much of the client technology is new, the core middleware components of a wireless thin-client deployment are not. They're the same as those used in conventional thin-client desktops. Citrix Systems is the leader in this area, with its suite of software built around its MetaFrame server Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol for client-to-server communications. The most recent, and renamed, release is Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0 . Rivals include Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services, Tarantella's Secure Global Desktop, Jetro Platforms' CockpIT and BoostIT, and HOB's HOBlink JWT Java software.
Microsoft Terminal Services runs server-based Windows applications, sharing them with multiple users. Microsoft offers a less-developed rival to ICA called Remote Data Protocol.
Lexington Medical Center, a 292-bed complex in West Columbia, S.C., has rolled about 60 of an eventual 100-plus thin clients that link over a Cisco 802.11g/b WLAN to a suite of nursing, clinical and physician applications. These run on a group of 15 Citrix servers, based on HP ProLiant servers with Windows 2000 and Service Pack 4.
The initial focus for the thin clients is to let nurses access a Web-based server application via Citrix for administering and monitoring medications given to patients, usually at bedside.
Sixty Wyse Winterm 945XL thin clients are mounted on mobile carts from Flo Healthcare. The carts, designed for bedside computing, look like pillars mounted on a stable platform of rotating wheels. They are fitted with a flat shelf, with a sealed slotted mount beneath it for the thin-client box, a hidden connection to the WLAN antenna mounted on the rear of the shelf, a slide-out full keyboard, and a 17-inch flat panel display. Lexington Medical chose a sealed lead-acid battery as an alternative to the more expensive nickel metal hydride battery option.
The hospital staff also added to the cart a pistol-like bar-code scanner. Nurses scan their own IDs, the patient IDs and the medications being administered. The application software checks for the "five rights," as they're known: the right patient, medication, time of day, dose and route - the way the drug is given to the patient.
"The nursing staff is really enjoying the system," says Cindy Malphrus, the project manager for the system. "It's preventing errors. We get [application] reports to see how many errors have been prevented. And they think they can actually give meds faster now, although that wasn't a reason for doing this."
By a stroke of good luck, the thin clients were being deployed just as the rest of the IT group completed the hospital-wide WLAN deployment. One goal for the new WLAN is to support wireless VoIP, using Cisco handsets. "You need to have good WLAN coverage for that," says Jeff Jones, Lexington's network administrator. "By designing the WLAN for optimal phone coverage, it gave us good coverage also for our thin clients."
The rollout went off without a hitch. Training sessions showed nurses how to maneuver and adjust the carts, and cautioned them that the stubby black rod was not a handle but the WLAN antenna.
3G is key
One big change in 2004 was the spread of 3G cellular networks that can support data services in the 300K to 500K bit/sec range. Finally catching up were XPE software drivers that would support cellular cards for networks such as Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO).
Zumasys is a Lake Forest, Calif., Citrix value-added reseller with more than 70 customers using thin clients on 3G cellular data networks, says Company President Paul Giobbi. He's seeing adoption of diskless, laptop-like thin clients such as Maxspeed's MaxBook married to EV-DO offerings from carriers such as Verizon. "All you need is wireless access to the Internet," he says.
"Think about that: a whole series of thin-client devices accessing not just [personal information manager] and e-mails like today's BlackBerry, but all of your corporate applications," Giobbi says.
One client is Continental Lab Products, a San Diego supplier of laboratory products to life science organizations. The company last year extended its Citrix thin-client deployment by using Panasonic Toughbook laptops and a choice of Sierra Wireless cellular interface cards so sales representatives can access intranet, CRM and ERP applications over Verizon's EV-DO network, BroadbandAccess. Sales representatives can access orders, inventory and other data on the road or at a customer's site. The deployment won best in class recognition in Qualcomm's 2004 3G cdmA-List awards.
Posted by editor at 03:21 PM
February 22, 2005
High Availability Features for Embedded
General Software out of Germany introduced new high availibility software for embedded devices. It looks pretty nice.
General Software Announces High Availability Monitor(TM) Firmware Application to Increase Uptime of Embedded x86 Devices
Tuesday February 22, 1:02 pm ET
NUREMBERG, GERMANY--(MARKET WIRE)--Feb 22, 2005 -- General Software, Inc., the leading supplier of embedded x86 firmware solutions, today introduced at Embedded World 2005 a new firmware application for increasing the reliability, uptime, and availability of embedded x86 devices. As the first member of a new Firmware Application Suite(TM) specifically developed to enhance embedded x86 devices, the High Availability Monitor(TM) provides an ideal way of ensuring maximum up-time for products ranging from set-top boxes, thin client form factors and information appliances, industrial controllers and telecommunications equipment.
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"High Availability is becoming increasingly important in the design and deployment of today's interconnected systems. The High Availability Monitor from General Software is a superior solution which provides services at all times, even when the operating system fails to boot, crashes, or locks up; unlike traditional middleware solutions, " said Steve Dearden, General Software's vice president of sales and marketing. "Customers will now be able to offer much higher levels of assurance to their end users for the continuous availability of their products."
High Availability Monitor (HA Monitor) is a firmware application written utilizing Firmbase® Technology that continuously monitors the foreground operating system and application, verifying that it has not crashed. When crashes such as blue screens, black screens, or panics occur, the HA Monitor detects an OS System Death and generates an HA event. The event can be configured by the ODM/OEM to perform specific functions including; logging the failure to a system event log, sending an alert or email over the network, triggering a reload of known-working software and firmware, and rebooting the target. The HA Monitor can be remotely managed over the local network or Internet with any web browser or Telnet connection. Standard Firmbase® Technology TCB user-level security is provided on remote administration. Common applications include limiting down time to quantifiable levels and ensuring users never witness an internal OS failure on visible monitors.
About Embedded BIOS® 2000
Embedded BIOS® 2000 is the leading BIOS SDK for embedded x86 designs, with over 800 OEM-customizable configuration parameters, support for multiple embedded operating systems, and support for major OS and hardware initiatives. Embedded BIOS 2000 addresses the entire lifecycle of embedded products, from board bring-up, configuration prototyping, testing with system diagnostics, and product manufacturing to in-field diagnostics and software reload. Features include an integrated debugger; console redirection; highly configurable POST; manufacturing mode; ROM, RAM, and Flash file systems; support for a host of industry initiatives; and much more. Embedded BIOS 2000 supports industry-standard operating systems that run on PC-compatible hardware, including the full spectrum of Windows, Linux, and real-time operating systems.
About Firmbase® Technology
Firmbase Technology is General Software's patented 32-bit firmware infrastructure that contributes the surety and trust expected from firmware applications. A non-stop SMM envelope is provided which keeps firmware applications running, even when the OS and user application have failed, or are missing. Firmbase Technology is ROM-resident and provides a chain of trust from power-on to OS boot. It supplies the user-level security for the BIOS and for firmware applications which do not run under OS control.
About General Software
General Software provides superior embedded x86 firmware solutions and world-class support for OEM manufacturers of telecommunications, data communications, consumer electronics, dedicated servers, and other specialized computing devices. General Software's well-architected and reliable firmware products reduce risk, speed development, and address embedded OEM product lifecycle needs. For more information about General Software and its embedded firmware, visit http://www.gensw.com, e-mail sales@gensw.com, or contact David Tobar at 800-850-5755 or 425-576-8300.
Contact:
CONTACT:
Kate Johnsen
General Software, Inc.
425.576.8300 x229
katej@gensw.com
Source: General Software, Inc.
Posted by editor at 10:26 PM
February 21, 2005
Diskless Workstations
Hitachi to Ship Diskless Notebook PCs
Reports coming out of Japan suggest that Hitachi Ltd is planning to launch a line of thin client, diskless notebook computers. A first batch of 10,000 units of the new computer will start shipping in April and pricing will start at around $2,500, it has been reported.
Running diskless will greatly improve battery life and reduce the weight of the machine, although the main objective of producing a notebook with no hard disk drive appears to be improved security. The best way of protecting business data is to avoid storing it on machines like notebooks that are frequently lost or stolen.
Samsung used to sell a diskless Windows CE subnotebook product. The IZZI-Pro S300 range was introduced in August 1999 but was removed from the market in January 2002.
Posted by editor at 04:10 PM
February 14, 2005
GSM Thin Client
Kodiak Networks, the leading provider of advanced wireless voice today announced the availability of Kodiak SIMpower(TM) on the Axalto Usimera family of 3G SIM cards. The combined offering allows wireless operators to immediately deliver a suite of premium voice services to subscribers via a GSM thin client, with over-the-air customization capability.
Kodiak SIMpower is an innovative SIM technology which enables existing GSM handsets with the following advanced voice services applications and features:
* Kodiak Voice Bridge -- Instant Group Conferencing
* Kodiak Voice Notes -- Instant Voice Messaging
* Kodiak Instant Availability -- Real-time Availability
* Kodiak Quick Groups -- Ad-hoc Group Calling
* Contact Management -- Handset-Based Contact List Management
* Kodiak Voice Call -- Direct Cellular Calling from GSM Phone Book
"Kodiak SIMpower on Usimera SIMs will allow carriers to quickly go to market with the Kodiak suite of revenue generating advanced voice services, across a wide variety of devices that are already available," said Jean Claude Deturche, vice president of marketing for Axalto, Inc. "Our alliance with Kodiak Networks is an exciting addition to our portfolio that strengthens Axalto's commitment of delivering value generating services to wireless operators worldwide."
"Our technology alliance with Axalto allows us to leverage the success of the Usimera 3G SIM card family to deliver Kodiak SIMpower technology to GSM operators around the world," said Timothy Hall, vice president of strategic alliances, Kodiak Networks. "With the ability to instantly enable existing GSM handsets with this powerful suite of advanced voice service functionality, carriers are able to immediately recognize the benefits of increased revenue per minute of use and average revenue per user."
Kodiak Networks has recently joined the Axalto SIMagine Alliance Program, which is dedicated to designing, developing and deploying wireless applications for operators, to build subscriber loyalty and increase average revenue per user (ARPU).
About Kodiak Networks
Kodiak Networks (www.kodiaknetworks.com) is the leading advanced wireless systems innovator for network operators worldwide. The Kodiak Real-Time Exchange(TM) (RTX) System enables operators to deliver premium, integrated wireless voice services to their customers with guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). With the best overall performance, fastest speed and lowest latency in the industry, the Kodiak RTX enables a new category of Advanced Voice Services (AVS), including instant availability, instant voice calling, group conferencing and voice messaging. Kodiak Networks offers both GSM and CDMA instant voice systems that can be easily scaled from independent operators to multinational carriers utilizing 2G or 3G wireless networks. Kodiak handset client software is available on handsets produced by leading manufacturers including Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Kyocera, TCL/Alcatel, PalmOne, SAGEM and others. Kodiak Networks actively supports industry standards from ANSI, ETSI, ITU, IETF, 3GPP (2) and OMA.
Posted by editor at 02:14 PM
February 07, 2005
Citrix Being Sued
Online conferencing company WebEx is suing Citrix for cybersquatting.
It has filed a suit in the Northern District Court of California claiming trademark infringement, cybersquatting and unfair competition thanks to Citrix buying a number of domain names virtually identical to WebEx's latest service.
Click Here
It's been a long while since we've seen a company-on-company cybersquatting challenge - the corporate world has learned to pretty much to steer clear of each others' trademarks online. But WebEx appears keen to make the most of it.
It's an open-and-shut case. WebEx launched a remote access service on 24 January that it called MyWebExPC, and to tie in with it, it registered and launched a website at, yep, www.mywebexpc.com. The very same day, a quick-thinking Citrix exec, Brent LaSala, started checking out other similar domain names to see if WebEx had picked them up.
When he found they hadn't, he mischievously bought them. And what a lot there are: webexpc.com, mypcwebex.com, mypcwebx.com, my-webex-pc.com, mywebexpcfree.com, mywebxpcfree.com, mywebexpro.com, mywebxpro.com, mywebexpcpro.com and mywebxpcpro.com.
LaSala is the main man at Citrix dealing with the company's own version of WebEx's new service, called GoToMyPC (actually, Citrix bought the technology with its acquisition of ExpertCity in December 2003 for $225m).
WebEx, understandably, is not very pleased with this turn of events and has decided to sue Citrix claiming trademark infringement and alleging that the purchases were "an attempt to illegally divert potential customers" - which would give it grounds for requesting a fine.
Fortunately, LaSala has also been clever enough not to actually put anything up on any of the domains, so WebEx claims that Citrix is stealing customers fall flat on their face. If WebEx advertises its service's new website and people can't recall it, that's one thing. But if they type it in wrong, and get nothing either, that's hardly justification for suing the domain owner.
Posted by editor at 03:27 AM
February 03, 2005
Sidekick-style 3G Device
T-Mobile's German wing today launched the latest in the company's own-brand MDA handset family, the 3G-enabled MDA IV "mini laptop".
With a design that clearly owes much to Motorola's MPx smart phone and Danger's Hiptop communicator - which T-Mobile offers in the US as the Sidekick - the MDA IV sports a QWERTY keyboard located below a 640 x 480 display that not only folds up and away from the keyboard clamshell-style, but also rotates to allow the unit to be used tablet-fashion like a PDA.
Posted by editor at 06:27 PM