RAID adapter links PCI, SCSI devices to server. Using a PCI-to-PCI bridge, the AHA-3985W redundant-array-of-inexpensive-disks (RAID) adapter kit for entry-level and midrange LAN servers allows multiple high-speed PCI devices to operate on a dedicated onboard PCI bus transferring data at up to 133 Mbytes/sec. The adapter also provides a RAID RISC-based coprocessor that offloads the server host processor by up to 15%. Three independent PCI-to-SCSI channels let you connect as many as 45 disk and nondisk peripherals. The AHA-3985W costs $849. Adaptec, Inc, Milpitas, CA. (408) 945-8600.

Device links machine I/O to PC parallel port. The FanI/OPort interface device plugs into any PC parallel port and converts it to an extended number of I/O lines. It is a complete utility kit, including hardware and software to test and integrate stand-alone machine controllers with a PC via the parallel port. FanI/OPort software is compatible with development tools, such as LabView, Visual Basic, and C. Base price is $180. Cariger Inc, Salem, NH. (603) 645-4531.

Windows 95 BIOS migration support. Award Software is sponsoring support programs to assist OEMs and end users in updating BIOS and system software to achieve Windows 95 compatibility. Award’s EliteBIOS (version 4.50PG) was submitted for prerelease logo testing and is now qualified as compliant with Windows 95. The company’s ‘95 Assist Programs will run until most Award customers update to Windows 95. Award Software International Inc, Mountain View, CA. (415) 968-4433.

Variable-scan frame grabber for PCI bus. The DT3152 frame grabber complies with the Windows 95 plug-and-play configuration standard. The product performs variable scanning from 0 to 20 MHz, and you can use it with virtually any image source. The PCI bus board, part of the Mach series of frame grabbers, implements the display-control-interface nonstandard, enabling the DT3152 to display 30 frames/sec without involving the host system’s CPU. The DT3152 costs $1495. Data Translation, Marlborough, MA. (508) 481-3700.

Multimedia graphics card provides MPEG video. The Voyager Movie Player combines true 64-bit graphics, video acceleration, and MPEG playback with SRS Labs’ Surround Sound on a single PCI bus card. The SVMP64 is based on an S3 Trio64V+ multimedia accelerator, Scenic/MX2 MPEG decoder, and Sonic/AD audio D/A converter. Hardware handling of the MPEG standard results in full-screen video at 30 frames/sec. The device sells for $399 with 1 Mbyte of RAM. Boca Research Inc, Boca Raton, FL. (407) 997-6227.

Workstations exploit HyperSPARC CPUs. Three single-processing and multiprocessing desktop workstations provide HyperSPARC performance at 100 and 125 MHz. The four-processor Model HS14MP offers estimated performances of 8124 SPECint92 and 8906 SPECfp92, and the dual-processor HS22MP delivers 5600 SPECint92 and 6399 SPECfp92 ratings. The single-processor HS21 performs at an estimated rate of 131.2 SPECint92 and 153 SPECfp92. Entry-level prices start at $16,615. Tatung Science & Technology Inc, Milpitas, CA. (408) 383-0988.

6X CD-ROM drive’s throughput approaches 1 Mbyte/sec. The CD-56E 6X CD-ROM drive transfers data at 900 kbytes/sec, three times faster than 2X drives. The internal drive also offers a 110-msec seek time, resulting in a 140-msec average access time. The unit uses an AT Attachment Packet Interface/IDE interface, also known as Enhanced IDE, and supports all standard 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, and 6X CD-ROM formats. It is also Windows 95 plug-and-play-certified. The CD-56E has an estimated price of $299. Teac America, Data Storage Products Division, Montebello, CA. (213) 726-0303.

Cameras permit videoconferencing with PCs. You can easily design two digital video cameras, the VK-C25 and VK-C27, into a notebook or desktop PC. Each unit comprises a CCD sensor and lens board that connects by ribbon cable to a digital-video signal-processing board. The 1/4-in. CCD sensor has 10-lux sensitivity, and the focus-free f2.4 lens has a manual macro and a 45 or 60º horizontal field of view. The VK-C25 offers 320-line resolution (250,000 effective pixels), and the VK-C27 provides 400-line resolution (380,000 effective pixels). The VK-C25 costs $125 (50,000). Hitachi America Ltd, Semiconductor and IC Division, Brisbane, CA. (800) 285-1601, ext 05.

Image-processing accelerators push throughput to 80 Mbytes/sec. Compliant with the PCI 2.0 specification, two image-processing accelerator boards combine CNAPS parallel processors with throughput rates of up to 80 Mbytes/sec. The first board, CNAPS/PCI, occupies a full-sized PCI slot and delivers up to 1.6 billion multiply-accumulate operations/sec using 64 CNAPS processors. The second board, CNAPS/PCIx, occupies a full ISA-sized PCI slot, supports 64 or 128 CNAPS processors, and delivers up to 2.56 billion multiply-accumulate operations/sec. Prices for the CNAPS/PCI boards start at $3995. Adaptive Solutions, Beaverton, OR. (503) 690-1236.

Notebook computer provides MPEG-2 resolution on 12.1-in. screen. The ThinkPad 760 series of notebook computers generates crisp images on a 12.1-in. SVGA display using an MPEG-2 digital-video decoder chip. The unit displays as many as 65,536 colors at a 800×600-pixel resolution. The system also offers a 90- or 120-MHz Pentium processor and an Mwave media processor that provides sound, 28.8-kbps modem, telephone, answering-machine, and fax functions. OS/2 Warp, Windows 3.11, and Windows 95 operating systems are available. Prices range from $5349 to $7449. IBM, Somers, NY. (520) 574-4600.

SMP server offers mainframe performance. A symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) server supports as many as eight Pentium processors, with as much as 2 Mbytes of second-level cache per processor and as much as 3 Gbytes of memory per system. The CS-1000, which runs under UnixWare 2, features the AcceleRAID parallel-disk I/O system. It provides two disk controllers, each with four parallel Fast Wide SCSI channels and each sustaining more than eight parallel disk I/O operations concurrently with CPU operations. Prices start at $74,950. Chen Systems, Eau Claire, WI. (715) 833-7067.

Multimedia monitor includes speakers. The ViewSonic 17EA, a 17-in. multimedia monitor, has internal speakers, provides an 85-Hz refresh rate at 1024×768 pixels, and yields resolutions of up to 1280×1024 pixels. The unit also features a 0.28-mm dot pitch with a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. An Invar shadow mask increases beam alignment for improved image quality. The monitor has an estimated price of $695. ViewSonic Corp, Walnut, CA. (909) 869-7976.

Software adds bar-coding to Windows. The B-Coder V3.0 bar-code graphics generator program for Windows controls all dimensions of the bar code. It generates bar codes in any graphic format, including extended Postscript, tagged-image format file, and Windows MetaFile. The software supports a wide array of bar-code symbologies, such as UPC, EAN, Interleaved 2 of 5, PostNet, Code 93, and Codabar. The standard version costs $199; the pro version, $395. TAL Technologies, Philadelphia, PA. (215) 763-7900.

3.5-in. drive stores up to 1280 Mbytes. Two 3.5-in. hard-disk drives store 640 and 1280 Mbytes. In addition to a partial-response maximum-likelihood read channel, the single-disk Fireball 640 and two-disk Fireball 1280 incorporate ATA-2 and SCSI-3 interfaces with respective data-transfer rates of up to 16.6 and 10 Mbytes/sec. Other features include on-the-fly double-burst error correction and an MTBF of 500,000 hours. Fireball drives are Windows 95- and NetWare-certified. The Fireball 640 costs $240; the Fireball 1280, $395. Quantum Corp, Milpitas, CA. (408) 894-4000.

Network-interface cards support multitasking OS. Two Ethernet interface cards work in multitasking operating systems, such as Windows 95. The 10BaseT Ultimate 3000 cards have a maximum CPU utilization of 14%, even at high throughput rates. Plug-in modules convert the cards for 10Base2 operation or for daisy-chaining using single unshielded-twisted-pair wire. Versions of the board are available for the 16-bit ISA bus and 32-bit PCI local bus. Each version costs $125. Connexperts, Dallas, TX. (214) 358-4800.

Windows, DOS, and BIOS for i386EX-based CPU boards. Annabooks is offering operating system and BIOS support for Intel’s i386EX-based EXPLR1 embedded PC evaluation platform and the Radisys EPC-41, one of the first boards to use the EXPLR1 design. Licenses are available for ROMable versions of Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows NT, as well as disk versions of MS-DOS 3.3 through 6.22 and ROM versions of MS-DOS 3.22 through 6.22. The company also offers AnnaBios, a customizable PC-compatible BIOS available as source code. Annabooks, Division of ANAV Inc, San Diego, CA. (619) 673-0870.

RAID subsystem employs 33-MHz CPU. Housed in a 16×163×3-in. pizza-box-style enclosure, the RD10 redundant-array-of-inexpensive-disks (RAID) subsystem has its own 33-MHz RISC CPU and stores up to 24 Gbytes. The desktop unit for SPARC Unix workstations holds up to six 3.5-in. disks with up to 4 Gbytes of storage per disk. A cache memory of up to 32 Mbytes enhances performance. The RD-10 supports RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5, and 6 and comes with two Fast and Wide SCSI-2 interfaces, as well as a Solaris-based graphical user interface. A 6-Gbyte system with an 8-Mbyte cache costs $12,595. Integrix Inc, Newbury Park, CA. (805) 375-1055.