EDN — 05.23.96 Computers & Peripherals

Computers & Peripherals: May 23, 1996

Color notebook touts desktop features.

Powered by a Pentium processor running at 75 MHz, the Satellite 100CS notebook computer comes with as much as 40 Mbytes of extended-data-out (EDO) DRAM, a 504-Mbyte hard drive, a 10.4-in. Dynamic-STN dual-scan 640×480-pixel color display, and a video subsystem that displays 256 colors at 1024×768 pixels on an external monitor. The unit is equipped with an internal ac adapter and a NiMH battery that yields 2.5 to 5 hours of use. Two stacked PC card slots accommodate two PCMCIA Type I or II cards or one Type III card. The optional NoteDock port replicator gives you two additional Type III card slots. The estimated price is $1999. Toshiba, Computer Systems Division, Irvine, CA. (800) 334-3445.

TV-tuner and MPEG options enhance graphics accelerator.

Two hardware options, the DTV 1100 TV tuner and the MPEG video player 1100, extend the capabilities of the Stealth64 Video 2001 multimedia accelerator series. The DTV 1100 features a 125-channel cable- or broadcast-ready TV tuner that displays live video on a PC. With standard broadcast support for the NTSC format, the tuner card plugs into an ISA- bus slot and connects by a ribbon cable to the Stealth64. The MPEG Video Player 1100 daughtercard attaches directly to the Stealth64 to provide MPEG-1 audio and video decoding and synchronization. The boards cost ~$129 each. Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc, San Jose, CA. (408) 325-7000.

PCMCIA fax/modem card connects to Ethernet.

Two SmartLink fax/modem+Ethernet cards provide 14.4- and 28.8-kbps communications in a PCMCIA Type II form factor. Both cards let you connect your notebook computer directly to a 10BaseT LAN connection and work with Novell NetWare, IBM LAN Server, Banyan Vines, and Microsoft Windows for Workgroups. The PC cards comply with V.32bis (14.4) and V.34 (28.8) standards, as well as V.Fast for automatic rate negotiations and connections at high speeds. The 14.4-kbps card costs $299; the 28.8-kbps version costs $439. Archtek America Corp, City of Industry, CA. (818) 912-9800.

PC vision board identifies 2-D, data-matrix symbologies.

The acuReader/2D, a vision processor that re-quires a single ISA-bus slot in a PC, recognizes the 2-D data-matrix symbology used on wafers, IC packages, and LCDs. Using a Windows-based graphical user interface, the system combines advanced gray-scale, image-processing, and image-analysis algorithms to ensure reading reliability, despite low contrast, poorly formed marks, and process degradations. Prices for the acuReader/2D range from $7500 to $10,000, depending on quantity and configuration. Cognex Corp, Natick, MA. (508) 650-3000.

Ultra SCSI adapters move data at up to 40 Mbytes/sec.

Three PCI 2.1-compliant 16- and 8-bit ultra SCSI host a-dapters transfer data at rates of up to 40 Mbytes/sec for I/O-intensive server environments. The adapters include the 16-bit, ultra-wide BT-958; the 16-bit, ultrawide BT-958D with differential termination; and the 8-bit BT-948. Differential termination provides higher noise immunity on the SCSI bus, allowing longer cable and better connectivity at ultra SCSI speeds. List prices for the BT-958, BT-958D, and BT-948 are $289, $459, and $229, respectively. BusLogic Inc, Santa Clara, CA. (408) 492-9090.

Scanner resolves 24-bit color.

A TWAIN-compliant color scanner for Windows-based PCs provides an optical resolution of 3003600 dpi with 24-bit color. When you insert a page, the Picasso 4800P uses a paper sensor that automatically launches Plustek's Action Manager control-panel software. When used with a PC connected to a fax/modem and a printer, the scanner offers fax, copy, scan, optical-character-recognition, and document-filing functions. Price is <$250. Plustek USA Inc, Sunnyvale, CA. (408) 745-7111.

PCMCIA slot adapter converts 5 to 3.3V.

The Model PC-30 PowerAdaptor, a single-slot PCMCIA Type I card, plugs directly into a 5V PCMCIA slot in a laptop, notebook, or desktop computer and produces a voltage output of 400 mA at 3.3V. The PC-30 gives you access to the range of newer 3.3V PC cards and lets you still run your 5V cards. The PC-30 costs $56 (OEM qty). Greystone Peripherals Inc, Los Gatos, CA. (408) 866-4739.

Half-height drive holds four CD-ROM discs.

A CD-ROM changer in a half-height form factor eliminates the use of trays and cartridges in multimedia systems. The MJ-4.4 uses a direct loading mechanism that draws each disc into one of four internal slots by contacting a 2-mm rim at the edge of each disc. Because the changer mechanism firmly holds the discs, the MJ-4.4 can be installed vertically or horizontally. You can access each of the four internal slots with four buttons on the front of the unit. An indicator next to each button shows when the slot is loaded. You simply insert a disc into the slot, and the changer mechanism draws it into place. The MJ-4.4 is equipped with an IDE/AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI) and works with SoundBlaster cards. The suggested price is $279. Nakamichi America Corp, Torrance, CA. (310) 538-8150.

Laser-beam printer paints 16.7 million colors.

The C LBP 360PS color laser-beam printer runs an engine that delivers a resolution of 600×600 dpi at speeds of 3 pg/minute in full color and 12 pg/minute in black and white. A built-in Fiery XJE PostScript printer controller and a 64-bit CPU operating at 100 MHz optimize the printing workflow with a continuous-tone output capable of reproducing 16.7 million colors. With auto-switching protocols and auto-sensing ports, the C LBP 360PS simultaneously links to EtherTalk, TCP/IP, and Novell IPX networks. The printer costs $12,500. Canon USA Inc, Lake Success, NY. (516) 328-5145.

Rack-mount keyboard meets NEMA4X de-mands.

The Model 6531-KB5 19-in. rack-mount keyboard comes with an AT interface and a keypad sealed to NEMA4X (European IP65) requirements and operates in severe industrial environments. The unit withstands direct liquid spills, airborne contaminants, heavy condensation, and complete wash-downs. The keyboard occupies one 1.7-in-high RETMA unit and comes with a security lock and an optional built-in pointing device. Prices start at $795. Industrial Computer Source, San Diego, CA. (800) 523-2320.

ATM switch provides N+1 fabric redundancy.

In-tended for mission-critical applications, the Stinger-5 fault-tolerant ATM switch offers N+1 self-healing fabric redundancy. This feature ensures high reliability at a fraction of the cost of full-fabric duplication. The self-healing algorithm monitors the integrity and operation of the system. If a primary fabric slice fails, a backup automatically replaces it without operator intervention or noticeable failure of traffic flow. The Stinger-5 scales from 1.2 to 5 Gbps and covers up to 112 ports at port rates up to OC-12. The scalable system costs $1250/ port. Scorpio Communications, New York, NY. (212) 221-5998.

PCI-bus LCD controller handles various panel types.

Fully IBM VGA-compatible, the AV548-PCI LCD controller for the PCI bus supports all active, passive, and EL flat-panel technologies, including emerging 3V displays. The controller provides color depths of up to 16 million colors, flat-panel resolutions of up to 12803 1024 pixels, and simultaneous display of 800×600×64k DSTN panels. It also provides simultaneous display of flat-panel and CRT images at a resolution of 1024×768×256 pixels. The AV548-PCI comes with 1 Mbyte of EDO video DRAM and costs $289 (500). AVED Display Technologies, Tustin, CA. (714) 573-5035.

Cyrix 6x86-P166+ CPU powers mini-tower PC.

The MicroFlex-686/133 PC is built around a Cyrix 6x86-P166+ µP, which runs at 133 MHz and performs better than a 166-MHz Pentium. The chip executes x86 code in native mode and incorporates dual multistaged pipelines. Housed in a mini tower, the MicroFlex-686/ 133 comes with 16 Mbytes of EDO RAM, 512 kbytes of L2 cache, a 4X CD-ROM drive, a 1.2-Gbyte hard disk, a 3.5-in. floppy disk, a 15-in. monitor, and a 64-bit PCI video card. The device comes with Windows 95 preinstalled. The system costs $2499. Micro Express, Santa Ana, CA. (714) 852-1400.

SCSI-based flash disk stores up to 1.0 Gbytes.

Communicating over a SCSI-1 or -2 interface, a solid-state flash disk offers storage capacities ranging from 10 Mbytes to 1.0 Gbytes for applications that are too severe for rotating media. Housed in a metal enclosure in either a 3.5- or 5.25-in. form factor, the internal drive withstands shocks of 50g, vibration up to 10g at 5 to 2000 Hz, an altitude of 50,000 ft, and temperatures ranging from -25 to +75°C. Automatic error-correction and retry circuitry ensure data integrity. Targa's SCSI solid-state disk costs $29,000. Targa Electronics Systems Inc, San Ramon, CA. (510) 277-0188.

Pentium-based Web ser-vers run under Windows NT.

Server systems in the Interserve Web series come with all the hardware and software to create and maintain a page on the Internet's World Wide Web. Configurations range from the entry-level InterServe Web-30, a desktop unit with a 133-MHz Pentium processor, to the InterServe Web-630, a deskside system with dual 200-MHz Pentium Pro processors. All of the servers run under the Windows NT Server operating system. In addition to basic Web publishing, InterServe offers 24-bit, 2- and 3-D graphics accelerators for producing high-resolution designs, and Transcend, a tool that automatically translates Web pages into English, French, Spanish, and German. Prices start at $8900. Intergraph Computer Systems, Huntsville, AL. (800) 763-0242.