proprietary software computer system · proprietary software powers ... co-processor, 256k of...

Proprietary software powerscomputer graphics systemAn interactive computer graphics work-

station from Adage, Inc., is an alternativeto the IBM 5080 Graphics System, thecompany claims.

The 6080 is based on a proprietarygraphics engine called Ocean, and itsarchitecture combines semiconductortechnology with the VME bus for flexibil-ity and easy upgradeability. Features in-clude a 50 nanosecond-per-pixel drawingspeed,local pan/zoom/scroll, and localhighlighting techniques for increased user

productivity. The system also offers a

hardware cursor and user-selectable anti-aliasing capabilities.

Options include IBM 3270 emulationand two- and three-dimensional transfor-mations and clipping. The system includes256KB memory, expandable to 1.25MB.A maximum of 256 colors can be simul-taneously displayed from a palette of4096. Communication options are sup-

ported at speeds up to three megabits per

second.The workstation is compatible with

existing channel units for the Adage 4250.

Up to 32 6080 and 4250 workstations can

be supported by one channel unit.

Adage 6080 runs software for the IBM 5080. Its proprietary graphics software isupgradeable to 3-D and solid modeling.

A 19 inch, 1024 x 1024, 60Hz non-in-terlaced display with anti-glare screen isstandard. Each workstation has its owndedicated controller. Interactive devicesinclude an alphanumeric keyboard, datatablet with stylus or four-button cursor,programmable function keys, and eightcontinuous-turn control dials.

A typical configuration costs about$18,000 for a monochrome system toabout $22,000 for a 16-color system.For more information, contact Adage,

Inc., One Fortune Drive, Billerica, MA;(617) 667-7070.

Reader Service Number 20

Portable computer gets easier-to-read screen

A new display technology that makesthe screen of the Morrow Pivot portablecomputer easier to read has been added tothe lap-top system.The display sharpens contrast and

provides bright lettering on a black back-ground. It combines the quality of electro-luminescent displays with the low cost andpower consumption of liquid-crystal dis-plays, according to the company.

Pivots equipped with the new displaycost $100 more than previous units. ThePivot Model 1622, with two floppy drivesand 256KB of RAM, costs $2995; Model1662, with two floppies and 640KB ofRAM, $3795. Factory upgrades are avail-able for $100 to retailers and end-userswith previously shipped models.The 10-pound portable computer is

based on the 80C86 16-bit microprocessorand comes with MS-DOS 2.11. The 13by 5.6 by 9.5-inch unit has a 16-line by80-column display with 480 by 128-pixel

bit-mapped graphics. Six ROM-basedexecutive productivity functions, includ-ing personal appointment scheduler,phone directory, and calculator, arestandard.

For more information, contact Morrow,600 McCormick, San Leandro, CA 94577;(415) 430-1970.


Single-board computer can help teach microelectronicsA 68000-based single-board computer,

called Microtrainer 68K, has been design-ed by Waterloo Distance Education, Inc.,especially for teaching microelectronicsand microprocessors.

It can be used with on-board video cir-cuitry and parallel keyboard interface, orconnected to a dumb terminal. Two6850's,two 6821 's, and a 68230 are avail-able to the user, with connectors for aparallel printer, RS-232 serial ports, anda cassette interface, and card-edge socketsfor interfacing to experiment boards.

Memory can be expanded to 80K onboard. Software includes a debug monitorand an assembler/editor. A cross-assem-bler to run on the IBM-PC and severalplug-in experiment boards are available.It costs $595.


For information concerning theseproducts, contact the manufacturers.New Products Editor, DemetriosMichalopoulos, California StateUniversity, Fullerton.

119May 1985

MacCharlie, from Dayna Communications, enables the Apple Macintosh to use soft-ware written for the IBM PC.

Apple's Macintosh can now run IBM PC software

Single-board computer offerscompact size and portabilityA single-board computer measuring 3.9

inches by 5.5 inches, one-fifth the size ofa standard IBM board, has been releasedby Faraday Electronics. The Micro PC is100 percent compatible with the IBM PCand fits into a variety of systems requiringcompact size or portability, the companysays.The company designed the board

around its FE 2010 CMOS integrated cir-cuit. The IC replaces up to 34 low-powerSchottky chips plus the Intel chip set, ex-cept for the 8088, of the IBM PC mother-board, for a total of 22 ICs.The product features an optional 8087

co-processor, 256K of parity-checkedRAM, 32K of user EPROM, four DMAchannels, three timer channels, one IBM-compatible keyboard port, one speakerport, and one reset port. It supports MS-DOS, Concurrent PC DOS, VRTX andUnix. The product costs $695 and comeswith a one-year warranty.

For more information, contact FaradayElectronics, 743 Pastoria Avenue,Sunnyvale, CA 94086; (408) 749-1900.


A hardware and software product thatenables the Apple Macintosh to usesoftware written for the IBM PC has beenannounced by Dayna Communications.

According to the company, the product,MacCharlie, permits Macintosh users toaccess the large library of IBM PC-com-patible software, to connect to IBM serialnetworks, to exchange PC and Macintoshdata files, and to use IBM peripheral de-vices such as letter quality printers. It alsoserves as a printer buffer to the Macintosh.The separate hardware unit functions as

a co-processing device and connects to theMacintosh by provided cables. It comesstandard with 256KB RAM and 51/4-inch360 KB double-sided, double-density diskdrive. Also available is an expanded ver-

sion, MacCharlie Plus, that comes with640KB RAM and two disk drives.

MacCharlie costs $1195; MacCharliePlus, $1895. Both systems come with MSDOS 2.1 and GWBASIC.The product is expected to make the

Macintosh more appealing to IBM-biasedcomputer users. In addition, many of thefeatures that exist on Macintosh, such asthe desktop utilities and the clipboard, willstill work while in the IBM PC mode, thecompany says.

For more information, contact DaynaCommunications, 50 South Main Street,Suite 530, Salt Lake City, UT 84144; (801)531 -0600.


Low-cost editing terminal transmits data in blocks

A smart, full-function editing terminalcosting $395 has been introduced by QumeCorporation.Named the QVT-101, the terminal has

all of the features of the company's QVT-102, and emulates the Hazeltine 1500, theLear Siegler ADM 3A/5, and the Tele-Video 910, the company says.The terminal features block-mode data

transmission, which allows the screen con-tents to be transmitted to the host computerat one time rather than character-by-char-acter or line-by-line.

Interface options allow the terminal tooperate remotely from a micro, mini, or

mainframe host computer. It has 16 hostor user-programmable functions and a 14-inch screen, standard. It also includes abi-directional printer port, RS232 inter-face, a non-glare green screen, foreigncharacter sets, and a detached, low-profileDIN keyboard with adjustable height, plusa one-year warranty. Options include anamber screen and current loop or RS422interfaces.

For more information, contact QumeCorporation, 2350 Qume Drive, San Jose,CA 95131; (408) 942-4000.


$50,000 computer system has16MB error-correcting RAM

A hard disk-based computer systemwith 16MB of error-correcting RAM thatcosts about $50,000 has been released byCromemco, Inc.

Called CS-400, it is also available inconfigurations of 4MB and 8MB of error-

correcting RAM. There is a choice of a

140MB or 280MB high-speed hard-diskdrive, controlled by the STDC high speedcontroller with cache memory. The systemcomes with a standard 5'/4-inch 390KBfloppy disk drive for program interchangeand a 32MB megabyte cartridge tape drivefor program or data backup. Each has ver-

sions for I 0 vac,6OHz, or 220 vac,5OHz.The Unix System V operating system is

configured to take advantage of the largeavailable memory by allocating a full750KB of RAM memory as a buffer area.

For niany jobs, this reduces the number ofdisk accesses required, increasing the speedof the system.

The computers have Cromemco's XPUprocessor, XMM memory manager,

64FDC and STDC controllers, the OctartI/O board, and accept 21 boards.For more information, contact

Cromemco, Inc., 280 Bernardo Ave., POBox 7400, Mountain View, CA 94039;(415) 964-7400.


120 COMPUTER

Liquid crystal shutter turnsmonochrome CRT into colorThe 7-inch Liquid Crystal Shutter from

Tektronix, Inc., can turn a small mono-

chrome CRT display into an equally high-resolution color display.The advantages of the shutter over

shadow-mask or penetration-tube colordisplay technologies include contrast inhigh ambient light, inherent convergence,

larger usable viewing area, smaller pack-age, and ruggedness, according to thecompany.

Examples of potential applications forthe product include automatic tellermachines, instrument displays (oscillos-copes, logic analyzers, and spectrumanalyzers), point of-sale terminals, porta-ble personal computer displays, and pro-

cess control displays.The technology consists of a fast liquid

crystal switch (pi-cell) sandwiched be-tween two color polarizers and a neutralpolarizer. Combined with a monochromeCRT that uses a phosphor that emits bothred and green light, the shutter transmitsthe green part of the light when a voltage

The 7-inch Liquid Crystal Shutter fromTektronix, Inc., can turn a small mono-chrome CRT display into an equally high-resolution color display.

is applied and the red part of the lightwhen the voltage is removed.

Colored images are generated by firstswitching the shutter so that only one colorfield, for instance green, is transmitted.All information to be green is then writtenon the CRT screen. Next, the shutter is

switched to transmit only the red field,and all information to be red is written.The switching is so rapid and repetitivethat the eye integrates the two fields intoone color image. Any information writtenin only one field appears green, and thatwritten in the other appears red. Informa-tion written in both fields appears yellow,or an intermediate color, depending on therelative intensities ofthe combined red andgreen light. Any combination of the twoprimary colors is accomplished by varyingthe CRT beam current.The product is available in large quan-

tities in a red/green/yellow color combina-tion. The company is also offering a 7-inchmonochrome CRT with red/green phos-phor that takes advantage of the shuttercharacteristics. Each will be sold on a con-tract basis only. The single-unit price is$200, with OEM discounts offered.

For more information contact LiquidCrystal Shutter, Tektronix, Inc., PO Box500, M/S 02-100, Beaverton, OR, 97077;(503) 627-5000.


Turnkey database machines use specialized processor

Three turnkey database machines capa-ble of handling small to very large corpor-ate databases have been annnounced byBritton Lee, Inc.

All three systems use the company'sspecialized multi-processor computerspecifically designed to execute the rela-tional DBMS model. Database manage-ment functions are accomplished in afraction of the time associated with con-ventional, software-only databasemanagement systems, according to thecompany.The entry-level machine, the IDM

500E, has a high-speed eight-channelserial I/O that allows up to eight differenthosts and 90 users to simultaneouslyaccess a common pool of data, IMB ofRAM, and a dedicated 160MB disk drivethat accesses the database without con-suming the processing power of the hostcomputer. Additional users can access thedatabase with an Ethernet LAN interfaceoption. A 300MB cartridge tape driveprovides data backup, and an availableexpansion slot accepts RS-232 or IEEE-488 interfaces. The 500E costs $56,900.The second of the three models, the

500X, is for larger businesses with greaterdatabase demands. It allows 250 users to.,imultaneously access the databases,stored in 320MB of Winchester disk capa-city, which can be expanded to more than10 gigabytes. Also equipped with IMB ofRAM, it has 300MB cartridge tape drivefor file archiving. The nine expansion slots

allow the addition of more memory, disks,or the expansion of the eight-channel serialI/O to 64 RS-232 ports, four IEEE-488channels, four Ethernet LANs, or fourIBM block multiplexer channels. It costs$98,900.The 500XL is the most powerful sys-

tem. More than 400 users can simultane-ously access more than one gigabyte ofWinchester disk capacity. It comes with2MB ofRAM. To offload repetitious data-base operations, an eight million-instruc-tions-per-second accelerator is included

that streamlines overall system perform-ance by as much as 10 times. A 500MBcartridge tape drive allows for the transferof files and provides host-independent tapebackup. Like the 500X, the 500XL offersthe flexiblity of any mix of serial I/O,IEEE-488, parallel, Ethernet LAN, orIBM block multiplexer interfaces. It costs$154,900.

For more information, contact BrittonLee, Inc., 14600 Winchester Blvd., LosGatos, CA 95030; (408) 378-7000.


Kits clean drive heads of disks and cartridges

Head-cleaning systems for 3½/2-inch diskdrives and ANSI-compatible, ¼/4-inch tapecartridges have been announced by PerfectData Corporation.

Like the company's 5¼/4-inch and 8-inchdisk drive cleaning systems, the new prod-ucts remove smoke, dust, and oxide de-posits that contaminate the drives.The system for disk drives can clean both

single-head and dual-head drives.A kit contains a lint-free non-abrasive,

polyester cleaning diskette within a mod-ified 31/2-inch plastic jacket. The kit alsocontains a one-ounce bottle of cleaning sol-ution. The solution is applied through wet-ting "windows" and the cleaning disketteis inserted into the drive. After 30 seconds,the diskette is removed. Each kit may beused for 26 cleanings, six months usage

under normal circumstances, according tothe company. It costs $15.95.The system for tape cartridges, called

QIC-II, can clean the heads of 8-inch or5¼/4-inch form factor drives. Depending onthe form factor, the cleaning cartridge isinserted one way or the other. The operatormoistens the cleaning pad with solution,inserts the cartridge, and activates a leverten to 20 times, moving the pad across therecording surface. The cartridge is saferand more reliable than cleaning swabs, thecompany claims. Each cartridge kit costs$39.95 and lasts for about 100 cleanings.

For more information, contact PerfectData Corporation, 9174 Deering Avenue,Chatsworth, CA 91311; (818) 998-2400.


121May 1985

Printer has 288 cps speedand plug-in font cartridges

A new printer from Toshiba America,Inc., the P351, features plug-in font car-

tridges and a draft printing rate of up to288 cps.

Also included are a redesigned acousti-cal cabinet that reduces the noise level to58 db, Qume Sprint 11 letter-quality emu-ulation, a forward-stacking sheetfeederthat ejects documents in ready-to-readorder, and the ability to boldface withoutany loss in print speed.The cartridge loading system comple-

ments the line of 41 downloadable fontsavailable as options on floppy disks.Typefaces that come with the two-fonts-per cartridge system are Bold Gothic, 15cps Elite Italic, Scientific I and 2, and laterOrator I and 2, Helvetica Script, ThemeLight Italic, and Bold Italic. Residentcharacter sets include letter-qualityCourier, Prestige Elite, condensed print,draft quality, and proportional spacing.The company's proprietary 24-pin print

head uses fine-wire, eight-mil pins thatcreate precisely-placed, overlapping dotsto form sharp characters without"scalloping" or "stair-stepping."

Toshiba's P351 dot matrix printer fea-tures plug-in font cartridges, 288 cpsspeed, and 58 db noise level.

The dot-addressable graphics are pro-duced at a density of 360 by 180 and 180by 180 dots-per-inch, while letter-qualitycharacters are formed at 24 by 24 dots perinch. A condensed print mode of 16.7 cpseffectively produces a 226-column formatuseful for accommodating large spread-sheets or saving paper during massive datadumps. The printer costs $1895.

For more information, contact ToshibaAmerica, Inc., 2441 Michelle Drive,Tustin, CA 92680; (714) 730-5000.


Mentor 1500 includes dual operating systems

Applied Digital Data Systems, Inc.recently introduced the Mentor 1500, aPick operating system-based, multi-userbusiness computer system.

The computer supports both Pick andMS-DOS operating systems: using theADDS-enhanced Pick OS, the systemperforms exactly like larger Mentor sys-tems; with MS-DOS, it becomes a stand-alone PC XT-compatible personal com-puter.

The Mentor 1500 supports up to twoother terminals in addition to the systemterminal, all with simultaneous access tothe same database. Communications withother ADDS Mentors for distributedoperation is provided through the firm'senhanced Pick OS, and expansion ispossible through upgrading.

Based on an 8088 processor, with 8087co-processor capability, the Mentor 1500includes both serial and Centronics-typeparallel printer ports. It provides com-posite color/graphics and RGBI videooutput, plus a light pen interface.The computer has a built-in 51/2-inch

floppy disk drive with 320/360K capacity,and a 10MB-capacity hard disk. Its 256KRAM is expandable to 640K. A 12-inchmonochrome monitor is included: a12-inch color monitor is optional.

The ADDS Mentor 1500 is priced at$4890, including the ADDS-enhancedPick OS, MS-DOS and a monochromemonitor. For additional information,Contact: Keith Lohmuller, director ofmarketing, ADDS-Systems Division, 100Marcus Blvd., Hauppauge, NY 11788;(516) 231-5400.


New configuration added,prices cut, for processor

An additional configuration of its Sym-bolics 3640 processor and a new 8MB add-in memory board have been announcedby Symbolics, Inc.

Called the 3640-1711, the processor isequipped with two 140MB, 5¼/4-inchWinchester disks, and costs $71,800. The8MB add-in memory board, modelMEM2, which uses 256K RAM chips,costs $35,000.The model 1611 standard-configur-

ation 3640 processor with one 140MBdisk, now costs $65,900, and the modelMEMI 2MB add-in memory board nowcosts $9,900.

For more information, contact Sym-bolics, Inc., Eleven Cambridge Center,Cambridge, MA 02124; (617) 577-7500.


Enhanced DEC Unix systemscompatible with System V

Enhancements for two Unix-basedoperating systems, Ultrix-32 andPro4Venix, have been announced by Digi-tal Equipment Corporation.

Version 1.1 of Ultrix-32 provides in-creased support for the VAX family ofcomputers, broader compatibility withUnix System V, and ease of servicefeatures, according to the company.

It contains the Source Code ControlSystem from AT&T's Unix System Ill. Atthe same time, other System V commandsand utilities have been included to offercompatibility among Ultrix-32, Ultrix-li ,

and AT&T's Unix products. Diagnostictesting has been improved to enable theuser to read directly from the distributiontape, locate the diagnostic programs, andload and execute the corrections from anUltrix-32 file system.

The enhanced version of Ultrix-32 nowsupports a packaged system of aVAX-11/725 computer with 2MB ofmainmemory, a one-to-16 user Ultrix-32license, dual TU58 tape systems, a 52MBdisk system and multifunction com-munication device. In addition, it sup-ports the VAX-11/780 and VAX-11/785computers up to a maximum memory of64MB, a feature that provides perfor-mance improvements for large applica-tions, the company says.

Version 2.0 of Pro/Venix adds SystemV and Ethernet communications com-

patibility. In addition, the Laboratory In-terface Module for the company's Procomputer has RS232, parallel, and IEEEports.

The company's workstation configuredwith Pro/Venix and its Realtime Interfacecan function as a data acquisition work-station in a laboratory or as a process con-

trol workstation in manufacturing and ex-

perimental environments. When theEthernet Controller option is installed,the workstation's resources can be sharedin a distributed computing environmentor local-area network.

Pro/Venix Version 2.0 base systempackage costs $495, and includes editors,serial communications, text processing, aBasic interpreter, and graphics utilities.The software development package costs$600, and includes the C, Fortran, andPascal compilers; SCCS; and popularUnix support tools. The base systempackage is a prerequisite for users of thesoftware development package.

For more information, contact DigitalEquipment Corporation, Maynard, MA.


122 COMPUTER

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