After Microsoft at Work, comes Novell in Fan Heaters. Look out in the next few months for Novell Inc’s Extended Network Group to announce support for Echelon Corp’s Local Operating Network system. Echelon, you will recall, makes the cheap computer-on-a-chip designed to add networked intelligence to everything from fire alarms to heating systems to forecourt petrol-pumps (CI No 1,906). Echelon vice-president for Europe, Christopher Sygel says Novell that is set to announce support for LONWorks. This would enable any personal computer on the NetWare network control and recieve information from devices containing the Echelon chip. The move would make possible any number of intelligent building-type applications and one application Sygel calls simple-minded though illustrative, has a personal computer operator typing a new temperature into their spreadsheet cell, to turn down the heating. Echelon has also tied up with Oracle Corp on its Media Server effort (CI No 2,337). The database company’s earthquake-delayed presentation was set to show how the Media Server, LONWorks and the ‘Data Superhighway’ could be used to pass information between electricity generation companies and householders. The LON-equipped set-top box can deliver real-time billing and tariff information to the house and act on it intelligently – in cold weather the beleaguered generator could up the cost of electricity, the box would notice and perhaps be set to turn down the heating a notch. At the same time the electricity company can find out who has their oven on full blast. Sounds like science fiction? Partial implementations are already under way at Detriot Edison in the US and the Swedish Generator, Sydkraft. Meanwhile the Neuron chips themselves are set to come down in price. Originally built in 1.2 micron silicon by Toshiba Corp and Motorola Inc, they were switched to 0.8 micron last September. Sygel says the companies are comitted to a 0.6 micron implementation by 1995, at which time the raw chips, sans transceiver, will be around $2.50 each.
