IBM Corp will demonstrate a PowerPC 603e-based NC reference platform for building network computers at Comdex next week, although Big Blue’s newly-created NC division under Bob Dies doesn’t expect to ship what it will call Network Center products based upon the design until the end of next summer at the earliest. IBM Microelectronics will market OEM kits using the design and running Microware Systems Corp real-time OS/9 or Sun JavaOS operating system software. Until the Network Centers debut, IBM will sell PowerPC 403-based Network Stations built by Network Computing Devices Inc to a design enhanced with drivers supporting AS/400 5250 and 3270 mainframe sessions plus booting software. They run a Network Station Manager environment – including NCD’s ACTware system software – plus Java virtual machine and browser. The Network Station will be demonstrated at Comdex being served by a raft of new Lotus and Java applications, including SmartSuite re-written in Java. The Network Station ships next month with 8Mb RAM but no local disk drive and is expected to cost from $700. Network Stations can access Windows applications running on Intel servers across NCDUs Wincenter software and support Unix applications. IBM’s NC Comdex plans are still changing day-to-day, but itUs also expected to demonstrate technology conforming to the Microsoft/Intel NetPC specification for which it has also announced support. Although general manager Bob Dies doesn’t rule out eventually providing an Intel-based device through his NC division, Phil Hester, now the division’s technology lieutenant, says the group’s work is PowerPC-centric for the moment. Hester says Intel processors are still too expensive to meet NC requirements and that the IBM PC Company will provide Big Blue’s NetPC and other WinTel product requirements for the time being. IBM’s third desktop product line are the high-end RS/6000 AIX workstations. Hester was most recently general manager of IBM Microelectronics’ integrated product solutions group and has apparently been co-ordinating the company’s NC initiatives behind the scenes for sometime. All of IBM’s hardware and software NC technologies are being poured into the new NC division which supposedly has up to 400 staff spread around several locations including Rochester, Austin and the Lotus operations. The PowerPC 603e-based Network Centers will offered in several configurations from very low-end devices supporting basic AS/400 and mainframe sessions, to models with some groupware and browsing functions to others with more expandability and peripheral options. In addition IBM will create those long-promised NCs for vertical application markets, such as kiosks, reservation and check-in systems using the design. The NC division will offer packaged solutions, including client and server hardware and software, though much of the server-side software that will push Java and other applications down to clients will remain on the bench until next year.
