Northern Telecom Ltd has moved into the multimedia market with launch of the first two products in its Visit range CI No 1,940). Visit Video is a desktop videoconferencing system, while Visit Voice is designed to turn users’ computers into telephone management stations. Both products will be available in the fourth quarter for Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS machines running Microsoft Windows, while an OS/2 version is planned for late 1993. Visit Video works over dial-up 56Kbps digital service, and consists of software, a video circuit board, camera and communications hardware. Support for Northern Telecom’s digital PABXs for private networks is also included, and the product conforms to the US’s National ISDN 1 specifications. Visit Video provides screen-sharing and file transfer capabilities, and it costs between $3,000 and $3,500 in the US. According to a company spokesman, they will be launched in the rest of the world but it depends on market demand. The product is to be enhanced to include colour upgrades, incorporation of CCITT H.261 compression standard, and support for multipoint conferencing. Morthern Telecom plans to be the first company to offer a system working between Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS machines, and this is to be available in the fourth quarter of the year. Visit Voice enables users to access voice-mail and telephone features, making it possible to dial, set up directories, log phone calls and track usage. The product is being bundled with Visit Video, but is also available on a stand-alone basis for $100. Including telephone-computer interface hardware, it will sell for $300 to $600.
