All the evidence seems to be that the companies that go to the trouble to configure special versions of their hardware for the Internet server market and give them an appropriate name are the winners, those that simply offer Internet software for their existing machines end up as also-rans. Silicon Graphics Inc has got the message and has introduced a WebForce Media Server based on its Challenger server hardware and Cosmo MediaBase software. WebForce is a system for storing, managing, retrieving and delivering streaming digital video content. The company is pitching WebForce as for use within corporate intranets, by service providers for network-based delivery of video services including cable and telecommunications firms and by content creators dev- eloping video-enabled streaming applications. WebForce Media Servers are due out in July, starting at $30,000 for the basic package based on the Challenge S system in-cluding the Cosmo MediaBase software and a Netscape Communications Corp server. The WebForce DM Media Server, based on the Challenger DM server starts from $80,000, while the WebForce L Media Server, based on Challenger L is from $250,000. The top-of-the-range WebForce XL Media Server, built around the Challenger XL, supporting up to 500 simultaneous MPEG streams, starts at $545,000.
