HDS Network Systems Inc reckons it’s way ahead of the field in Network Computers with its @workStation, claiming that it is still the only shipping Network Computer with local Web browser and Java – and it is determined to stay that way. Yesterday, the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company became the first Network Computer vendor to get into its second generation of the things, launching the new @workStation Supra-66 models, based on the Intel Corp’s 66MHz 80960-HD superscalar RISC processor, which offers performance equivalent to or faster than today’s typical desktop personal computers. The Network Computers run Java, Windows, Unix and mainframe applications at very fast speeds over a network. Later this quarter, HDS will also move into the second generation of its netOS operating system, release 2.0 – and once again, you can license it if you want to build your own network-centric devices. But the talk of $500 machines remains ambitious: the cheapest HDS’ @workStation is $700, and prices for the @workStation Supra-66 models begin at $1,300, which buys a system with 8Mb of memory, and a keyboard and mouse.
