Hewlett-Packard Co’s January 10 announcement is expected to include computers and servers built around a new CMOS implementation of the company’s Precision Architecture RISC processor – the present version is fabricated in NMOS. A 48MHz version of the part delivering up to 30 MIPS performance, is expected to be used in a new top-end HP3000 Series 970: although initially offered as a uniprocessor, the new model is expected to be offered with up to four processors in due course, with support for over 400 users. At the low end, an HP3000 Series 915 is expected to support 16 or so users and to start at $11,000. Systems and servers in the HP9000 Unix family are also expected, and there is talk of an HP9000 Series 600 family, although it is not clear whether this will use the RISC or the upcoming Motorola 68040. Meantime late yesterday, Hewlett-Packard joined forced with Northern Telecom Ltd to announce the first fruits of their collaboration agreement by unveiling Hewlett’s Applied Computerised Telephony software for its computers and Northern Telecom’s Integrated Services Digital Network Applications Protocol for its PABXs. The system enables a customer’s details to appear on the screen as soon as that customer calls; the combination also supports simultaneous delivery of telephone call and computer file to the desktop; transfer of both the customer call and associated computer screen to another business area; identification of the phone number the customer called, and automatic callback of customers that hung up while in queue or on hold. The Hewlett software runs on the HP3000 MPE/XL and the HP9000 Unix machines.
