With its Aptiva home computing division still under the block after failing to make an impact on the consumer market (CI No 3,268), IBM Corp is considering another assault on home computing, reports Bloomberg. IBM plans to sell a digital network for the home, due onto the market by Christmas next year, said the report. Code named The Home Network, the project is apparently being championed by IBM chief Louis Gerstner, and involves a number of divisions at IBM. The product will be based around a digital appliance server to store and manage network information, with devices such as digital video disk players for movies and games, scanners,
printers, monitors and fax machines attached to the device using wireless transmission. IBM’s Network Station network computers could be used to run PC applications. Prices would depend on how many devices were attached, but a basic set-up might cost $3,000, Trey Smith, chief technology officer for IBM’s PC unit is reported to have said. The appliance is likely to be Intel
x86-based and use Microsoft Corp software, the report suggested.
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