Intel Corp is expanding in the data communications market with acquisition of 50-employee privately-held Waltham, Massachusetts company Jupiter Technology Inc on undisclosed terms. Jupiter Technology’s key product is the System 1000 universal communications computer, which runs the company’s proprietary Softlink real-time operating system, called Softlink that is described as being compatible with Unix System III and v7 and v6. Softlink is intended to manage all communications applications and protocols on the system and supports all system calls and features of the Unix kernel. Physical and electrical interfaces are handled by communications interface boards that support asynchronous, bisynchronous, SNA, HDLC, SDLC, and X25 protocols, as well as RS232C, RS422 and RS423, V.35, and IEEE 803 Ethernet physical interfaces. Prices for the System 1000 range from $10,000 to $120,000 according to protocol complexity. Jupiter will operate as Intel’s subsidiary.