It seems FutureSoft Inc got a little ahead of itself yesterday when it claimed that its DynaComm Connectivity series for Windows-based terminals – that it had licensed to Network Computing Devices Inc – was to be an alternative to the much- vaunted Citrix Systems Inc’s ICA protocol.
Not so, says NCD’s Lorraine Hariton, senior VP of development and marketing. She points out that the deal was for FutureSoft’s terminal emulators running on top of Windows CE – the OS inside NCD’s ThinStar Windows terminals, and nothing more than that. The NCD ThinStar’s still use Citrix’ ICA or Microsoft ‘s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to access Windows NT servers.
Where FutureSoft may have been confused, believes Hariton, is that FutureSoft also has multi-user server-based terminal emulators that run on top of Windows Terminal Server that used to be called Hydra, but is not compatible with Windows NT 3.51, only 4.0. But NCD is not licensing that product, just the client-based emulators. NCD has had its own emulators for its proprietary OS, but now needs them for CE, and so rather than write them itself, it licensed them from FutureSoft. Hariton says they are in beta right now and will be ready later this year, declining to be more specific at this point.
