Sears, Roebuck & Co has made so many mis-steps in data processing, the most recent to be untangled being its vast investment in Prodigy Services Co, that true believers in the Network Computer concept are going to be a little discomfited that just about the first company to stick its head over the parapet and say that it is placing a bulk order for Network Computers is the venerable Chicago retailer. It has ordered more than 2,500 Network Computers from the new Boundless Technologies subsidiary of SunRiver Corp, Austin, Texas. Sears has gone for a combination of Ethernet and Token Ring Boundless TC models – based on the Intel Corp 80960 – to replace existing Token Ring- connected personal computers in its Sears Centers, NTW and TireAmerica stores throughout the US. The idea of the Boundless TC is that it enables users to access Windows applications without the administration required for a personal computer. Implementation is being done by the UCSI POS Solutions Group of UCSI Inc in Kansas City.
