Server Technology Inc of Sunnyvale, California, developer of the EasyLAN local area network for IBM Personalikes, has acquired CrossPoint Systems Inc for an undisclosed sum. Under the terms of the acquisition, the Eugene, Oregon developer of the CrossPoint 8 and the CrossPoint A+B data switches will become the focus of Server’s hardware business. At the same time, Server announced that it has combined the A+B line of data switches with its EasyPrint software to create a new family of programs that allow Personalikes and PS/2s to share serial and parallel dot-matrix, letter-quality, and laser printers and plotters. Desktop publishing and graphics applications, for example, are dependent on high-quality printers and plotters, said Server president Carrel Ewing. The new additions to our EasyPrint product line allow the benefits of resource sharing to be extended to all PC users in corporate work groups and departments, and in small businesses and professional groups while significantly reducing the per-user cost of these expensive peripherals. EasyPrint 7 gives users of two to seven PC-DOS machines simultaneous access to any mix of up to four serial or parallel laser, dot matrix or letter-quality printers. It also features Server’s Advanced Forms Support which eliminates the need for bin feeders and maximises productivity by removing the need to take a printer off line to change the type of paper used. A four-user EasyPrint 7 system is priced at $900. A second product, EasyPrint 7 with Print Q, combines the CrossPoint switch with the Print Q local spooling program. Designed specifically for computer-aided design and engineering workstations, this version of EasyPrint 7 allows one printer or plotter to be shared by up to seven micros. It is priced at $1,000. The third product, EasyPrint 8, at $1,200, allows up to eight PC-DOS boxess to share up to 32 printers or plotters in any combination of parallel or serial devices. Ewing describes it as is the ultimate in low-cost printer-sharing solution for PC users. The three new products take the EasyPrint range to five in total. Server announced two- and three-user EasyPrint systems announced last autumn. The CrossPoint data switches will continue to be available on their own for users wanting to devise their own shared-peripheral configurations.
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