Sietec Systemtechnik GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, has started shipping EMV, a videoconferencing product it developed for Deutsche Telekom Berkom. EMV is based on Sietec’s jointX workgroup computing software, which supports document sharing and editing as well as audio, but the new offering also has videoconferencing capabilities built in. It runs on Sun Microsystems Inc SparcStations, Silicon Graphics Inc Iris Indigos and Siemens Nixdorf’s RWs running under SunOS 4.1X or Irix 4.0x. These machines can be hooked up to X terminals with a Motif front-end via TCP/IP local area networks or broadband and ISDN wide area networks. Videoconferencing capabilities are also available for jointX as an add-on if customers want it, but Sietec says the system runs too slowly over today’s digital networks to justify the extra expense – and there aren’t enough firms with access to broadband networks or ISDN to create a mass market. As a result, at CeBit the company intends to announce new technology it has developed with a major chip vendor that will enable jointX to perform more satisfactorily over digital networks. This is a special chip on a card that users slot into their workstations to boost performance. Both products are available now in Germany, and will start shipping elsewhere when suitable distributors are found. JointX costs the equivalent of UKP4,000; no price given for EMV.
