Sun Microsystems Inc has just gone to Fujitsu Microelectronics for a 1,280 by 1,024 large-screen flat-panel plasma display that will work for the S-bus in its Sparcstations. The thing offers 100dpi in a 16 diagonal format, according to Fujitsu an industry first for flat panels. Taking a cue from RDI Computer Corp’s Profile, the monitor is said to hang on the wall and Sun is targeting financial transaction, airline reservations, desktop publishing and software developers. A nice enough add-on in itself but there’s another – nie on miraculous – side to the story. Showing a turn of speed unknown among Sparcsystem cloners, Integrix Inc says it has beaten Sun at its own game, in its own timeframe. It says it took the same 8-bit Fujitsu panel and made the data transfer four times faster with a 32-bit graphics controller board. Integrix’s subsystem bundled with the single-slot S-bus controller and display is $5,500. The board alone is $1,250; a 1,024 by 1,024 display is also available.
