Fast on the heels of WinDD for X terminals desktop, Tektronix Inc has just unveiled a version of the code that will enable Sun Microsystems Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Silicon Graphics Inc workstations to function as X Window clients to a Windows NT server. It says this is the first product that provides native Microsoft Corp Windows compatibility and performance on Unix systems. WinDD, announced last autumn (CI No 2,437), enabled Windows applications to access X desktops directly, without the need for software emulation. WinDD was developed from technology adopted from Coral Springs, Florida company Citrix Systems Inc, the company officially charged by Microsoft with making NT multi-user. It is based on Windows NT Server 3.5, with enhancements that boast multi-user support, network transparency and the display of a full Windows desktop within a window on the Tektronix X terminal. WinDD for Workstation hooks into the NT Server as though it were a TekXpress X terminal, so that Unix workstations can access anything running under NT, Windows, MS-DOS or OS/2, without having to emulate programs. WinDD for Workstation thereby adapts the WinDD display client for use on Sun, Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics machines. It currently supports SunOS 4.1.3, Solaris 2.3, HP 9000/700, HP-UX 9.X and Silicon Graphics IRIX 4.05. Using the X protocol, various X Window desktop systems can access WinDD across a network. The WinDD application server gives transparent access to some personal computers local area networks, including NetWare and Banyan’s Vines. Volume shipments of WinDD for Workstations will begin this month, and per-user pricing starts at $200.
