Tektronix Inc has added two more workstations to its graphics range, with the release of the 4319 bit-mapped workstation and the 4211 Netstation (CI No 1,031). Tektronix is hard at work implementing workstations around the fledgling Motorola 88000 RISC microprocessor – it was the first manufacturer to sign up for the chip – and says Motorola parts will continue to play an important role in future products, although Intel chips will remain in other products. The Beaverton, Oregan-based company says its combination of 88000s produces an incremental performance increase unmatched by Sun Microsystems’ rival Sparc, and points to the 88000’s availability, as well as its own research in Gallium Arsenide. Tektronix decided to adopt the 88000 one year before the chip’s official launch, and will continue to co-operate its research with Motorola, which also provided design input for the new 68000 family stations. Built around a 20MHz 68020 processor, the 4319 graphics workstation adds a 68881 floating point co-processor, has 4Mb standard RAM, expandable to 20Mb, with 1.2Mb floppy and 86Mb hard disk; it supports Ethernet, X Window and Tektronix’s version of Unix System V, UTek. Like the 4310 series, the 4319 is aimed at graphics-intensive applications such as computer-aided design, architecture and civil engineering. A range of software packages are available for the UKP10,000 product, including the Anvil-5000 CAD/CAM system from Manufacturing & Consulting Services Ltd, with which Tek will jointly market the new products in the UK. Meanwhile, the 4211 Netstation – which uses the Texas Instruments Inc 34010 graphics processor – is claimed to offer workstation functionality at a terminal price; it has on-board Ethernet and the main processor is the 16-bit bus Intel 80386SX which, when combined with dual processor architecture, allows it to produce 40,000 vectors per second – compared with the 4111’s 8,000. Main memory of 2Mb is standard with options up to 4Mb. Replacing the 4200 graphics terminal, the UKP6,000 Netstation is compatible with all software applications for the 4111 – which is Tektronix’s biggest moneyspinner in the graphics market. Marketing agreements for the new station been reached with software firms ESRI and Precision Visuals Inc.
