Compact Devices Unveils Breakthrough Workgroup Web Server Appliance; Company's Twister Intranet Server Delivers Robust Web Publishing in Easy to use, Sub-$1,000 Device.CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1997--Compact Devices, a leading supplier of network appliances for workgroups, today unveiled its Twister(TM) Intranet Server. Twister is a cost-effective, fully-integrated Web server appliance A self-contained computer system specialized for network use. Its applications are pre-installed, and access to setup and configuration is via a Web browser. Server appliances may provide a single application or several applications; for example, a single device may provide file server, that is exceptionally easy to install, use and manage. Twister offers true plug-and-play functionality for workgroup and remote office Web publishing Creating a Web site and placing it on the Web server. A Web site is a collection of HTML pages with the home page typically named INDEX.HTML. Web sites are designed using Web authoring software which provides a graphical layout capability or by hand coding in HTML or both. requirements. The user simply attaches the server, which is roughly the size of a modem, to the network, loads content, and begins sharing information and documents over an intranet or the Internet. Without the time consuming and complex tasks of loading and configuring software, the server can be installed and fully operational within a matter of minutes A Matter of Minutes is an episode from the television series The New Twilight Zone. Cast
Twister incorporates a site development wizard and intranet site templates that allow users to quickly publish a basic site. In addition, it comes bundled with Claris Home Page, a full featured HTML editor A low-level Web site authoring tool that is essentially a text editor, specialized for writing HTML code. It assists the HTML author by cataloging all HTML tags and common structures in menus and by being able to catch certain syntax errors. , and Net-It-Now, an intranet publishing tool that transforms documents into live web pages. Twister also allows users to create content with any other Web authoring package, such as Microsoft FrontPage Microsoft FrontPage (later full name Microsoft Office FrontPage) was a WYSIWYG HTML editor and web site administration tool from Microsoft for the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. It was part of Microsoft Office application suite from 1997 to 2003. , Netscape Navigator An earlier Web browser for Windows, Macintosh and X Windows from Netscape that provided secure transmission over the Internet. Soon after its introduction in 1994, Navigator, or just "Netscape," as it was commonly called, quickly became the leading browser on the Web. Gold and Adobe PageMill, as well as applications that support automatic HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. conversion such as Microsoft Office 97. "The Twister Intranet Server offers a compelling alternative to a traditional Web server," said Dan Ryan, Director of Marketing at Compact Devices. "With Twister, corporations can cost effectively deploy and manage Web servers at the workgroup level." Unlike traditional Web servers that are based on a general purpose operating system such as Windows NT or UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). , Twister is optimized to meet the requirements of workgroup intranet sites. Without the overhead of a standard operating system, Twister is fast, low-cost and simple to configure and manage. Further, because of its appliance design, the cost of ownership is a fraction of a typical Pentium-based Windows NT Web server. "This device will make it possible for corporations to extend their intranet into new applications and locations," continued Ryan. "It is so easy to set up and manage that workgroups can publish and maintain their Web site locally. Because of the appliance approach, Twister significantly reduces system management requirements for the IS department." Storage Options Twister is a complete system and comes with an internal 1.2 GB hard drive. With a standard SCSI-II interface, customers can add external peripherals including CD-ROM drives, Iomega Zip drives, and hard drives. Device Management Twister can be managed either locally by a workgroup or by the IS department over the enterprise network. A browser-based management application enables users to easily configure and manage the server using a standard browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer See Internet Explorer. . Users can post content to the server using Compact Devices' Windows-based File Mover application or any other standard FTP FTP in full file transfer protocol Internet protocol that allows a computer to send files to or receive files from another computer. Like many Internet resources, FTP works by means of a client-server architecture; the user runs client software to connect to file transfer program. Alternatively, workgroup users can post information using an externally attached Iomega ZIP drive or CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). player. Practical Details Twister will be available on March 24 at an introductory price of $995. The list price is $1295. About Compact Devices Compact Devices Inc., a privately-held corporation headquartered in Campbell, California, develops and markets network appliances based on its Microserver Technology. These network appliances are optimized to perform a single function in order to deliver superior price/performance and simplified administration over general purpose network servers. More information about Compact Devices can be found on the company's web site: www.devices.com . CONTACT: Dave & Bairey Communications Suzy Bauter, 415/343-9748 suzy@dbcomm.com or Compact Devices Dan Ryan, 408/255-4200 danr@devices.com |
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