FirePower And Microsoft Team To Bring Windows NT To PowerPC Customers; FirePower To License Windows NT On FirePower Systems; Products Receive Windows NT Compatibility Certification.MENLO PARK Menlo Park. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 28,040), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1874. Electronic equipment and aerospace products are manufactured in the city. Menlo College and a Stanford Univ. research institute are there. 2 Uninc. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 1995--FirePower(TM) Systems, Inc. announced today that it has concluded a distribution agreement to provide the Microsoft(R) Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. (TM) operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. on computer systems to its OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and customers. FirePower's Powerized(TM) products using the PowerPC(TM) 603, PowerPC 603e and PowerPC 604 RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. microprocessors, have also met Microsoft Corp.'s rigorous requirements and testing, and have been qualified to be included on the Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List HCL stands for hardware compatibility list. In today's world, there are vast amounts of computer hardware in circulation, and many operating systems too. A hardware compatibility list is a database of hardware models and its compatibility with a certain operating system. . These announcements follow Microsoft's announcement today of general availability of Windows NT 3.51. "Windows NT 3.51 broadens the PowerPC's reach in the advanced computing arena, providing the applications compatibility that users require with the leading-edge performance of the PowerPC," said Charlie Barbour, vice president of software engineering for FirePower fire·pow·er n. 1. The capacity, as of a weapon, weapons system, military unit, or position, for delivering fire. 2. The ability to deliver fire against an enemy in combat. Noun 1. Systems. "FirePower is now leveraging its design and system software expertise to further extend the functionality and adoption of PowerPC-based systems." Advanced Software Capabilities -- Open Firmware Open Firmware (also, OpenBoot) is a hardware-independent firmware (computer software which loads the operating system), developed by Mitch Bradley at Sun Microsystems, and used in post-NuBus PowerPC-based Apple Macintosh computers, Sun Microsystems SPARC based workstations , InVision Systems FirePower's offerings provide designs that are tuned to get the most features and performance out of the PowerPC architecture and Windows NT. For example, FirePower's pioneering use of Open Firmware with Windows NT extends the ability of its PowerPC systems to be reconfigured by customers. Open Firmware provides a protocol for add-in cards to be added without reconfiguring the system, making processor independent plug-and-play possible today. "Extending Windows NT Workstation to the PowerPC architecture is part of our strategy to address our customers' needs for optimal performance in multiplatform hardware environments," said Rich Tong, general manager, business systems division at Microsoft Corp. "FirePower's PowerPC offering provides Windows NT customers with another excellent choice for PowerPC architecture." In addition, FirePower is further extending the functionality of its PowerPC-based systems with the added features of video conferencing See videoconferencing. (communications) video conferencing - A discussion between two or more groups of people who are in different places but can see and hear each other using electronic communications. . This software is being done in conjunction with InVision Systems of Tulsa, Okla. The ES systems will be able to receive, play back and manipulate video. Further, all of the company's MX systems are equipped with video capture, enabling full video functionality including video conferencing and cable viewing via a LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. , WAN or the Internet. These features are powered by the PowerPC microprocessor, without the need for extra devices or add-in cards. The combination of FirePower's advanced PowerPC-based systems designs and Windows NT is an ideal option for performance oriented desktop, workstation and server users who require general productivity and specialized applications. They deliver up to twice the performance, in compute intensive tasks, as similarly priced Pentium(TM) systems. FirePower's family of single and dual processor systems have an estimated street price range between $3,000-6,000. FirePower's Powerized ES product family uses the PowerPC 603, PowerPC 603e and PowerPC 604 microprocessors and is designed for entry level and mid-range desktop applications. The Powerized MX product family is based on the PowerPC 604 microprocessor and is designed for high-performance desktop, workstation and server applications. The Powerized MX family is available in single and dual processor implementations and is the first PowerPC multiprocessor system that runs Windows NT. With general availability announced today, Windows NT 3.51 is the first version to support the PowerPC architecture. It extends the number of architectures supported by this leading, 32-bit operating system for performance desktops, workstations and servers. The Powerized offerings are available as turnkey systems or as logic boards. With a family of products available today, FirePower's products are designed to allow OEM customers to offer highly integrated, high-performance RISC-based systems at affordable prices. Windows NT is available through Microsoft's distribution channels or through FirePower's OEM customers. FirePower Systems, Inc., headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., is dedicated to providing the industry's leading computer suppliers with systems based on the PowerPC microprocessor. FirePower's innovative products, which range from designs to complete systems, are supplied to OEM customers for license or purchase. The company was formed in 1993 as a partnership with Canon, Inc., of Japan. -0- Note to Editors: FirePower and Powerized are trademarks of FirePower Systems, Inc. PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Microsoft and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation (company) Microsoft Corporation - The biggest supplier of operating systems and other software for IBM PC compatibles. Software products include MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, Microsoft Access, LAN Manager, MS Client, SQL Server, Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC), MS Mail, in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and/or other countries. Pentium is a trademark of Intel Corporation (company) Intel Corporation - A US microelectronics manufacturer. They produced the Intel 4004, Intel 8080, Intel 8086, Intel 80186, Intel 80286, Intel 80386, Intel 486 and Pentium microprocessor families as well as many other integrated circuits and personal computer networking . All other products, brand names or companies are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. CONTACT: FirePower Systems, Inc. Phil Schiller, 415/462-3025 schiller@firepower.com or Karen Lippe, or 415/462-6235 karen_lippe@firepower.com or Thomas Associates Kristin Knudsen, 415/325-6236 or kristin@thomaspr.com |
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