IBM AND NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR TEAM ON HOME GATEWAYS.IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : IBM) and National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM (Network and System Management) Running and controlling the networks and computer systems in an enterprise. See network management. ) have announced new technology for home gateways, which enable pervasive Internet access throughout the home and remote management of common household appliances such as lights, security systems, utility meters, air conditioners and entertainment systems. The home gateway market, fueled by demand for broadband Internet access Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is high speed Internet access—typically contrasted with dial-up access over modem. Dial-up modems are generally only capable of a maximum bitrate of 56 kbit/s (kilobits per second) and require the full use of a throughout the home, is predicted to rise from $267 million in 2000 to $7.1 billion in 2006 worldwide, according to Allied Business Intelligence (ABI Abi (ā`bī) [short for Abijah], in the Bible, King Hezekiah's mother. (Application Binary Interface) A specification for a specific hardware platform combined with the operating system. ). As home gateway manufacturers recognize that no one set of features will address all consumer preferences, they need to differentiate their products to quickly adapt to various homeowners. Recognizing that a wide variety of home gateways will exist in the marketplace, IBM and National Semiconductor are creating a complete development platform for home gateways. The joint technology combines National Semiconductor's Internet appliance development platform, featuring the National Geode processor, and IBM's WebSphere embedded software, offering a flexible and modular hardware and software solution that can target multiple product offerings in a single development environment. The joint platform, which will be generally available in August, will help companies reduce their gateway and application development time while adhering to open standards based on reliable and proven solutions from leading technology providers. China's largest white goods manufacturer, Shanghai General Electronics Group (SGEG SGEG Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Eisenbahngeschichte (German) SGEG Supervisory Grade Evaluation Guide ), and C.P. Technology, a Taiwan-based company specializing in home technology, have committed to using IBM and National Semiconductor's joint platform. SGEG will use the joint technology to develop applications that can remotely monitor and control Web-enabled appliances. C.P. Technology said it is using the joint technology to power its new home gateway, the Power IA Smarthome UB2100. |
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