IBM Ships Industry's First Channel-Assembled Notebook, Expanding Program that Results in Greater Efficiencies.SOMERS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 24, 1997--IBM today announced that it is shipping the industry's first channel-assembled notebook computer A laptop computer that weighs in a range from five to seven pounds. The term originated when laptops were routinely more than 10 pounds, and those that became lighter were placed in a special "notebook" category. In practice, notebook computer and laptop computer are synonymous. , the ThinkPad 770(a), as part of its Authorized Assembler Program (AAP AAP - Association of American Publishers ). The first PC vendor to deliver channel-assembled desktop and server products, 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) is now extending the advantages of AAP -- rapid delivery of custom-configured, competitively priced products -- to mobile customers. IBM is driving further efficiencies in the supply chain with its Advanced Fulfillment Initiative (AFI AFI American Film Institute AFI Awaiting Further Instructions AFI Armed Forces Insurance AFI A Fire Inside (band) AFI Air Force Instruction AFI Australian Film Institute AFI Agencia Federal de Investigación ), which creates a "virtual enterprise" with suppliers and Business Partners. By authorizing suppliers to ship components directly to reseller locations and simplifying product design for faster reseller assembly, IBM is improving its ability to quickly meet individual customer requirements. Improved forecasting is reducing piece-part and finished-product inventories at both IBM and reseller locations, with over 70 percent of IBM PC components -- including those with the highest dollar values -- replenished by suppliers within 24 hours. "Today, we are seeing the payoff on a two-year investment in channel assembly and creating a more efficient overall business model with our channel partners," said Samuel J. Palmisano Samuel J. Palmisano (born July 29, 1951) is the current Chairman, CEO, and President of IBM, one of the world's largest IT companies. He was elected Chairman in October 2002, effective January 1, 2003, and has served as Chief Executive Officer since March 2002. , senior vice president and group executive, IBM Personal Systems Group. "Our desktop customers have already benefited from our delivery of the right products at competitive prices. For example, IBM's highly manageable PC 300GL desktop PC is now available for just $999 (1,2), and we have reduced the price of other PC 300 models by up to 10 percent." Three IBM Business Partners Ship ThinkPad 770 The industry's first channel-assembled mobile product, a ThinkPad 770, is being shipped this week by three IBM Business Partners: Rye Brook, New York-based Entex Corporation; Chicago, Illinois-based Comark; and Phoenix, Arizona-based MicroAge. Customers include American Express, Shell Oil Co. and Coopers & Lybrand. "The introduction of ThinkPad into the IBM Authorized Assembler Program means that we can now offer end-users and Business Partners the same level of customization they have had with our commercial desktop and PC Server products," said Tom Thigpen, vice president of alliance management, IBM Personal Systems Group, who is responsible for channel assembly. "The industry can continue to count on IBM for leadership in this area." All IBM Business Partners participating in the Authorized Assembler Program are able to ship customized ThinkPad products. IBM has 13 Business Partners assembling approximately 25 percent of its commercial desktop offerings and a growing portion of its Netfinity and PC Server products in the US. IBM has certified six Business Partners in Europe and one Business Partner in Latin America, and intends to implement AAP in other geographies in the months ahead. Channel assembly is simplified by the modular design of the ThinkPad 770, which incorporates a new "ultra bay" design that enables key components -- including the memory, battery, hard drive and CD-ROM drive -- to slide into the base of the machine. In addition, the primary hard drive on the ThinkPad 770 secures with a single coin screw while the video adapter card is held in place with just two screws, enabling both to be secured more quickly. PC 300 Series of Highly Managed PCs With its PC 300 series, including the general purpose PC 300GL, the mid-range PC 300PL and the high-end PC 300XL models, IBM offers the most highly manageable PCs in the industry. Through its manageability offerings, IBM is helping customers gain better control of their PCs so they can concentrate on managing their businesses. The general-purpose PC 300GL features IBM's industry-leading Wake on 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. (a) technology and is supported by IBM's LANClient Control Manager(a) (LCCM LCCM LANClient Control Manager LCCM Life Cycle Cost Management LCCM Life Cycle Cost Model LCCM Low Cost Competent Munitions LCCM Legal and Complex Case Management LCCM Licentiate, Curwen College of Music LCCM Lightweight Communications for Combat Medics ) software. Together, IBM's Wake on LAN and LCCM enable customers to perform a wide range of tasks remotely, such as system configuration and applications installation. The IBM PC 300GL family includes a choice of Pentium processors with MMX (MultiMedia EXtensions) A set of 57 additional instructions built into the Pentium MMX chip for improved multimedia and modem performance by performing mathematical operations on multiple sets of data at the same time (see SIMD). (b) technology in 166, 200 and 233MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. (3), 16 or 32 MB of SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) A type of dynamic RAM (DRAM) memory chip that has been widely used since the late 1990s. SDRAM chips eliminated wait states by dividing the chip into two cell blocks and interleaving data between them. memory, 2 MB graphics VRAM See video RAM. VRAM - video random-access memory standard and a 2.5 or 4.2 GB (4) EIDE (Enhanced IDE) An extension to the IDE interface that supports the ATA-2 and ATAPI standards. ATA-2 (Fast ATA) provides faster transfer rates (see IDE for details) and allows for multiple channels, each connecting two devices. hard drive. The highly-manageable PC 300GL, featuring a 166MHz Pentium processor with MMX technology is available for just $999 (1,2). Prices for the IBM PC 300PL with a Pentium processor with MMX technology start at about $1,299 (1) for a 233MHz model. Visit the IBM commercial desktop website at: http://www.pc.ibm.com.desktop (a) Trademark or registered trademark of IBM (b) Trademark or registered trademark of Intel (1) Estimated reseller price. Resellers set their own prices, so actual prices may vary. (2) $999 applies to this IBM PC 300GL configuration only: Model 6282-69U -- Pentium with MMX, 256 KB cache, 16 MB SDRAM, 2.5 GB EIDE hard drive, Windows 95 (3) MHz only measures microprocessor internal clock speed, not application performance; many factors affect application performance. (4) GB equals one billion bytes when referring to hard disk space. Accessible capacity may vary. CONTACT: IBM, Somers Tim O'Malley, 914-766-3824 tomalley to·mal·ley n. pl. to·mal·leys The soft, green liver of cooked lobster, considered a delicacy. [Galibi tamali.] Noun 1. @us.ibm.com |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion