Sun boosts entry-level system offerings with doubled performance and graphics upgrades.MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 1995--Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC SMCC - Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation. ) has redefined entry-level workstations with significant enhancements to its entry-level systems, providing users with twice the performance of previous workstation and X-terminal products. The SPARCstation 4 workstation replaces the SPARCclassic systems as Sun's lowest-priced entry-level workstation, delivering significant improvements in both system and graphics performance. At a lower price, the SPARC (Scalable Performance ARChitecture) A family of RISC CPUs from Sun that runs mostly under Sun's Solaris, but also under Linux and BSD operating systems. After development began in the mid-1980s by David Patterson of the University of California at Berkeley and Bill Xterminal 1 boosts graphics performance by 20 percent over the SPARCclassic X terminal. "Through our ongoing innovation and price/performance leadership, Sun consistently redefines the concept of `entry-level' systems to mean higher and higher performance at consistently low prices," said Bob Pearson, SMCC's director of workstation product marketing. "Other companies are trying to find a market for a new class of RISC PC The Risc PC (codenamed Medusa) was Acorn Computers's next generation RISC OS/Acorn RISC Machine computer, launched in 1994, which superseded the Acorn Archimedes. Like the Archimedes, the Risc PC continued the practice of having the RISC OS operating system in a ROM module. , but Sun has dominated the low-cost 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. 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). market for years. We have listened to the market and delivered the products they want." SPARCstation 4: Cost-Efficient Technical Computing Platform The SPARCstation 4 system features a new 8-bit pixel accelerator that doubles screen speed and performance for functions such as text, scrolling and fills, compared to the color frame buffer in the SPARCclassic system. CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. performance is also doubled, with the system's 70 MHz (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. microSPARC-II processor featuring 57 SPECint92 and 47.3 SPECfp92. The latest in SMCC's line of low-end workstation solutions, the SPARCstation 4 system is designed for cost-sensitive users in markets ranging from computer-aided software engineering See CASE. (CASE) and education to technical publishing and financial trading. The SPARCstation 4 system is designed to deliver the performance levels of the popular SPARCstation 5 computer at a significantly lower price -- up to $1,000 less than systems in the SPARCstation 5 workstation family -- by tailoring the product to meet specific entry workstation user needs for price and functionality. System features considered critical for entry-level computing were expanded, such as disk capacity being doubled to 535 megabytes and an on-board pixel accelerator was added. Plus, the SPARCstation 4 coupled with Wabi and MAE (1) (Metropolitan Area Exchange) Originally known as Metropolitan Area Ethernets, MAEs are junction points on the Internet where data is exchanged between carriers. See IXP and NAP. , gives users personal productivity along with the power of UNIX. The SPARCstation 4 system is an Energy Star-compliant desktop workstation, with automatic power-saving features, an energy-efficient 50-watt power supply and smart system cooling that adjusts to internal system temperature to save energy and reduce fan noise. SPARC Xterminal 1 Offers Improved Graphics The SPARC Xterminal 1 system provides a boost to the existing SPARCclassic X terminal with several graphics enhancements. New system features include an 8-bit color frame buffer that delivers 20 percent faster pixel functions, support for 1280 x 1024 high-resolution display and a choice of three levels of graphics performance. The SPARC Xterminal 1 also features expanded memory capacity ranging from 8 megabytes to 128 megabytes. The software provides the industry's easiest X terminal installation and administration procedures. The SPARC Xterminal 1 includes X-Terminal Software Version 2.1, which represents the industry's most cost-efficient Display Postscript implementation and requires only 8 megabytes of terminal memory. The SPARCstation 4 system will be available mid-February for $3,995. The SPARC Xterminal 1 will be available late February for $2,395. Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC), the world's top supplier of open network computing See ONC. Open Network Computing - (ONC) Sun's network protocols. systems, is part of Sun Microsystems Inc. Built on Sun's legacy of "The Network is the Computer," SMCC's SPARC/Solaris workstation and server family leads the UNIX market. The company has its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. -0- Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, The Network is the Computer, Wabi and Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD ScD [L.] Scien´tiae Doc´tor (Doctor of Science). SCD 1 Sickle cell disease, see there 2 Subacute combined degeneration, see there 3 Sudden cardiac death, see there Compliant logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International Inc. SPARCstation, SPARCclassic and microSPARC are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company Ltd. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape or NCSA (1) (National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana-Champaign, IL, www.ncsa.uiuc.edu) A high-performance computing facility located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mosaic. Type http://www.sun.com at the URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. prompt. For reader inquiries, telephone 800/821-4643. CONTACT: Sun Microsystems Computer Company, Mountain View Gayle Jennings, 415/336-0787 or Burson-Marsteller Mark Richardson, 415/541-5300 |
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