RCA, IBM debut NCs with divergent tasks

Electronic News, July 28, 1997 by Bernard McAleer

Like ships leaving the same port but bound for different destinations, two releases of network computers (NCs) illustrate a technology with applications diverging from businesses to homes. RCA released an NC that integrates the Internet and other services into an existing, normal television. IBM last week introduced new NCs which, together with an existing NC model, comprise a line of NCs designed to offer more options for desktop computing.

Connected to a TV in the home through composite video, S video or optional RF modulator, the RCA NC can receive text and video information by using a TV-type remote control to operate the new services as well as normal television programming. It has a Cirrus Logic ARM 7500 FE RISC processor and both DRAM and ROM. IBM released two new NCs that will join the existing IBM Network Station, the Series 100, a small NC that delivers business applications and intranet and Internet access to desktop users.

RCA, targeting a potential market of some 60 million television-equipped homes that do not own a personal computer, as well as 17 million homes with personal computers without modems, said that this release establishes television receiver manufacturers as competitors in the emerging world of digital technology for the home. Developed with NetChannel, Inc., a personalized Internet service, and a Network Computer, Inc. (NCI) reference design, the RCA NC is claimed to be the first consumer application of the network computer, an emerging, simplified computer terminal that attaches to a standard TV which connects the user via a regular phone line to a remote server and then to the Internet.

Planned for introduction to the consumer market in September, the product, which handles storage of all Internet applications and functions on a remote server, is expected to be priced at $299 for the base model that includes a wired keyboard. A second model with a wireless keyboard is expected to retail for $349, and both will contain a built-in standard printer port.

Two NCs, the Series 300 and the Series 1000, join the existing IBM Network Station 100, an NC which was released in March. The new IBM Network Station Series 300 uses a 403CGX microprocessor, operates at 66MHz and contains 16 megabytes of memory. The Series 300, available for $799, is designed for business users that require access to multiple servers, as well as use of applications and data from corporate intranets or the Internet. The IBM Network Station Series 1000, which has been demonstrated with the PowerPC 603e microprocessor, is slated for availability later this year. The Series 1000 is designed for businesses that are planning Java-based applications, such as those being developed by Lotus Development Corp., and need support for Internet standards.

Shipped as a standard offering on the full line of IBM Network Stations will be Navio NC Navigator Internet browser software from Navio Communications, Inc. Based on Netscape Navigator technology, Navio NC Navigator allows enterprises to integrate Web-based applications on NCs with full Netscape Navigator compatibility. Requiring minimal local resources and supporting central administration, according to IBM, Navio NC Navigator, also with integrated Java and JavaScript, gives NC and thin client operating systems a robust platform for Web browsing, Internet access and deployment of intranet applications using existing client/server systems. Current Network Station owners can download the software free of charge from IBM's Web site at http://www.ibm.com/nc.>Internet service for the RCA NC, expected to be priced at $19.95 a month, includes parental controls to block explicit content. The RCA NC allows the user to set up a Internet/television programming guide which provides customized information and entertainment for up to four people.

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