News out today
Extends USB Enabling Expertise to Scanners and Uninterruptible Power
Supplies; USB Technologies on Display at Spring Comdex and Computex
SystemSoft Corp. (NASDAQ: SYSF) today introduced two new
components of its market leading Universal Serial Bus (USB) Software
Suite. Extending its expertise in enabling development of
USB-compatible peripherals, the company unveiled new Scanner and
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) software suites, two system-level
software solutions that allow peripheral manufacturers to minimize
the time and cost associated with bringing to market USB versions of
their existing parallel port products.
Joining SystemSoft's USB Printer and Monitor Software Suites, the
USB UPS and Scanner suites are standards-based, end-to-end software
and firmware solutions. SystemSoft's new USB solutions significantly
reduce product time to market and allow peripheral vendors to
capitalize on the growing number of USB-enabled PCs currently
shipping. According to Dataquest, 40 percent of all new PCs shipped
in 1997 will be USB-enabled. In 1998, the research firm expects 100
percent of all new PCs will be USB-enabled. SystemSoft's UPS and
scanner USB software suites allow Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs)
to deliver scanners and UPS capable of providing plug and plug
ease-of-use with USB-enabled host systems.
"SystemSoft recognizes the immediate market opportunities that
Universal Serial Bus technology offers for peripheral vendors and,
with its growing family of software suites, is the only system-level
software company aggressively supporting USB peripheral development,"
said Jonathan Joseph, Executive Vice President of SystemSoft's
Platform Products Group. "Our experience in defining the USB
specification and our work with the USBIF to drive industry
acceptance gives SystemSoft a unique understanding of the design
challenges facing peripheral vendors."
About The New USB Software Suites
SystemSoft's UPS Software Suite provides OEMs a complete USB
device firmware connection solution for software controllable
uninterruptible power supplies. The UPS Suite enables software
support of legacy, RS232 serial port-based, and new USB-compliant UPS
devices.
SystemSoft's Scanner Software Suite provides OEMs an end-to-end
firmware and software solution for manufacturing USB-compliant
scanners. The suites' software provides a WDM Driver and DLL to
interface with existing user applications. The solution captures the
incoming USB scanner data stream and provides that to the host
application as well as allowing multiple USB scanners to be attached
and used simultaneously.
Designed for use with both the current USB enabled (OSR2.1) and
future versions of the Windows operating systems, the UPS and Scanner
software suites include the following components:
-- USB Interface Firmware (UIF) -- This firmware module provides a
device-independent layer that isolates hardware details of USB
microcontroller specific interfaces from application specific layers.
This software layer resides on the peripheral and implements all
standard USB requests and data transfer protocols.
-- Device-Specific Firmware (DSF) -- SystemSoft has developed
firmware customized for both UPS and scanners. Typically residing on
the same ROM as the UIF, this module communicates with the UPS
internal logic to make initial product deployment quick and easy.
For scanners, the DSF takes advantage of the device s typical
parallel port interface and communicates to the scanner engine in its
native language, making initial product deployment quick and easy.
-- WDM Driver -- These drivers are based on the Win 32 Diver Model
which allows the same driver to work with the current Microsoft USB
services (OSR2.1) as well as with future versions of the Windows
operating system. This provides OEMs investment protection, ensuring
that SystemSoft's USB software suites will meet their existing and
future connectivity needs.
-- Legacy Software -- SystemSoft's USB software suites offer
device-specific programming modules to enhance and ease product
development and delivery time.
Printer & Monitor Software Suites
Both the new UPS & Scanner Software Suites draw on the expertise
SystemSoft has developed in enabling other types of USB peripherals.
In 1996, SystemSoft introduced its USB Monitor and Printer software
suites, designed to allow these OEMs to develop products supporting
the USB standard. SystemSoft's Printer and Monitor software suites
have been licensed by leading companies including Canon, Daewoo and
Lucent Technologies.
About SystemSoft
SystemSoft is the pioneer in system-level software, connectivity
and problem-resolution technologies and the maker of SystemWizard
call-avoidance software and CardWizard PC Card troubleshooting and
configuration software. Other products include a family of Universal
Serial Bus firmware and software, ACPI firmware, Plug-and-Play
software, power-management software, and BIOS. SystemSoft licenses
its products primarily to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),
including manufacturers of PCs, and independent software and hardware
vendors. Customers include Acer, Apple Computer, AST Computer,
Compaq, Dell, Digital Equipment Corporation, Gateway 2000,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Micron Electronics, Microsoft, Motorola,
Packard Bell NEC, and Toshiba. Based in Natick, Mass., SystemSoft
employs more than 250 at its headquarters and in offices in Santa
Clara, Calif., Oxnard, Calif., Boulder, Colo., Yokohama, Japan, and
Taipei, Taiwan.
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Any statements that are not historical facts contained in this
release are forward looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, including but not limited to those relating to
variances between actual and estimated costs and expenses, product
demand, pricing, market acceptance, the effect of economic
conditions, intellectual property rights and litigation and the
outcome of governmental proceedings, competitive products, risks in
product and technology development, the results of financing efforts,
the ability to complete transactions, and other risks identified in
the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Information on SystemSoft products and services is available on
the World Wide Web at systemsoft.com
Good investing to all
RGW2 |
