Data General unveils $500 mini-server
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (Reuters) - Data General Corp on Monday
unveiled a stripped-down but powerful ''server'' computer that can
connect PCs in a house or small office to the Internet with minimal
technical fuss.
The new mini server, dubbed Network Utility Box, does the same thing
that a full-blown, $5,000 network server does -- connect a handful of
PCs to the Internet so that users can find news, collaborate on office
work with coworkers in far-flung offices and get e-mail.
But Data General's Network Utility Box will cost just $500, will be only
slightly bigger than a video cassette and will sit in a home's basement,
the company said. Plus, it sends the Internet data using a wireless
transmitter, so customers would not have to wire the building with
cable.
Data General unveiled its mini server at the Demo 98 technology
conference, where dozens of companies vie to unveil their coolest
products in the works. The Network Utility Box drew the biggest
applause from the crowd of computer executives.
''This is an infrastructure device,'' said Craig Heim, Data General
product marketing director. ''The Internet will be delivered as a utility
service, the same way cable service or water service is provided.''
Heim said Data General -- a maker of high-end servers used to run the
information systems of big companies -- plans to make the mini server
itself and license the technology to consumer electronics or other
computer companies.
Currently, it takes lots of hardware and software and plenty of
technical expertise to set up a network server. The Network Utility
Box, in contrast, has the necessary software and hardware in a sleek,
sealed box. It connects to the Internet through regular or high-speed
phone lines, or through cable television wire.
It communicates with the rest of the local network through a wireless
transmitter. The receiving computers get their connection through a $20
wireless PC card.
Heim said consumer electronic companies eventually will use the
technology to make information ''appliances'' -- an alarm clock, for
example, that can download traffic information each morning, or a
teddy bear that can recite bedtime stories stored throughout the
Internet.
Even traditional appliances can be connected to the Internet with this
device, Heim said. Eventually, there will be washing machines that can
automatically send an e-mail to a technician if they break down.
Data General was not alone in unveiling mini servers. At least three
companies debuted stripped-down servers to run small networks with
minimal hassle and cost.
Other big draws at Demo 98 included Cobalt Microserver Inc., which
makes a $1,000, bread-box-sized server to run small Web sites for
small businesses.
Sun Microsystems Inc. also demonstrated a prototype mini server that
would store and manage the phone messages, faxes and e-mails of a
household.
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