SAN MATEO (04/18/2000) - Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. this week will introduce an advanced "super-cooling heat pipe" in its latest mobile offering, the Portege 3440CT laptop computer. The cooling system, which is a device that attaches directly to the processor, uses low-pressure water vapor to displace heat throughout the chassis of the computer. This is the first water-cooled technology to be introduced into laptop computers, which industry analysts expect to generate more heat as wattage requirement rise to 20 watts by the end of the year.
Dell Computer Corp. backing 64-bit SolarisDell Computer this week will announce its intent to offer the Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Solaris 64-bit operating system on its PowerEdge line when Intel's 64-bit Itanium processor ships later this year. Both Intel Corp. and Sun have been unable to cooperate in merging the two companies' platforms. The Dell offering, available as a custom option through the Dell Plus division, represents the first steps for Sun on Itanium. Dell this week also will replace its PowerEdge 6300 and 6350 servers with the 6400 and 6450 series, which will support Solaris.
SAS plans IPO, details wireless push
Data warehousing software vendor SAS Institute Inc. within the next 12 to 18 months plans to have an IPO equal to 15 percent of the company's ownership, company officials have confirmed. Additionally, the company has announced support of wireless devices via use of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), enabling the use of PDAs (personal digital assistants), cell phones, and similar devices to access and act on information in SAS Intelligent Warehouse.
Wireless Web file transfers set
StoragePoint.com is targeting mobile workers and e-commerce customers with a service that allows secure, Web-based file transfers from WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)-enabled cell phones and some handheld devices. Customers can use a browser on their WAP phones to access and share folders and files over StoragePoint.com's WebDrive, which is a virtual SAN (Storage Area Network). The browser also allows customers to e-mail their files to another person.
Data Junction to detail XML tool
Data Junction Inc. this week will release XML Junction, a data-conversion tool that lets companies migrate existing data into XML data format to help better exchange data with business partners. The product automatically creates DTDs (Document Type Definitions) and XML documents and can also convert data to other standard formats. The product is available free until the end of July at www.xmljunction.net, after which it will cost $895.
DATA Act attempts to bridge digital divideThe U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee has introduced legislation that would decrease taxes on employee-purchased computer equipment in an attempt to increase families' access to computers at home. The DATA (Digital Divide Access to Technology) Act will treat Internet access and the first $1,260 of computer, peripheral equipment, and software costs as a working benefit, not subject to income tax. This change in taxation follows the emergence of several corporate programs, such as those at Ford Motor Co. and Intel Corp., that are offering free or low-cost computers to employees.