3Com Corp, San Jose, yesterday became the first company to announce a product based on Microsoft Corp’s OS/2 LAN Manager when it unveiled the 3+Open file server, initially to support machines under MS-DOS rather than OS/2 – although LAN Manager is based on OS/2 and enables individual personal computer users to off-load compute-intensive applications from their own machines and run them on the server. The 3+Open software is $1,000 for up to five users, $3,000 to support an unlimited number of personal computers. 3Com has also announced 3Station/2E, an enhanced version of its 3Station dedicated netstation. It is a 10MHz 80286-based MS-DOS Ethernet station designed specifically for use on networks running the 3+ and 3+Open network operating systems. It includes enhanced video graphics array in both standard 640 by 480 by 16 colours, and high resolution 800 by 600 by 16 colour modes. A 132-column text option enables spreadsheet users to see 65% more entry columns than a standard workstation and it takes an 80287 maths co-processor. It comes with 1Mb to 5Mb memory, and SNA and TCP/IP are supported with 3Com’s Maxess SNA Gateway, PCS/TCP and PCS/IP software products. Out November worldwide, the 3Station/2E and keyboard will sell for $2,500.
