With Oracle Corp chief Larry Ellison stirring the Network Computer pot furiously, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based HDS Network Systems Inc has stepped forward to remind the world that it has been in the Network Computer business quite a long time now – long enough to have just given its @workStation line a complete makeover. HDS says it has reduced prices by as much as 25% while increasing performance by as much as 30%. The lower prices and higher performance are a result of advances in design and manufacturing processes, including an upgraded RISC processor – the things use the 80960-HD from Intel Corp – and redesigned motherboard. The new entry @workStation Basic, at $700, has 8Mb memory. The @work- Station Prima model is cut 11% to $800, the @workStation Supra-66 15% to $1,100. Models with 21 high resolution monitors are cut by up to $800. New 1,600 by 1,200 resolution monitors cost the same as the old 1,280 by 1,024 ones. A 630Mb IDE disk is $300. Insignia Solutions Plc’s NTrigue multi- user Windows NT, which enables @workStation users to run Windows95, NT and 3.1 at native Pentium Pro speeds, is cut to $200 per user when bundled.
