Sun system adds more spark
Sun Microsystems is introducing a faster and cheaper model in its SPARCstation line.
The SPARCstation 5 Model 170 is being positioned as a low-end system for Internet and intranet software development by bundling development tools such as Netscape Navigator Gold, Sun's Java Virtual Machine for running Java applets within the Solaris environment, and Sun's Video and Audio Tools for playing audio and video files.
The Model 170 system uses a TurboSPARC processor--which is based on Sun's MicroSPARC processor. The chip runs Sun's Solaris operating system. The system has a list price of $4,695, which includes a 17-inch monitor, TurboGX graphics, 32MB RAM, and a 2.1GB hard drive. The system will ship in volume this quarter, Sun said.
Sun will also offer a system that bundles the SunPC card, which has a 133-MHz 5x86 processor for running Windows 95 and DOS applications, and a 20-inch monitor for $6,995. The PCcard bundle will only be offered until March.
In other news, Sun is offering its Netra NFS Server with upgraded software which allows users up to 100GB of external data storage. Previous models allowed for up to 25GB of external storage.
In base configuration, the Netra NFS Server comes with a 167-MHz UltraSPARC processor, RAID-5 disk controller, 10/100 Base-T Ethernet and 128MB of ECC RAM at a list price of $24,000.