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MANY people refer to a PC as a workstation if a computer is attached to a local area network (LAN). A PC, or any terminal on a network, can be considered a workstation if it is used to perform computing functions and accesses files or applications on a server. However, there is a class of computers that are called Workstations, and Digital Equipment Corporation makes a line of them. David Kollm, the Manager of Product Planning and Life Cycle, Workstations Business Segment, came to the January General Meeting of the Danbury Area Computer Society to tell DACS members about these new workstations. The best part of the David's presentation was the seven-minute videotape he showed at the outset. It was a tape of numerous video and movie projects that were produced using Digital Alpha Workstations. I don't remember all the clips that were shown, but among them were Titanic, Babylon 5, and many impressive pieces from movies I did not recognize. The tape was truly a stunning display of work, all of which was done on Digital equipment. The presentation from that point on, however, was not what I would have called mesmerizing. If there is one thing I like less than PowerPoint slides on a PC, it is PowerPoint slides on an overhead projector. But that is exactly what we got. David showed us slide after slide of facts and figures about the entire line of Digital Workstations. In a nutshell, Digital's new family of workstations offers a range of choices to meet various performance needs. For Windows NT users, Digital offers the i-Series, featuring Intel Pentium® Pro and Pentium® II processors with MMX ™ technology and highly scaleable multiprocessing support. The a-Series is built on the superpowerful Digital Alpha processors. For the most demanding UNIX applications, the au-Series, featuring Digital Alpha processors running Digital UNIX, is available. It was difficult to absorb the various features of all the different lines and understand exactly what they can do for the average user. In fact, that might have been the real problem I had with the presentation. As someone who uses Windows 95 and mainstream business and graphics applications, I just could not get enthusiastic about these high-end machines. For those of you who are interested in finding out more about Digital Workstations, check out their Web site at www.workstation.digital.com. |
| WALLY DAVID is a member of DACS' board of directors and is also a regular contributor to dacs.doc. He is the network administrator for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a nonprofit trade association for the gun industry. Wally can be reached via E-mail at wallydavid@myself.com. |
