New Products

Heather Mead

Issue #86, June 2001

Agenda VR3 PDA, Game Channel Solution, Smoothwall v. 0.9.8 and more.

Agenda VR3 PDA

Agenda Computing unveiled the Agenda VR3 PDA during Spring COMDEX in April 2001. The VR3 runs Agenda Linux, an embedded operating system designed to run compatible handheld and e-mobility devices. In addition, the VR3 is powered by an NEC VR4181 66MHz, 32-bit processor and comes with 8MB RAM and 16MB of Flash memory. CIR circuitry and software are standard, allowing the unit to act as a remote control for household appliances. The VR3 can also send memos or messages to a printer or other device by wireless infrared transfer.

Contact: Agenda Computing, #368, 4521 Campus Drive, Irvine, California 92612, 888-741-8181 (toll-free), sales@agendacomputing.com, http://www.agendacomputing.com/.

Game Channel Solution

Not a Number, creator of the Blender 3-D software, announced the Game Channel Solution (GCS) for providing distributed, multiplayer games services on-line. GCS addresses the gaming community, including developers, ISPs, resellers and consumers, allowing them to choose the features suited to them. For a flat fee per subscriber, GCS provides hardware and software implementation, connectivity and bandwidth, billing and records of customer use, content management and distribution, and multiplayer, real-time content. GCS offers a wide range of game titles and licenses, as well as original content from PC developers and unique Blender titles that are available for a variety of supported platforms.

Contact: Not a Number, van Eeghenstraat 84, 1071 GK Amsterdam, The Netherlands, +31-(0)20-3058250, http://www.blender.nl/.

Smoothwall v. 0.9.8

The new version of Smoothwall security device software is available for free download under the GNU GPL. Smoothwall allows PC users in home, SoHo and office environments to build a web-managed, secure internet router that provides a secure network internet connection. New additions to this version of Smoothwall include automatic probing and setup for ISDN devices, multiple internet devices (allowing the router to be used for web-site hosting), IPSEC VPN capabilities and support for ADSL and cable users. The download is available at http://www.smoothwall.org/dyn/get/download/html/.

Contact: Scorpio Network Technologies, Ltd., Open House, 3 Thames Court, Richfield Avenue, Reading, RG1 8EQ, United Kingdom, +44-0-118-956-6116, http://www.smoothwall.org/.

Kapital for KDE

Kapital, a product of the Kompany.com, is a personal finance package for KDE. Features include a register for various types of transactions, a calendar and “bill tracker” alarm for scheduling payments, check and report printing, searching and on-line reporting capabilities with charts and graphs, predefined and user-added categories, a new account wizard and import/export features for Quicken. Kapital also allows for on-line banking and budget tracking and the ability to manage multiple account types.

Contact: theKompany.com, Inc., PO Box 80265, Rancho Margarita, California 92688, 949-713-3276, info@thekompany.com, http://www.thekompany.com/.

StoreSense for VA Linux

The flagship e-commerce solution from Kurant Corporation, StoreSense, is now available for VA Linux's 1U and 2U server lines. StoreSense offers a suite of e-commerce tools and services, enabling businesses to build, manage and maintain internet storefronts. Using StoreSense, ISPs can deliver customized services to business customers, ranging from entry-level catalog capabilities to supply chain management and wireless shopping. StoreSense is offered on a subscription basis and is compatible with Linux, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Solaris and Cobalt's RaQ server platform.

Contact: Kurant Corporation, 32 Cleveland Street, San Francisco, California 94103-4014, 916-984-5400, info@kurant.com, http://www.kurant.com/.

Maya 3-D Software

Alias|Wavefront's line of Maya 3-D software products has been ported for use with Red Hat Linux (6.2 and higher) to enable development of games, films, visual effects and all types of animation. The components of the Maya line, including Maya Builder, Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited, afford users flexibility in choosing hardware and software configurations. Maya is also available for IRIX, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and a Mac OS X version will be released later this year.

Contact: Alias|Wavefront, 210 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1J7, Canada, 800-447-2542 (toll-free), info@aw.sgi.com, http://www.aliaswavefront.com/.

SuperScaler Appliance Servers

e-Appliance, a manufacturer of high-speed, high-density appliance servers, has added a new family of appliance servers called SuperScalers (SS). The SuperScaler 600 is a 1U 19-inch rackmount containing four independent, hot-swappable servers. Each server contains its own processor, memory, disk drive, power supply and Ethernet connection. The SS1000 features two independent, dual SMP servers and fiber channel technology; it is designed for intensive high-speed processing applications like streaming media. The SS500 contains one dual SMP server and has optional fibre channel connectivity. It is geared toward applications that need a balance of processing power and network performance.

Contact: e-Appliance Corporation, 3052 Bunker Hill Lane, Suite 101, Santa Clara, California 95054, 408-980-1990, operators@eappliancecorp.com, http://www.eappliancecorp.com/.