.rm 70 .po 5 .fo //--more-- .nf .nj .sp 5 CONTACT: Nicholas C. d'Arbeloff Public Relations Specialist (617) 256-6600, x4499 .sp 2 FOR RELEASE JUNE 11, 1984 .sp 2 .ce {!APOLLO INTRODUCES LOW-COST COLOR WORKSTATION!} .sp .ce {!DESIGNED FOR THE VALUE-ADDED SUPPLIER!} .sp 2 .fi .ju .ls 2 CHELMSFORD, Massachusetts, June 11, 1984 -- Apollo Computer Inc. today introduced an OEM version of its new DN550 color workstation called the RM550, offering interactive color graphics at a base price of $30,000. .sp The RM550 is designed specifically to suit the diverse packaging requirements of the value-added supplier (VAS), also providing industry standards such as a MULTIBUS* peripheral adaptor, and an optional UNIX** System III operating environment with Berkeley extensions. As a member of the Apollo DOMAIN family of professional workstations, the RM550 incorporates the standard DOMAIN local-area network, and offers extensive off-net communications using a variety of standard protocols such as VT100 emulation, X.25, and an ETHERNET*** gateway, allowing communication with a wide range of other networks, mainframes, and superminis. In addition, the RM550's modular design facilitates repackaging by the VAS, and may be easily adapted to standard rack-mount specifications. These characteristics provide the VAS with the necessary flexibility to market the system into a wide variety of computing environments. .bp .ce {!NEW RM550 WORKSTATION FROM APOLLO!} .ce -2- .sp The RM550, like the DN550, is based on the Motorola 68010, and features a dedicated, bit-slice graphics processor. The RM550 also features a modular design which lets all components -- including processor, mass storage subsystem and MULTIBUS peripheral adaptor -- conform to the diverse packaging requirements of the VAS. This design permits easy re-packaging of all electronic components, and allows for easy maintenance and increased reliability. .sp Specifically, the RM550 consists of a 19 inch color display, a low-profile detachable keyboard, and the processor module. The module, an 8-slot card cage designed to fit within a standard 19-inch IEA rack, contains a Motorola 68010 processor, a dedicated, bit-slice graphics subsystem, up to 3MB main memory, 1MB of display memory, and a DOMAIN network interface. In addition, the module contains added slots for an optional 1MB of extra display memory and floating point hardware. .sp Since the new node is compatible with Apollo's entire family of DOMAIN systems and features the same integration of advanced technologies found in all Apollo workstations, the RM550 offers a broad base of third party application software. .sp "In addition to the DN550's high-performance color graphics and its ability to share resources within a DOMAIN network, Apollo also offers a number of industry standards and software development tools." said Linda Sarles, VAS marketing manager. "This allows the VAS to speed development and greatly reduce time-to-market." .bp .ce {!NEW RM550 WORKSTATION FROM APOLLO!} .ce -3- .sp {!FEATURES!} .sp The RM550 features full, 32-bit, internal architecture, up to 3 megabytes (MB) of main memory, and up to 2 MB of double-buffered display memory capable of displaying up to 256 colors simultaneously. In addition, the RM550 offers all standard DOMAIN features such as a multiwindow, multitasking environment allowing up to 24 concurrent processes with 16 MB of virtual address space per process, and an integral interface to Apollo's 12 Mbit/sec DOMAIN local-area network. .sp The 19-inch, flicker-free color display monitor provides 1024 x 800 resolution, offers both tilt and swivel, a special non-glare filter for increased visual clarity, and comes with Apollo's standard low-profile detachable keyboard, with optional touchpad or mouse. .sp Also available for the new workstation is a 50MB 5-1/4 inch Winchester disk, a 45MB 1/4-inch cartridge tape unit, a MULTIBUS peripheral adaptor, and floating-point hardware accelerator. .sp {!HIGH-PERFORMANCE GRAPHICS!} .sp The dedicated, bit-sliced graphics processor, coupled with its extensive microcode, provides extremely fast 2D operations, and allows greater than 10,000 transformed, clipped vectors per second throughput. The system is capable of greater than 1 million pixels-per-second vector draws, and 25M - 35M pixels per second area fills and bit-block transfers. .bp .ce {!NEW RM550 WORKSTATION FROM APOLLO!} .ce -4- In addition, the system provides circle, arc, and spline generation as well as user-definable area fills and vector patterns. These performance characteristics make the DN550 well-suited for applications requiring a high level of interactive graphics capabilities. .sp {!SOFTWARE!} .sp Systems software support for the RM550 includes Apollo's proprietary operating system, AEGIS, and AUX, the firm's implementation of Bell Labs UNIX System III software with Berkeley extensions. Apollo's operating environment is a principal design component of the Apollo DOMAIN concept because of its unique ability to support demand-paged virtual memory across the network. .sp For enhanced graphics performance and functionality, Apollo now offers the Graphics Metafiles Resource (GMR), a new, state-of-the-art software package which eliminates much of the graphics programming previously required for application development. GMR is standard on all DOMAIN workstations. .sp Apollo also offers a number of software development tools including D3M, the DOMAIN Distributed Database Management System; SIGGRAPH Core Graphics; FORTRAN 77, ISO PASCAL, C, and LISP programming languages. .bp .ce {!NEW RM550 WORKSTATION FROM APOLLO!} .ce -5- .sp Apollo also offers the DOMAIN Professional Support Services (DPSS), a comprehensive package of integrated administrative tools for the technical professional; and the DOMAIN Software Engineering Environment (DSEE), a set of four software modules for project control and documentation. Also available are terminal emulators, a font editor, and a high-level debugger. These software resources can offer the VAS a significant decrease in time-to-market. .sp In addition, over 250 third-party application packages are available from over 80 Apollo-based software suppliers to compliment the primary application sold by the VAS. .sp The RM550, configured with 1MB main memory, 4 planes of color, monitor, keyboard, and a DOMAIN LAN interface, is priced at $30,000. The fully packaged DN550, with the same configuration, is priced at $31,500. The product is available 180 days ARO. .sp Apollo Computer Inc. manufactures dedicated, high-performance, 32-bit professional workstations, which operate in a distributed, local area network. Nearly 4000 workstations have been shipped worldwide for use in a wide variety of engineering and design applications. .sp .ce --30-- .nf .nj .sp * MULTIBUS is a trademark of Intel Corporation. ** UNIX is a trademark of Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. *** ETHERNET is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation.