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- Extended Systems introduced three new printer-sharing devices offering the
- performance and long-distance sharing characteristics of networks, easy
- installation and affordable price.
-
- These new ShareSpool XL products are ideal for companies with centralized
- wiring closet. The high-speed, long-distance features of Extended Systems'
- ExtendedLink Technology allows both PCs and printers to be located up to
- 500 feet from the wiring closet and still maintain complete data integrity
- and performance. The wiring closet remains secure and PCs and printers are
- conveniently located near the users.
-
- Additional flexibility is offered by allowing PCs to be connected to the
- printer via the serial or parallel port. ShareSpool XL automatically
- senses whether the communication is serial or ExtendedLink parallel and
- configures itself accordingly. In either case, the wiring remains the
- same, only the PC adapters change.
-
- For high-speed parallel communications, users simply attach an ExtendedLink
- RJ45 adapter to the PC's parallel port. This allows users to access data
- rates up to 23K bytes per second, ten times faster than standard serial
- communications. If serial communication is required, a serial RJ45 adapter
- is attached to the PC.
-
- Like other Extended Systems' printer-sharing products, these new ShareSpool
- XL units accept documents on all ports simultaneously without manual
- switching or waiting for others to finish. Once print-file transmission to
- the memory buffer is complete, each PC is free to move on to a new task.
- All users operate as if they are directly connected to the printer or
- printers.
-
- The ShareSpool XL sixteen input, four output (3 parallel and 1 serial)
- product will be available March 20 in 2 memory options. The ESI-2492 has 2
- megabytes of memory and is priced at $1,495. The ESI-2495 has 5 megabytes
- and is priced at $1,890.
-
- Extended Systems is also introducing the ESI-2341 which allows up to four
- PCs to share three printers (two parallel and one serial) and has 1
- megabyte of memory. It is priced at $795. The ESI-2381 provides 8 inputs
- and 3 outputs (2 parallel and 1 serial). This product is equipped with 2
- megabytes of memory and is priced at $1,095. Both products are available
- immediately.
-
- ExtendedLink parallel port adapters are priced at $60 each. Serial port
- adapters are priced at $20 each.
- --------------------------------------------------------
- Extended Systems announced new additions to its EtherFlex and BridgePort
- product families. EtherFlex enables Novell NetWare 286/386, Novell NetWare
- Lite and Apple EtherTalk network users to have a direct connection to an
- HP LaserJet Il, llD, III, IIID or IIISi printer. BridgePort allows PCs,
- Macintoshes and Sun workstations to share HP LaserJet IID, III, IIID and
- IIISi printers. BridgePort EX allows networked and non-networked users to
- share the same HP LaserJet IIIsi.
-
- Supports Multiple Network Platforms Simultaneously
-
- EtherFlex, a direct printer-to-network connectivity card, supports Novell
- NetWare 286/386, Novell NetWare Lite and Apple EtherTalk network operating
- systems concurrently over a single ethernet cabling connection to an HP
- LaserJet printer. EtherFlex saves network users the cost of buying a
- different printer for each different Ethernet platform.
-
- PCs, Macintoshes and Workstations can share the same HP LaserJet Printer
-
- The BridgePort, a mixed-printing environment solution, fits into the
- optional I/O slot of the HP LaserJet IID, III or IIID printers providing
- connections to PCs, Sun workstations and Macintoshes through its parallel
- (Centronics), ExtendedLink (serial or parallel RJ45 input) and AppleTalk
- ports. A single HP LaserJet printer can now support multiple computing
- platforms, enabling users to extend the use of their HP LaserJet printer.
-
- Network and Non-Network Computers Share the Same Printer
-
- The BridgePort EX, a combination network-interface card and printer-sharing
- device, allows non-network PCs, network PCs, Macintoshes using EtherTalk
- and Macintoshes using AppleTalk to share the same HP LaserJet IIISi
- printer. BridgePort EX fits internal to the HP LaserJet IIISi printer,
- allowing the widest variety of platforms to share the printer.
-
- Automatic PCL and PostScript Language Switching Integrated into all
- Products
-
- Automatic Language Switching (ALS) on the EtherFlex and BridgePort products
- determines whether an incoming print job is PostScript or PCL and
- configures the printer to the appropriate language "on the fly". ALS is
- completely transparent to the user and eliminates the need for special
- print queues, software drivers or to manually switch languages from the
- printers' front panel. The HP PostScript Cartridge Plus is required on HP
- LaserJet III and IIID printers. The HP Adobe PostScript option is required
- on HP LaserJet IIISi printers.
-
- Font Management for Novell Users
-
- Extended Systems incorporated font management technology into EtherFlex and
- BridgePort EX to assure Novell users the appropriate soft fonts are
- reloaded to the printer automatically when the printer's language
- switches. This ensures that the fonts are available in the printer without
- requiring user intervention--saving users time and lowering network
- traffic by eliminating the need to download soft fonts with every print
- job.
-
- Diagnostics Utility for Network Administrators
-
- To assist network administrators with managing printers on the network
- connected via EtherFlex or BridgePort EX, a utility accompanies these
- products. These tools allow the network administrator to display status
- information such as error messages and network statistics on any remote PC
- on the Novell network.
-
- Supports the Most Widely Used Cabling Schemes
-
- Users have the flexibility to select the most popular Ethernet connections
- on a single network card. EtherFlex and BridgePort EX supports
- twisted-wire (10BASE-T) and thin-coax (thin-wire, BNC) cabling connections
- in a single product. EtherFlex for support of AUI connections is a special
- order item.
-
- Meeting the Needs of the Future Today
-
- "The three most important features on a LAN printer are direct LAN
- connections, many resident fonts and PostScript-to-PCL language switching.
- Extended Systems is teaming up with HP LaserJet printers to provide
- network administrators with the solutions they need," according to Mark
- Willnerd, Extended Systems product manager for EtherFlex.
-
- Extended Systems products are available from its national direct sales
- organization and major computer dealers. Extended Systems product families
- focus on enabling users to increase the life, functionality and
- capabilities of their computer resources by providing high performance,
- reliability and ease of use.
-
- For more information, interested parties should contact Extended Systems at
- 800-235-7576 or 406-587-7575.
-
- Extended Systems, 6123 North Meeker Ave, Boise, ID 83704
-
- +---------------------------------------------------------------+
- | From the America On-Line & PC-Link New Product Info Services |
- +===============================================================+
- | This information was processed with OmniPage Professional OCR |
- | software (from Caere Corp) & a Canon IX-30 scanner from data |
- | provided by the above mentioned company. For additional info, |
- | contact the company at the address or phone# indicated above. |
- | All submissions for this service should be addressed to |
- | BAKER ENTERPRISES, 20 Ferro Drive, Sewell, NJ 08080 U.S.A. |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------+
-